INSECT ENEMIES AND FRIENDS. 



495 



roots by eating right through them. 



These grubs are generally known by 



the name of " leather jackets," on 



account of the toughness of their skins. 



This peculiarity prevents insecticides 



from having much effect on them, and 



they seem to be indifferent to drought or 



moisture, and may he frozen until they 



are quite stiff without being killed. 



When the grubs are underground 



no insecticide can be made of 

 sufficient strength to kill them, hut a 

 heavy watering with liquid manure, 

 such as a solution of guano, nitrate of 

 soda, or common salt has been found 

 very useful. It is disagreeable In the 

 grubs, and is of assistance to the 

 plants. The grubs may be trapped with 

 slices of Carrot, Turnip, or Mangold, 

 which should have a small wooden 

 skewer thrust into each. They should 

 then be buried about tin. below the 

 surface, the skewer being placed upper- 

 most, to show where the bait is. 

 Leather jackets are very fond of moving 

 about at night, and it bricks, boards, 

 tiles, slates, or pieces of turf are laid 

 near their haunts, and turned over in 

 the morning, these grubs will often be 

 found hidden underneath. The other 

 traps should also be examined every 

 morning. 



Dart Moth, The {Agroiis se.getum), — The caterpillars of 

 this moth, as well as those of several nearly-allied species, 

 feed on the roots of various plants grown both in the 

 flower and kitchen garden. Auriculas, Balsams, China 

 Asters, Turnips, Cabbages, and all plants of that nature 

 are their special favourites. As the} feed at night, hiding 

 themselves in cracks in the ground, under stones, clods, 

 and rubbish during the day, they are not so often seen as 

 many other pests that do less mischief. They usually 

 attack the plant al the collar, or just below it, and 

 frequently eat right through the tap root. The best way 

 of destroying them is by turning over anything near the 

 plant under which they might hide and digging up the 

 surrounding soil with a small spud. Thoroughly soaking 

 the ground with warm soap and water, so as to fill the 

 cracks, will bring the caterpillars to the surface, when 

 they can easily be picked up. The caterpillars of the 

 Dart Moth when full grown are about Ijin. or 2in. 

 long, dusky yellow in colour, 

 with paler longitudinal stripes, 

 and various small black spots or 

 dots. lake many caterpillars 

 they vary considerably in 

 colour. The other caterpillars 

 that I alluded to are about 

 the same size, but differ in 

 colour, all being sombre in 

 hue, with rather indistinct 

 markings. T h e y a 1 1 make 

 their chrysalides in the earth, 

 and a sharp look-out should 

 be kept for them when the 

 ground is being dug in the 

 winter. They are of a bright 

 brown colour, about iin. in length, and are sometimes 

 surrounded by a rough earthen cocoon. 



Earwig, The (For/icula auricularia). — This well-known 

 pest is very injurious to the flowers of various kinds of 

 plants, those of the Carnation, Chrysanthemum, and 

 Dahlia being their favourites. As they are very active 

 insects, being able to run and fly well, and as they 

 generally manage to hide themselves during the day, the 

 only practicable way of destroying them is by means of 

 traps, in which they can hide themselves in the morning 

 after their nightly depredations. For this purpose the 

 hollow stems of Sunllowers or of Broad Beans are the 



DADDY-LONG-LEGS, OR CRANE ELY. 



1. Mull- Daddy-long-legs. 2. Denude Daddy lung-legs. 3. Eggs. 



5. Chrysalides. 



4. Giub. 



DART 

 Dait Math. 



most useful. They should be cut into lengths of from 

 bin. to 9in. and hid among the shoots of the plants so that 

 the insects can crawl into them. In the morning the 

 contents of each stem should be blown or shaken into a 

 vessel containing water on which a little paraffin oil has 

 been poured. Good traps can also be made by crumpling 

 up pieces of paper, or by lying up pieces of canvas or 

 sacking so that they hang in folds, or they may be folded 

 and laid on the ground. The insects are not particular 

 where they hide so long as they can creep in somewhere 

 out of sight. Small garden pots, partly filled with hay, 

 placed on the top of the stakes supporting the plants, 

 are well known and useful traps. 

 Eelworms (the Stem Eelworm, Tylenchus devas'atrix). 

 — This pest has only lately come into notice, but 

 this is due to a considerable extent, I expect, to their 

 minute size, for they are quite invisible to the naked 

 eye when among the tissues of the plants they are 

 attacking, though they may 

 be detected with the aid of 

 a strong magnifying glass. 

 A large number of different 

 kinds of plants are known to 

 be infested by them, even 

 those of such diverse natures 

 as Clover, Hops, Carnations, 

 various corn crops, and bulbs, 

 so that most things are 

 probably liable to be infested. 

 This eelworm is about 

 I -25m. in length, very long 

 and narrow, being only 

 i-ioooin. in diameter, and 

 tapers gradually to a fino 

 point both at the head and tail. When under a 

 microscope with a low power it looks like a thread of 

 clear glass. As these creatures live and breed in the 

 tissues of the plants it is impossible to reach them with 

 any insecticide, so that practically the only wav of 

 destroying them is by pulling up the plant and burning 

 it, or, at any rate, cutting off the affected parts and 

 burning them. This, with such plants as Hyacinths- and 

 Onions, or where the main stem of a plant is infested, is 

 impossible. A good dressing of suitable manure will, of 

 course, greatly help a plant that is attacked ; the vitality of 

 these worms is astonishing, and they have been known 



