CARE OF PLANTS IN THE GARDEN 67 
of the main growths while still green and growing 
will materially weaken the plant. 
The Ills and Ailments of Hardy Plants 
By comparison with most other classes of plants 
the majority of Herbaceous plants are splendidly 
robust, healthy, and immune from devastating 
diseases. Insect pests do a certain amount of 
harm, slugs, snails, earwigs and caterpillars being 
chief offenders, and in the case of young seedlings, 
and plants with particularly succulent shoots, such 
as Delphiniums, great havoc may be done if reason- 
able precautions are not taken to keep the enemy 
at a distance. 
It is of great importance when making a new 
garden, and perhaps even more so when renovating 
an old one to pay careful attention to the cleansing 
of the soil. It is in the soil, especially where weeds 
and rubbish abound, that hordes of insects, their 
larvae and pupae, breed or take lodgment. Rough 
digging in Autumn, leaving the greatest possible 
surface exposed to Winter's frost will dispose of 
vast numbers. Birds will demolish more, but a 
good dressing of gas lime will do an immense 
amount of good, except in the case of soils which 
are already heavily charged with lime. 
Wireworm may be accounted one of the worst of 
soil insects, and one of the most troublesome to 
eradicate. Leather- jacket grubs, Woodlice, Milli- 
pedes, Slugs, and the grub of the Cockchafer beetle 
