THE GARDENING WORLD 
283 
April 25, 1908. 
Sweet Peas. 
WORK FOR APRIL. 
In the 1908 Sweet Pea Annual, replies 
are given by various growers to several 
questions as to methods of culture, etc. 
Enemies of Sweet Peas. 
Many readers will be surprised to know 
that some of the growers seem to have no 
trouble whatever from insect or other 
pests. As there are many who are in a 
far less enviable position, and as it is at 
this time of the year, when the Peas have 
not made much growth, that the enemies 
of the plants are most to be feared, some 
little' discussion on this subject should 
be useful. 
The Cat. 
The largest enemy that most readers 
will have to circumvent is the domestic 
cat. When battling with slugs it is cus¬ 
tomary to take the enemy’s life, but for 
the purpose of this article it will be 
assumed that against cats this course will 
not be adopted, althoueh there are gar¬ 
deners, who, in their confidential mo¬ 
ments, may whisper dark tales of blood 
and poison. 
The best method of overcoming the cat's 
propensity to scratch up the newly- 
planted seedlings is to cover them with 
wire or tanned (fish) netting. This also 
serves to keep the birds off. The ordin¬ 
ary galvanized iron wire guards, as sold 
all over the country, can be used, the 
only drawback being that for seedlings 
planted out from pots there is hardly 
enough room underneath. To use 
tanned netting, a rough framework of 
wood should be used to stretch it over. 
Another way of keeping cats from the 
plants is to put sticks in the ground round 
the plants. Prickly rose prunings answer 
this purpose very well. Strong thread 
stretched firmly is another safeguard from 
cats. 
To Ward off Birds. 
In addition to the protections from birds 
already mentioned, that of cotton or 
thread stretched by the sides and over 
the rows must not be forgotten, for it is 
the cheapest and is easily used and per¬ 
fectly efficient. In districts where birds 
are very active, two runs of thread may 
not be sufficient, and four or six should 
be used. The cotton or thread should be 
stretched taut 
Slugs. 
Some gardens are infested by slugs, and 
when plants are growing, there is no 
wholesale means of destruction for them, 
but they must be dealt with singly. A 
gardener armed with a lantern on a warm 
damp evening will catch them at work, or 
bran may be used to trap them. Cabbage 
leaves left near the rows are also a good 
trap and may be examined in the morn¬ 
ing. 
Where insect pests are very numerous, 
the best means of destruction is gas lime, 
but this can only be used when the land 
is vacant. Vaporite is an alternative. 
The Pea Weevil. 
Owing to the fact that its attacks may 
have been mistaken for those of birds or 
slugs, the Pea Weevil is a foe that may 
not be very well known to many readers, 
but at the same time it is one that is by 
no means uncommon. It is a dull 
brownish insect, less than a quarter of an 
inch long. The first signs of its presence 
that will be noted are the little scallops 
that it eats in the edges of the leaves of 
the Sweet Peas. 
If the presence of this foe is suspected, 
the plants should be visited at night with 
a lantern, when the weevils may be seen 
feeding. Those who suffer from its at¬ 
tacks should write to the Board of Agri¬ 
culture for a pamphlet which fully ex¬ 
plains the life history of the creature. 
Not only is this pamphlet sent post free, 
but the Paternal Government does not 
even require letters of applications to be 
stamped. 
From the publication referred to it will 
be gathered that dusting with lime or soot 
or spraying with weak mixtures of paraffin 
or something to make the plants distaste¬ 
ful to the weevils will check their de¬ 
predations. Pressing the earth tightly 
and firmly close round the plants also 
keeps them off, but it is very doubtful 
whether the plants benefit thereby. 
A method that the writer has adopted is 
to visit the plants at night with a -lantern 
and catch all the insects that can be seen, 
and drop them into a tin of paraffin. At 
this task no hesitation must be displayed, 
or the weevils will be certain to adopt 
their practice of dropping to the earth 
and feigning death. 
Although during the early stages, the 
foliage may be badly eaten, when the 
plants start into rapid growth, the leaves 
above a foot from the ground do not ap¬ 
pear to be touched, but unfortunately 
the larvae of the insect also feed on the 
plants, in this.case the roots forming the 
food. Possibly these grubs are the cause 
Saxifraga trifurcata ceratophylla. 
Maclaren and Sons. 
