Insect and Disease Control 
by GARDEN SANITATION 
Now that our gardens are playing such a great part in the wartime fight 
for food, the battle against garden pests and diseases is more vital than 
ever. 
Anything you do to defeat the marauding insects helps not only your own 
garden, but your neighbors’ too. 
In this important battle the first line of defense is the vigilant use of 
spraying and dusting. For this work we can offer you lots of help. We 
have all the proper insecticides ready and waiting for you—and we are 
also glad to counsel with you on their use. 
But there is another phase of the battle that is just as important as this 
chemical warfare against pests. That is, this matter of control by sanitation. 
One of the best wavs to control 
pests, especially diseases, is by 
prevention. Sometimes this is the 
only way. So sanitary measures, 
which include prevention, are the 
first line of defense and usually 
the cheapest. 
1—Keep weeds down 
Many insects and diseases live 
over winter on weeds. Or the pests 
live on them in the spring until the 
flowers and vegetables are ready 
to be attacked. The insects go from 
weeds to flowers. Diseases spread 
from weeds to flowers by wind or 
insects. A few specific examples 
will illustrate. Aphids and iris bor- 
ers live over winter as eggs on 
weeds. Stalk borers of dahlia and 
other plants live on smart weeds 
and other weeds, biding time for 
dahlias to come along. Weeds 
transmit aster yellows and petunia 
mosaic. Common mallow is suscep- 
tible to hollyhock rust and can con- 
taminate nearby hollyhocks. Cu- 
cumber mosaic can be carried from 
wild cucumber, milkweed, ground- 
cherry, catnip and pokeweed. 
Other pests which over-winter on 
weeds include the flea beetles, 
European earwigs, leaf hoppers, 
plum and rhubarb curculio, red 
spider, and flower thrips. 
So the good gardener not only 
keeps weeds out of his beds and 
rows, but cleans up fence rows and 
mows adjacent vacant lots that 
might harbor some of these insects 
or serve as the host plants of dis- 
eases. . 
2—Keep trash cleaned up 
Do not allow old boards or boxes, 
piles or packing material or other 
kinds of trash to remain around the 
garden or vicinity. Slugs find a 
happy home under such trash. Mice 
and rats take refuge there. Cater- 
pillars make cocoons under trash, 
which protects them through the 
winter, 
3—Take out diseased plants 
at once 
This is sometimes the only practi- 
cable way of fighting certain dis- 
eases. Once a plant has become 
infected with such diseases, there 
is no help for it. To let it remain in 
the bed means that it will likely 
soon spread to healthy plants. So 
Just as soon as observed, pull up 
and destroy the diseased plant. 
This especially applies to “virus” 
diseases such as aster yellows, 
chrysanthemum yellows and to 
aster and dahlia wilts. Also take 
out and destroy delphiniums with 
bad cases of root rot or crown rot, 
gladioli with bad fusarium rot and 
birch trees badly damaged by bor- 
ers. Burn at once all diseased plants 
removed. 
4—Remove diseased parts 
Often taking off or pruning out dis- 
eased parts or tops of plants is 
sufficient. If tulips have botrytus 
blight or “fire,” cut to below 
ground. To control peony blights, 
cut tops to ground each fall after 
frost has killed them. Cut rusted 
hollyhocks to ground after bloom- 
ing. Remove all iris tops in late fall 
or winter. Mildew lives over winter 
on fallen leaves and debris of tall 
perennial phlox, so removal of 
these in fall is a control measure. 
5 —Rotate ground and plants 
A good many diseases, especially 
those that live over in the soil, will 
reinfest plants put in the same 
ground the next year or next sev- 
eral years in some cases. So on> 
element in control of these diseases 
is to rotate your ground. Do not put 
the same plants in the same ground 
in succeeding years. This applies 
to annual or China asters, gladioli, 
peonies and lilies if diseased. Do 
not put healthy plants back in dis- 
eased ground but set them else- 
where. This applies to delphiniums, 
monkshood, narcissi, nasturtiums, 
pansies and to either oriental or 
shirley poppies if previous plants 
have had bacterial blight. It is 
always a good policy to keep ro- 
tating the crops in the vegetable 
garden so that after a crop is 
grown in one spot, it is three or 
four years before the same crop is 
again grown there. 
6—Water correctly 
Do not water plants in beds with 
spray nozzle on hose. This splashes 
rusts and other fungus diseases 
from one plant to another. Water 
in the morning, rather than in eve- 
ning. This gives any water on foli- 
age a chance to dry off quickly so 
fungus diseases that require pres- 
ence of water to grow, won't have 
a chance to take hold. For this rea- 
son, spray or dust for control of 
fungus diseases such as black spot 
of roses and rusts before a rain, 
so when the splattering of rain 
spreads the disease, it will be met 
by the control material already 
there to keep it from taking hold. 
7—Do not plant in too close 
proximity 
Some diseases are spread from one 
type of plant to another of a differ- 
ent sort. In some cases a disease 
must spend part of its life cycle on 
one plant and another part on a 
different kind of plant. If asters, 
calendulas and chrysanthemums 
are close together, the yellows may 
spread from one to the others 
through insects. Rust will spread 
between asters and pines. Lilacs 
and rhododendrons should not be 
near each other because of phy- 
tophtera blight spreading from one 
to the other. If sweet peas are near 

