86 
CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 
bunch them up too tightly. Arrange the sprays of flowers 
loosely, that grace and elegance may characterise their 
adjustment, and that the public may be able to form a 
correct idea of their value in the garden as well as their 
usefulness for the embellishment of the greenhouse or 
conservatory. 
CHAPTER X. 
PESTS AND DISEASES. 
As the chrysanthemum grower is only too well aware, there 
are a few pests and diseases which occasion him no small 
amount of anxiety in the cultivation of his favourite plants. 
There are, for instance, the aphides which infest the shoots, 
the Mining Maggot which tunnels channels in the leaves, the 
crafty earwig which feasts on the unfolding petals at night, to 
say nothing of mildew and rust, which are ever on the alert to 
establish themselves on the leafage. These alone are 
sufficiently formidable to do considerable injury, but, alas ! 
there are others of a minor character that must not be 
despised, and so we must, for the benefit of the beginner in 
chrysanthemum culture, give a brief description of each, with 
remedies for their eradication. 
Ants. — Various species of the highly intelligent family 
of Formicidae occasionally prove a nuisance to growers by 
running over the plants and carrying aphides about. The 
aphides secrete a honey-like substance on their bodies, and 
the ants feed on this, hence the trouble and care they 
take of the former. When their food supply is short ants 
will eat their way into the buds and opening blossoms, and 
thus do harm in that way. 
Remedies. — Ants may be easily trapped by suspended bits 
of sponge soaked in treacle among the stems. When the 
