18 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER 
April, 1910 
-----— eee 
INSECT FRIENDS & FOES. 
[By G. H. Webster.] 
Entomology is undoubtedly an imp or- 
~-tant branch of garden craft, the study of 
which gardeners can undertake during 
the natural course of their duties. The 
gardener who has studied, the life-history 
of the various insects that attack garden 
crops is more successful in exterminating 
them than the gardener who relies on the 
rule of thumb. ‘Then, again, without 
careful: observation and study the few 
insect friends are liable to extermina- 
tion. 
— FRIENDS. — 
— Bees. — 
Bees are undoubtedly the most 
important insect friends of the garden» 
either the familiar humble bees or the 
common hive bees. These insects have 
played an important part in the evolu- 
tion of fruits and flowers. Of the wasp 
‘tribe the small solitary wasp, which is 
often seen in the summer, is a useful 
friend in the garden, as it collects cater- 
pillars for the food of its own larvee. 
‘These small wasps generally make their 
burrows in sandbanks, and are dis- 
tinguishable from the common wasps by 
their smaller size, large heads, and broad 
stripes of black on their sharply-pointed 
abdomen. The common wasps, although 
they wage war upon various injurious 
flies, cannot be included in the category 
of friends on account of their depreda- 
tions upon ripening fruit ; in this case, to 
use an old adage, the remedy is worse 
than the disease. 
— Lady Birds. — 
Coccinellidce (Ladybirds) should be by 
all means protected. They feed voraci- 
‘ously upon aphides, especially during 
their larval stage. 
— FOES. — 
— Aphides or Plant Lice. — 
These are probably the most common 
of insect foes, as nearly all plants are 
liable to their attacks, They damage 
plants in a twofold manner—first by 
‘sucking out the sap and so weakening the 
vitality of the plant, and secondly, by 
interfering with the functions of the 
foliage by blocking up the breathing 
pores with their excreta. ‘The effect of 
weather on aphides is great. Dry, hot 
and sultry weather is favorable to them ; 
the same conditions check the growth of 
the plant, and so the plant lice soon 
overcome it. Aphides are easily des- 
troyed by spraying with a soft soap wash. 
In the case of Bean aphis, the best plan 
is to cut off the tops of the Beans imme- 
diately the pest is noticed and burn or 
destroy in some way before the aphides 
can leave them. : 
— Red Spiders or Spinning Mites. — 
Red Spiders are serious pests to get 
rid of when once they get a fair start. 
Fruit trees and bushes are frequently 
seriously damaged by their attacks, 
which are most prevalent during hot, 
dry summers. When a drought com- 
mences and there is a probability of it 
continuing, frequent syringings with 
cold water will cften prevent an attack. 
When the webs are well established the 
most drastic syringing is often unsuc- 
cessful. The following wash is very 
effective when the pest has made _ its 
appearance. Mix 3lb. of soft soap and 
three gallons of paraffin with fifty gallons 
of water. The soap is dissolved first in 
boiling water and poured into the tub 
containing the paraffin, the whole being 
churned up with a syringe, The mixture 
is afterwards diluted to its proper 
strength. It is important that soft water 
should be used for this emulsion. Sul- 
phide of potassium is also added at the 
rate of 1 Ib. to 50 gallons of wash. Apply 
two or three times in succession at 
intervals of three days, always with 
force. 
—‘ The Garden.’ 
ce ee: 
NEXT MONTH 
the following pests will be dealt with :— 
— The Cabbage Moth. — 
— The Cabbage Root Fly. — 
— The Celery Fly. — 
We post the 
Gardener” 
per annum. 
** Australian 
direct for 3s. 6d. 
G. A. PREVOST & CO., 
Currie Street, 
ADELAIDE. 
FRUIT EXPORTERS 
ON GROWERS’ ACCOUNT. 
EVERY FACILITY GIVEN. 
Sole Agents in S.A. for— 
Nicholls’ Arsenate of Lead 
in Bordeaux Paste 
Fungicide 
Os Insecticide 
‘Bave-w’ Power. Sprayers 
Jones’ Lancaster Hand 
Sprayers. 
Barger’s Disc Cultivators 
Write for Ilustrated Pamphlet. 
‘ce 
Suppliers of— 
FRUIT EXPORT CASES, WOOD 
WOOL, WRAPPING PAPER, 
CORK DUST. 
That You Can 
Have 
Your Worn and Dis- 
carded Silverware . 
Re-Plated and Made 
to Look Like New by 
sending it to 
B. WALLIS, 
78 Flinders St. 
Satisfaetion Guaranteed 
Bickford’s 
Arsenate » Lead 
An infallible insecticide for all leaf- 
eating insects, including Codlin Moth, 
Potato Bug, Curculio Beetle, Apple 
Root Borer, etc. 
Does not burn the foliage 
Gives rise to no poisonous dust 
No danger to the sprayer 
Adheres firmly to the leaves 
Mixes with water in any proportion 
One pound of Paste makes 30 gallons 
of Spray. 
No Lime Required. 
