THE HARDENING WORLD. 
3 8 9 
rw* ■; 
June 8, 1907. 
Dn taking up one of these pots and tapping 
he sides ants began to come out of the 
irainage hole, and on lifting the plant out 
>f the pot the soil seems like a moving mass 
>f ants and their grubs. Could you kindly 
rive me any advice through your paper 
A'hich will enable me to get rid of these 
^ests—for pests they are when one has to 
deal with such numbers? I was advised to 
3 lace a saucer of jam in their track, to 
ivhich,. I was told, they would come, and 
,vhen feeding on this sugary matter would 
ae drowned in or be stuck in it, but this did 
not answer its purpose at all. (H. A. P. B., 
Middlesex). 
Ants do become a nuisance when they get 
;o plentiful as you state. Evidently they 
lave made a nest in the flower pot where 
hey are rearing their young. They make 
he soil bad for the plant owing to the 
lumerous holes made all through it, and 
hey also carry about insect pests^ which 
hey station upon the plant to ieed and 
supply them (the ants) with food. Repotting 
such plants after removing as many of the 
Hits as possible and their young would be 
\ ready remedy so far as those plants are 
soncerned. There are several methods by 
.vhich you can destroy or drive away these 
oests. " For instance, you could get some 
pieces of sponge and dust them with very 
inely-powdered sugar. Lay the sponges in 
she haunts of the ants and they will crawl 
into the sponge to collect the sugar. When 
a large number have got in lift the sponges 
quickly and drop them in boiling water. 
Tou could also dust the soil in the runs of 
she ants with carbolic acid, which they dis¬ 
like. The acid must not be placed where it 
vvould get washed down about the roots of 
sjlants. There is a new insecticide known as 
Vaporite, which is said to kill or drive 
rway vermin of many kinds that infest the 
soil. The plan is to dust the soil in which 
she enemies are hidden. In your case it 
would be dangerous to dust it about pot 
plants, but you could get it in the runs of 
she enemy. At the same time you should 
snake a point of clearing out rubbish of all 
rinds in the greenhouse that is not wanted, 
sjut would form hiding-places for the ants, 
dement any holes which may be in the walls 
jr about the heating apparatus. We think 
if you persevered with these remedies that 
you will be able to get rid of the ants or to 
greatly reduce their numbers and make them 
harmless. If too much disturbed in this way 
they often forsake their old haunts entirely. 
No doubt, you have them somewhere in the 
garden close by, and if so, you could apply 
the above remedies, namely, carbolic acid or 
Vaporite, or both. Placing jars in their 
naunts is not of much service, as these in¬ 
sects are wary, and unless they fall into 
quite liquid jam by mistake they would not 
be caught in any great number. Some 
strong-smelling liquor, such as molasses in 
water or London stout in jars sunk in their 
runs would be more effective than the jam, 
but not so good as the other remedies we 
mention. 
1903. Tomatos Flagging. 
Please can you state what is the matter 
with my Tojnatos? They seemed all right 
until lately, when they began to flag. I 
thought they were dry and watered them all 
thoroughly, but they did not recover. If 
you can tell me what is the cause and 
remedy I shall be much obliged. (S. Os¬ 
mond, Sussex). 
After your plants have reached the state 
j you mention there is practically little or no 
cure for them as the roots have already been 
permeated and destroyed by the fungus 
known as the sleepy disease of Tomatos 
caused by a fungus named Fusarium Lyco- 
persici. All the plants that are affected can- 
, not produce any appreciable quantity of 
fruit, and should be lifted and burned. The 
soil would be already infested with the 
spores and mycelium of the fungus, which 
enters by the roots, and in order to destroy 
these you should give the ground a good 
dusting with newly-slacked or ground lime, 
and work it into the soil where the Tomatos 
were growing. This will destroy the spores . 
and prevent 'them from extending to other 
plants. It would be advisable, however, to 
plant the Tomatos in another house next 
year or else take out the soil to a depth of 
18 in. and fill up the beds with fresh soil 
obtained from another source. 
1904. Caterpillars on Gooseberries. 
I have about twenty dozen of Gooseberries 
attacked by the caterpillar. Will you kindly 
advise me how to get rid of them and oblige. 
(Thomas Wade, Middlesex). 
You should make a point of going over 
your Gooseberjies every spring just when 
they are coming into leaf. You can often 
prevent, however, destruction by the removal 
of the leaves where the caterpillars newly 
hatched from eggs are crowded together in 
large numbers. If they have already made 
some headway, your best plan would be to 
dust the foliage with flowers of sulphur in 
the early morning, while the leaves are wet 
with dew. If the foliage is dry spray it 
all over with the syringe before applying 
the sulphur. Hellebore powder is a good 
remedy, effectually destroying caterpillars, 
which eat the leaves, but there is some risk 
in its use, especially where Gooseberries are 
gathered in the early stages for cooking 
purposes. The sulphur, however, is said 
to be as effective as Hellebore. Some people 
have also used a solution of alum in water, 
applying with the syringe or a fine-rosed 
watering can. The remedy should be under¬ 
taken without further delay. 