apple trees, they may be infected 
with bitterrot from the apple trees. 
8—Control by culture and 
fertility 
Pest control also means good cul- 
tivation with the proper tools. It 
includes proper feeding and plant 
foods. It also involves correct 
planting. For instance, do not plant 
things too close together.Give room 
for air to circulate between plants. 
Both diseases and insects may 
thrive when the plants are too 
close together and when the plant 
can't grow in a thrifty manner in 
consequence. Proper distance apart 
also gives a chance to do correct 
cultivating and application of 
sprays or dusts. 
It is a@ good control measure to 
spade ground in the fall and let it 
lie unraked till spring. Sun, wind, 
cold and birds together will de- 
stroy many insects in consequence. 
Fall spading is an especially good 
control for white grubs. Incident- 
ally, anything done to attract birds 
to the home grounds is a vital in- 
sect control measure. It is often 
linked up with insect control. One 
last factor is to use disease-resist- 
ant seed whenever such is avail- 
able. 
KILL Crab Grass 
WITHOUT DESTROYING Lawes Grad 
ZAOTORX 
This amazing liquid chemical 
kills Crab Grass without perma- 
nent injury fo lawn grasses. A 
16 oz. bottle makes 10 gallons 
and treats 2000 sq. ft. ZOTOX 
also kills dandelion, plan- 
tain, chickweed, spurge and 
other lawn weeds. Full direc- 
tions on bottle. Prices: 8 oz. 
$1.00; 16 oz. $1.50; 32 oz. 
$2.50; 5 Ibs. $4.50. 
Ask for free literature. 



SPRAYERS 
and 

DUSTERS 
It's safe to say that the garden is never better than its spraying 
equipment. Good sprays AND GOOD SPRAYERS ARE ABSOLUTELY 
VITAL. 
We offer a complete service in this important department—not only 
sprayers, but also plenty of helpful information about their use. 
Compressed Air Tank Sprayers—Open-top or funnel-top; galvanized 
garden or for household use. 
your needs. 
brass or copper tanks; 2 to 4 gallon sizes. 
Wheelbarrow Type Sprayers—Heavy duty portable outfits for orchard, 
farm and industrial work. 12 gallon or 18 gallon capacity. 
Bucket or Barrel Spray Pumps—High pressure equipment for insecti- 
cides, whitewash, cold water paints, etc. 
Light Weight Hand Sprayers—Handy sprayers of various types, for 
Heavy Duty Dusters—For a wide range of work, in gardens, truck 
farms, orchards, vineyards, etc. Consult us about the right model for 
Garden Dusters—Various types for light gardening or other light work. 
WARNING! The manufacture of sprayers has been greatly curtailed, 
because the materials used in sprayers are now needed for more direct 
war use. 
We still have on hand a good assortment of sprayers and dusters, 
made before the recent restrictions were imposed. So, for the present, 
we can still take care of your needs. 
However, in view of the increasing scarcity of these vital garden tools, 
we suggest that you check your spraying needs early this year—and 
that you consult with us soon! 
29 
