HOUSE AND GARDEN 
June, 1911 
t 
4 
With this knowledge before 11s, the problems of the war on 
plant enemies are greatly reduced. When a strange bug appears 
in the garden, or something seems to be going wrong with the 
cucumber patch, first try to ascertain correctly what the trouble is ; 
then in what class it belongs. Knowing this, we will know how to 
proceed against it, using just the weapons which experience and 
experiment have proven most effective. 
The accompanying table includes all of the garden pests ordi¬ 
narily to be encountered. 
In the more extended 
comment on each which 
follows will be found a 
description sufficiently 
detailed to assure the 
identification of any in¬ 
truder. 
Let the beginner not 
be disheartened by such 
a formidable looking list 
of enemies. In actual 
work many of these 
pests will not put in an 
appearance at all. While 
some fourteen remedies 
have been mentioned, as 
a rule most of these in¬ 
sects and diseases can be 
successfully fought off 
with the assistance of the following half-dozen, if used in time: 
Covered boxes, hand-picking, kerosene emulsion, tobacco dust, 
Bordeaux mixture, arsenate of lead. 
Supplies for all these should be kept on hand at all times, ready 
to be mixed and applied at a moment’s notice, for upon quick ac¬ 
tion, as much as upon anything else, will the result of the battle 
depend. 
To enable the gardener to recognize on sight his various foes, 
the following more detailed information is given: 
Aphis. This is the small, soft, green plant-louse, sometimes 
found on the under side of cabbages 
and other succulent-leaved plants. 
They seldom attack healthy growing 
plants in the field, but if plants set out 
are even slightly infested, and dry 
weather follows, they are apt to mul¬ 
tiply very rapidly. Kerosene emul¬ 
sion, whale-oil soap and tobacco dust, 
are all used for them. In applying, be 
sure to reach the under sides of the 
leaves, which must be done before 
the leaves are so badly infested as to 
curl up and thus afford protection to 
the insects. Remember that they are 
all contact poisons, and must touch 
the insects in order to be effective. In 
addition to the remedies mentioned 
there are several trade-marked pre¬ 
parations that are good. 
Asparagus-Beetle. This pest, 
which usually does not appear until 
after the asparagus season is over, 
sometimes strips the foliage off clean 
and seriously injures the crop for the 
succeeding year. In cleanly cultivated 
patches it is not likely to give much 
trouble. Thorough spraying with ar¬ 
senate of lead will take care of it. 
Black-Rot. Sometimes cabbage and 
cauliflower, when well along, are attacked by a disease which 
causes the leaves to fall off, and thus prevents heading. In clean, 
limed soil, with the proper attention given to rotation, it is not 
likely to appear. In cases where the disease has been encountered 
previously, soak the seed for fifteen minutes in a pint of water in 
which a corrosive sublimate tablet (sold at druggists) has been 
dissolved. 
Borer (Squash). The borer which attacks squash and pumpkin 
vines, is a flattish, white 
grub, which penetrates the 
main stem near the ground 
and seems to sap the 
strength of the plant, even 
when the vines have at¬ 
tained a length of ten or 
more feet. Be on the look¬ 
out for this hidden enemy. 
When the leaves wilt 
down suspiciously during 
the noontime heat of the 
sun, examine the base of 
the stalk; or pull a vine 
up, and slit the stem in 
two. Coal ashes, mixed 
with manure in the hill, is 
claimed to be a preven¬ 
tive. Another is to plant 
some early squash be¬ 
tween the hills prepared for the winter squash, and not plant 
the latter until as late as possible. The vines of early squash, 
which serve as a trap, are pulled and burned. Last season, in one 
of my fields, almost half the vines were attacked after many of 
the squashes were large enough to eat. With a little practice, 
I was able to locate the borer’s exact position, indicated by a spot 
in the stalk where the flesh was soft, and of a slightly different 
color. With a thin sharp knife-blade, I carefully slit the vines 
lengthways at this spot, and killed the undesirable intruder. The 
vines, in almost every instance, recovered and matured their 
crops. Another method of overcom¬ 
ing this destructive work of the borer 
is to heap moist earth over several of 
the leaf joints on each vine, when they 
are sufficiently long, thus inducing a 
secondary root system. 
Cabbage-Worm. This common 
green cabbage-worm is frequently 
hatched out in sufficient numbers to 
make it a very disagreeable pest. It 
is the caterpillar of the small white or 
yellow garden butterfly of early 
spring, and where a garden is isolated, 
or neighbors can be induced to act in 
unison, catching the butterfly as soon 
as seen, with sugar, gin and water 
bait, or nets, will repay the trouble. 
When the worms appear, pick off all 
that are visible and spray the plants 
with kerosene emulsion if the heads 
have not begun to form. If the leaves 
have begun to close up, use hellebore 
instead. 
Club-Root. In ground that is 
planted several seasons in succession 
to cabbage or allied crops, such as 
cauliflower or turnips, club-root is 
practically certain to appear. It is a 
(Continued on page 456) 
Garden Pests and Remedies 
The letters and numbers given in the table refer to detail descriptions in the article. 
Class. 
Remedy. 
B 
5, 6, 8 
A 
13, 12 
A 
4 , 13. 12 
C 
10 
B 
4 
A 
12, 5, 4 
Rotation 
C 
A 
1, 8, 11, 13 
C 
4 
C 
11 
A 
2,4,12,13 
A 
5,11 
A 
4,12,13 
C-D 
11 
C 
10 
A 
3,4,9 
A 
4 - 13 
B 
i» 4 , 5 , 8 
A 
4 
B 
5 . 6 
A 
4 
Enemy. 
Attacking. 
Aphis (.Plant louse). 
Asparagus-beetle . 
Aster-beetle. 
Black-rot. 
Borer .. 
Cabbage-worm . 
Club-root . 
Cucumber-beetle . 
Cucumber-wilt. 
Cucumber-blight or mildew. 
Cutworm . 
Flea-beetle . 
Potato-beetle . 
Potato-blight. 
Potato-scab. 
Root-maggot. 
Rose-bug. 
Squash-bug . 
Tomato-worm . 
White-fly . 
White-grub (Muckworm)... 
Plants inside and occasionally outdoors. 
Especially the cabbage group. 
Asparagus foliage. 
Asters and other flowers. 
Cabbage, cauliflower, etc. 
Squash and pumpkin. 
Cabbage group. 
Cabbage group. 
Cucumbers and vines. 
Cucumbers and melons. 
Cucumbers, melons. 
Seedlings and newly set plants. 
Potato, young cabbage, radish, turnip.. 
Potato, egg-plant. 
Potato . 
Potato . 
Cabbage group, turnip, onions. 
Roses, grapes, etc. 
Squash, pumpkin, vines. 
Tomato vines. 
Inside plants, vines outside. 
Lawns, strawberries, plants. 
A compressed-air sprayer is a great convenience for 
applying the liquid insecticides; for the orchard 
an extension rod may be used to reach the higher 
branches 
