3*4 
Garden Work 
very rapidly. In dry seasons, by the time the fruit is 
ripe, they become a source of great trouble. In some 
districts fruit-growers pay boys for all the queen Wasps 
that they kill during the spring. In this way great num- 
bers are destroyed, and of course in each case a nest 
prevented. This means the prevention of countless num- 
bers of Wasps being hatched and the lessening of damage 
that otherwise would be done. 
If the nests have been formed they must be looked 
for and destroyed. During the day, search should be 
made, and wherever one is found a stick should be set 
up, but no attempt made to destroy it then, as many of 
the Wasps will be out on the wing. The evening, when 
all the Wasps are at home, is the time to destroy them. 
The hanging nests are easily destroyed by using a large 
torch on a stick and holding it to the hole at the bottom 
of the nest, thus burning it and any Wasps that may try 
to escape. This way, however, may entail considerable 
damage to the tree or bush. If this is to be avoided, 
the hole at the bottom should be carefully plugged up 
and the branch cut out, having a large torch ready to 
lay the nest on. A bee veil should be worn as a pre- 
caution in this work. For nests in the ground, various 
methods are adopted. If the holes are straight, or slop- 
ing in a downward direction, tar may be poured in, thus 
effectually destroying them; but for those which go straight 
into a bank, or incline upwards, it is better to use cyanide 
of potassium, the fumes of which kill the Wasps im- 
mediately. Care has to be taken with this, as the fumes 
given off are extremely poisonous. Great precaution, 
however, should always be exercised in dealing with 
