February 13, 1909. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 105 
ONION FLY. 
CL +++ 
Onions are attacked by this disease more 
frequently in some districts than others. 
Here (in Sussex) it has been very preva¬ 
lent this season, and I thought the ac¬ 
count of my successful treatment of it 
might interest the readers of The Gar¬ 
dening World. 
When I first noticed the leaves turning 
yellow at the tips, and the plants looking 
unhealthy, I went down the rows and 
pulled up every plant that appeared to 
be attacked, and found the bulbs full of 
small white maggots. I burnt these at- 
once, and then filled the holes from 
which they were taken with lime and 
soot, and to prevent the other plants from 
being attacked, I mixed soot an 3 lime in 
about equal quantities (it ought to be a 
dark grey colour), and with a trowel 
spread this mixture evenly along the 
rows. Then I mixed a wine-glass hill of 
paraffin in a gallon of water, stirred this 
thoroughly, and poured it into a water¬ 
ing can. I next proceeded to walk along 
the rows already spread with soot and 
lime, washing it into the ground with the 
paraffin and water. If it is showery 
weather at the time so much the better, 
as then the soot and lime is washed more 
thoroughly into the ground. All that 
now remains to be done is to inspect the 
crop each day, removing every plant that 
shows signs of disease, filling the hole 
up with soot and lime. One must be 
careful next year not to plant Onions on 
the same piece of ground. 
The cottagers about here tell me that 
by sowing Onions out-of-doors in the 
autumn they find they are not attacked 
by the fly the following spring. Sow r the 
seed in a nursery bed about the first or 
second week in August; leave them in 
their drills, not thinning them out till 
the spring, when the small plants must 
be put out in their prepared bed. Give 
them an occasional dusting with soot, 
and hoe frequently amongst the rows to 
keep the ground quite clean. They tell me 
that by this method they get a much 
finer crop of Onions, and are never 
bothered by the Onion flv. 
C. M. Smith. 
-- 
Hibiscus Sabdariffa. 
The above is the name of a member of 
the Mallow family native to various parts 
of America, and which is grown for the 
sake of the succulent calyces, which are 
eaten. Popularly .this vegetable is named 
Roselle. The seed pod is cut out, and 
what remains is then cooked, and is said 
to taste very much like Cranberries, as 
well as being of that colour. It is a trifle 
less tart than Cranberries, although the 
uninitiated, if given some to taste, would 
be likely to describe it as Cranberries. 
The calyces are rather thick and fleshy, 
and this is the part that is cooked. The 
plant has yellow flowers, grows to 6 ft. or 
8 ft. high, and blooms until cut down by 
frost. An account of it appears in the 
“Florists’ Exchange.” 
Asparagus elongatus. 
Most, if not all, of the ornamental 
species of Asparagus come from South 
Africa, and recently a distinct looking 
species, under the above name, has found 
its way to America and may soon reach 
our shores. The plant is not a climber, 
but is of upright growth, although the 
ultimate twigs are very slender with a 
fluffy and light appearance when fully 
developed. It stands well in the cut state 
and is useful both for greenery and the 
myriads of small flowers which it pro¬ 
duces, reminding one of the Cloud Plant 
(Gypsophila paniculata). 
Alimentary Value of Mushrooms. 
The “Moniteur de l’Horticulture ” fur¬ 
nishes some information on this subject. 
It says we can only compare the edible 
value of Mushrooms to that of meat which 
is the usual plan. Their purport in albu¬ 
minoid matter is weaker, and their di¬ 
gestibility is less, varying according to 
the species. An agricultural chemist has 
been putting to a test both the dry matter 
and the albuminoids of the principal 
species of edible Mushrooms of Central 
Europe and finds that they contain 84 to 
90 per cent, of water. Without wishing 
to diminish the ardour of hunters for 
chanterelles and other choice dainties of 
that sort, they should look at the sub¬ 
ject from a matter of fact point of view, 
and not spread false notions amongst the 
public concerning their qualities. We 
suppose, however, that people will still 
patronise Mushrooms and their allies for 
the sake of variety and as dainties, es¬ 
pecially those who have acquired a taste 
for them. 
Of all insect pests that ravage flower and kitchen gardens, the 
wireworm is the deadliest. The damage it does annually is appalling. 
To exterminate the wireworm, the centipede, the leather jacket, 
the eel worm and the multipede that ruin your garden use 
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“KILOGRUB” is a chemical powder which, well worked into the soil gives out fumes 
which are fatal. No insect pest can live on “KILOGRUB” treated soil. Only 2 
or 3 ounces are necessary for a square yard. 
Remember, “KILOGRUB” is a proved success. TRY IT TO-DAY. 
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