THE GARDEN M A GAZINE 
July, 19 17 
326 
Geneva, on “ Bordeaux Injury,” by Prof. 
U. P. Hedrick. Unfortunately, though I 
have been able to secure a copy of this bulle- 
tin, I understand that it is out of print. 
1 remember that last year, when my russet- 
ing was very bad, we had a great deal of rain 
in the early summer. Rain, in fact, followed 
our spraying at the time of the falling of the 
blossoms. This may have had a good deal to 
do with it. but I am inclined to think that the 
best way is to omit the bordeaux mixture to 
be on the safe side. 
In conclusion, I might add that one of the 
best monographs on the general subject of 
spraying is Farmers’ Bulletin No. 492, on 
“The More Important Insect and Fungous 
Enemies of the Fruit and Foliage of the Ap- 
ple,” by A. L. Quaintance and W. M. Scott. 
Routing Our Common Foes 
Lawson Melish, Ohio 
I he aphis, (green, black, red, or other color 
fly), may be held in check, and destroyed, by 
frequent and thorough spraying with any of 
the proprietary nicotine solutions or oily 
emulsions which are offered by the seedsmen. 
Spraying should be done before the leaves 
of the plant curl, and care should be taken that 
the solution reaches the under as well as the 
upper surface of the leaves. Note: The little 
red ladybug is the natural enemy of the aphis, 
and is to be encouraged in her good work. 
headway later in the season, all affected 
leaves should be removed and destroyed, and 
a thorough spraying given. Monkshood and 
Delphinium which have been subject to black- 
ened leaves, may be given mo successive 
sprayings early in the season with bordeaux. 
When Peonies blacken on the flower stems 
and buds, a spray of this same solution, with 
the addition of some of the dry bordfeaux 
dug about the crown of the plant, should prove 
effective. I used to think that the ants which 
swarm over the Peony buds, were enemies, 
but I have found that they do no harm to 
either flower or plant, and they assemble only 
to drink the sticky liquid exuded by the flower 
bud as it unfolds. 
Bordeaux is a thorough remedy for mildew 
on most plants if applied in early stages. 
Dusting powdered sulphur on the foliage and 
about the plants is another excellent medicine. 
1 he fatal Lily disease may, in a measure, be 
checked, or prevented by shaking each bulb, 
before planting, in a bag with some powdered 
sulphur. If the bulbs are placed on their 
sides, on a bed made of a trowelful of sand, 
then covered with another trowelful of sand, 
before the earth is thrown into the hole, proper 
drainage will be insured so that the bulb may 
not be subject to the disastrous decay. 
It would be pleasant not to have to play 
the loud pedal on all the ills and enemies of the 
Rose. Two remedies for mildew, bordeaux 
and powdered sul- 
phur, have been men- 
tioned in connection 
with other plants. 
Rosarians say with 
emphasis that the fol- 
iage of Roses should 
not be sprinkled in 
the evqping, as the 
moisture retained on 
the leaves over night 
tends to produce mil- 
dew. Early morning 
is the time advised for 
sprinkling. For black 
leaf spot — the cause of 
blackening and pre- 
maturely falling 
leaves — spray with 
bordeaux. For aphis 
spray with some nico- 
tine solution, fre- 
quently and thoro- 
ughly. For the ugly 
black beetle which 
finds the heart of your 
choicest Roses its 
most delectable food, 
hand picking in the early morning, into a 
pan of kerosene, is the surest method of de- 
struction. 
Of the larger pests, mice, moles and rabbits 
are perhaps the most disturbing. Mice may 
be discouraged from eating bulbs during the 
winter, by planting with the bulbs a generous 
quantity of moth balls. Moles are such soft, 
pretty-coated little things that I hate to wage 
war on them; but they do have an annoying 
way of working under your best bit of turf, 
or flower border, and, I must confess it, they 
do chew up bulbs. Traps may be bought, 
with directions for catching these little blind 
creatures, or, if you can catch one at work 
drive a sharp spade just behind his body and 
bring him to light for execution. But if he 
should escape the activities of your spade, 
let it be said to his credit that he loves a diet 
of grubs as well as bulbs, so you may, with a 
clear conscience let him go in peace. 
\X 7 HEN the garden neophyte investi- 
’ ’ gates the many perils and enemies, 
which may attack her precious plants, she 
is apt to become a confirmed pessimist, and 
decide not to pit her feeble human efforts 
against such odds; but, luckily no one 
garden is visited by all the pests, and as I 
have experienced in my own garden if pre- 
ventive measures are used, few gardeners 
will have serious trouble. There are certain 
pests that each one of 
us may naturally be 
expected to meet at 
some time in almost 
any garden; and it is 
of these that I speak. 
For San Jose scale, 
which seems to have 
a penchant for fruit 
trees, and the old 
garden favorite Fire 
Bush (Cydonia or 
Pyrus japonica) as 
well as many other 
shrubs of allied fam- 
ily the preventive is 
to spray while the 
trees are dormant 
(January or Febru- 
ary) with lime-sulphur 
solution in any of its 
forms. Directions for 
mixing will be found 
on the can. Be sure 
that every part of the 
tree is coated with 
the solution; for, as 
someone has said 
“You may as well sit on the porch and rock, 
as to spray anything halfway.” 
Cutworms hide their fat gray bodies under- 
ground, where they are hard to find; and they 
have a most vicious habit of biting off the tops 
of young plants. Three recipes for their 
destruction are offered: A paste made of bran 
sugar and water and flavored with paris 
green lures them to their doom; as does 
freshly cut clover soaked in arsenate of lead. 
Either of these baits may be placed in small 
and tempting piles about the surface of the 
ground in the evening; or buried just under- 
ground, near plants the cutworms seem to 
have designs on. It is said too, by reliable 
authority, that if two or three holes are made 
with a sharp pointed stick, near the plants 
which are being attacked, these stupid worms 
will fall in and as they are not able to get out, 
they may then with ease be dug out and de- 
stroyed. 
For use with the regular hose — this holder into which car- 
tridges are inserted is practical for small quantities 
The wretched black beetle which mobilizes 
his columns just as the Asters promise their 
best, may (according to my experience) be 
sprayed to his Waterloo, with frequent and 
thorough applications of a weak solution of 
paris green. 
Wire worms are the ugly little grubs, less ' 
For field crops there are many types of sprayers on wheels embodying and bettering the idea shown here. Some are quite 
elaborate machines 
than an inch long, which look like bits of rusty 
wire, and which do considerable damage to 
the roots of plants. They may be vanquished 
by using the same clover bait saturated with 
arsenate of lead, which was recommended for 
cutworms: or by digging tobacco dust into the 
ground around the attacked plants, which 
drives them elsewhere! 
Hand picking is the most effective way of 
ridding one’s place of the troublesome bag- 
worm, which hangs on trees and bushes its 
pendant cradle of larva, which later hatch 
into the destructive worms which feed on 
many kinds of trees, both evergreen and de- 
ciduous. 
Spraying with bordeaux mixture is advised 
for the following troubles: Hollyhock plants 
affected with rust, or with the disfiguring red 
spot on the undersides of the leaves, should 
be sprayed in April and again in May, or if the 
rust is not discovered until it has gained 