1905. Lilies Diseased. 
Last year my white Lilies got badly at¬ 
tacked with a disease which destroyed all 
the leaves, and the flowers never came to 
anything. Is there anything I can do which 
will prevent the same thing happening again 
this year? At present the plants seem 
healthy and give promise of a good display. 
(E. G. Richards, Oxon.) 
It is very difficult to destroy the fungus 
without killing the plants as it lives inside 
the tissues. You might, however, as a pre¬ 
ventive, syringe the plants with sulphide of 
potassium at the rate of one-half ounce to 
the gallon of water. This might be done 
at once, repeating it again before the plants 
come into bloom. This is with the object of 
destroying all spores on the outside of the 
leaves and preventing them from attacking 
healthy plants. In the event of your syring¬ 
ing the plants before they do get attacked 
the fungicide would act as a preventive. 
After the leaves and stems of the plant die 
down you could lift the bulbs and give the 
ground a good dressing of newly-slacked or 
ground lime. Put the bulbs in a strong 
paper bag with a quantity of flowers of sul¬ 
phur, and shake them about so as to get 
some of the sulphur in between the scales 
of the bulbs. This might be repeated in the 
course of ten days, after which the bulbs 
may be planted in a fresh position. The 
plant starts growing again in September, 
and that is the reason why we recommend 
lifting the bulbs as soon as the stems and 
leaves are fairly withered. 
1906. Various Grubs in a Bottle. 
Will you be so good as to inform me of the 
names of the enclosed specimens of 
insect life and also how best to rid 
my garden of them? The two larger 
grubs were found in the root of . a 
Lupin which had decayed. The small white 
grub is one of a number that infest a Fern 
in pots. The globular objects I take to be 
the pupae of some insect of the butterfly 
family. Is this correct? (F. Powell, Man¬ 
chester.) 
You took excellent care to put the grubs 
in a small bottle, so that they could not 
escape, but you did not seem to recognise 
what a pair of cannibals- you had got in 
the shape of those two larger grubs. When 
we opened the bottle we found only one of 
these large grubs and the three globular 
bodies which you mention. The larger grubs 
ate the small white one, and one of them ate 
his mate. They were the larvafe of one of 
the predaceous beetles, so that they were not 
the cause of the Lupin decaying, but had 
been hunting there for other creatures which 
may have been present. The small white 
grub was most probably the Black Vine 
Weevil (Otiorhynchus sulcatus), which is 
the commonest of three which infests gar¬ 
dens or plants in the hot-houses. The only 
remedy is to turn out pots in which they may 
be and pick them out of the soil. An even 
better plan would be to clear out all rub¬ 
bish from the house that would serve to 
shelter them, to cement all cracks and cre¬ 
vices in the walls where the} 7 could hide, and 
to lay traps for them." For instance, you 
could lay a white cloth on the floor early in 
the evening and go in with a lantern at 
night, turning it on the weevils so that they 
may drop on the white cloth. The pots that 
are infested might be held over the white 
cloth to make them drop. They feign to be 
dead when disturbed, but the white cloth 
will enable you to catch them before they 
get away. You could lay pieces of board 
in the house overnight and examine these 
in the morning, when you may be able to 
catch the weevils, which are about g in. 
long and black, with ribbed wing cases. 
Eggs of slugs or snails should be destroyed. 
Trenching the soil 2 ft. deep or more is a 
good method of getting rid of vermin of 
this sort. You should inspect all heaps of 
rough soil, leaves and manure lying any¬ 
where near the garden. The snails should, 
of course, be smashed. 
SOILS AND MANURES. 
1907. Ammonium Sulphate and Fowls' 
Dung. 
I would be pleased if you will inform me 
through your valuable paper whether am¬ 
monium sulphate, 24 per cent. N H 3 , could 
be used to advantage in growing Peas, Po- 
tatos and Tomatos. I have also plenty of 
fowl manure. I would be glad if you will 
tell me how to use both the above to the 
best advantage. (Amateur, Dublin.) 
Ammonium sulphate is a highly concen¬ 
trated manure, and yours seems to be rather 
above the average. It must, therefore, be 
used carefully and in small quantity. Peas 
would be benefited by it, but particularly 
early varieties, and early in the seaso'n, be¬ 
fore nitrification in the soil becomes very 
active by the rise of temperature. After 
this time the artificial application of nitro¬ 
gen is less necessary. Potatos and Tomatos 
would, however, be benefited by weak ap¬ 
plications before making their growth. It 
should not be applied to Tomatos until they 
have sent one bunch of fruit at least. This 
manure proves most valuable on clayey and 
loamy soils rather than in that of a chalky 
nature. Potatos, Tomatos, Onions, Carrots, 
Parsnips, and Beet would all derive advan¬ 
tage by its use. Apply it at the rate of ^ oz. 
to the square yard, scattering it on the 
ground and covering it lightly with soil. It 
could then be watered in. You can also 
apply it at the rate of \ oz. in a gallon and 
a half of water for pot plants. This should 
not be given oftener than once in eight or 
ten days, and should be given to all those 
crops earlv in the season rather than late. 
■Fowls’ dung is. also a nitrogenous manure. 
