and in each case of the natural size and magnified seven diameters.
[Illustration: Daddy Longlegs] DADDY LONG LEGS
_Tipula_ (in various stages)
Daddy Longlegs, or Crane Fly, in its perfect form of a fly (_Tipula
oleracea_) does no harm, but the grubs, known by the familiar name of
‘leather-jackets’ owing to the toughness of their skins, are terribly
destructive. During late summer and autumn the female fly deposits its
eggs in large numbers in turf, in garden soil and amongst garden
refuse. The eggs are hatched in a fortnight or so and the dark grubs
lie in the ground through the winter, inflicting their maximum, amount
of injury to young crops in spring and early summer. Where song birds
are scarce the Tipula is capable of utterly destroying grass and of
seriously ravaging the Kitchen Garden; but cultivation, aided by the
robins, thrushes, nightingales, and other birds, will keep the insect
within bounds, even after a hot summer favourable to its increase.
Where this pest is known to exist, an application of Vaporite at the
time of preparing ground for sowing or planting will destroy many of
the grubs. The regular use of the hoe is also to be recommended, for by
the disturbance of the soil the enemy is exposed to the sharp eye of
the robin and other feathered gardeners.
Root-knot Eelworm.—One of the worst pests that a Cucumber-grower has to
deal with manifests itself by the presence of minute warts or
nodosities, chiefly on the rootlets. These warts, which are caused by
the action of innumerable small thread-like worms named _Heterodera
radicicola_, range from the size of a pin’s head to that of a pea, and
when they are present in large numbers the total failure of the
Cucumber crop is the invariable result. The eelworms are probably
introduced to Cucumber-houses in infected water. Each worm is about
one-seventyfifth of an inch in length and is at first coiled up inside
a transparent egg. At maturity the eggs crack open, and the worms on
emerging bore into the most tender rootlets, and there lay their eggs.
These eggs speedily hatch inside the plant and new eelworms are
produced, which traverse the rootlets in every direction.
[Illustration: Cucumber Eel-worms and eggs] CUCUMBER EEL-WORMS AND EGGS
_Anguillulæ_
These _Heterodera_ are by no means peculiar to the Cucumber; they
attack the roots of Tomatoes and Melons, and the roots, stems, and
foliage of many other plants. Our illustration shows some very small
Cucumber rootlets, natural size, with the eelworms in the eggs, and
also emerging from and free of the empty eggshell (enlarged eighty
diameters).
Immediately symptoms of the pest are apparent from the wilting of the
foliage and stems, all infected plants should be removed and burned.
The soil must also be cleared out and the interior of the house
thoroughly washed with a solution of carbolic acid in water:—one part
of the former to eight parts of the latter. To purify the infected
soil, use a solution of carbolic acid (one part) and water (twenty
parts) and saturate three times, at intervals of a fortnight. Another
remedy is to mix weathered gas-lime freely with the soil. In either
case the soil will be unfit for use for at least six weeks after
treatment. When the house has been well cleansed, fresh compost should
be used, to which the addition of lime and soot, mixed with the soil,
will be beneficial.
[Illustration: Mealy Bug] MEALY BUG
_Dactylopius odonidum_
Mealy Bug.—This plague is by no means confined to plants under glass.
In the case of a lot of stove plants badly affected, the desperate
course of committing the whole to the fire, and then repairing and
painting the house, is often the cheapest in the end. We have known a
Pine-grower compelled to destroy a houseful of plants that have been
infested by the introduction of a plant from a buggy collection. Mealy
Bug may be known by its mealy, floury, or cottony appearance. It has a
great fancy for Grape vines. One of the best remedies is Gishurst
Compound, prepared at the rate of eight ounces to a gallon of water,
with clay added to give it the consistence of paint. Miscellaneous
stove plants may be cleansed by washing with a brush and soft soap. Our
illustration shows a group of Mealy Bugs natural size, with one insect
magnified.
[Illustration: Red Spider] RED SPIDER
_Tetranychus telarius_
Red Spider is present in almost every vinery, however well managed. A
moist atmosphere is a great, though not a certain preventive; but it is
not possible, without injury to the vines, to keep the air of the house
always so humid that the Spider is unable to obtain a lodgment.
Syringing promotes a moist atmosphere, and is unfavourable to the Red
Spider, which thrives best in heat and dryness. But the most decided
repellent of Spider is the use of sulphur on the hot-water pipes. This
may be managed by sprinkling dry sulphur on the pipes, or by making a
thick solution of sulphur, clay, and water, with which the pipes should
be painted. Be careful not to raise the heat at the same time, for if
the pipes are hotter than the hand can bear fumes destructive to
vegetation will be given off. Melons and Cucumbers may generally be
kept clear of Spider by means of the syringe only; but when Melons are
ripening they must be kept rather dry, and it is very difficult indeed
to finish a crop without having the plants attacked by Red Spider.
Gishurst Compound answers admirably to remove Spider from house plants.
The mixture should consist of one and a half or two ounces to one
gallon of water, and should be applied with a sponge. The scientific
name of the Red Spider is _Tetranychus telarius_. Our illustration
shows one of these destructive red mites natural size, and two
individuals greatly magnified.
Scale.—A very common species, found on many kinds of stove and other
plants, is the _Lecanium hibernaculorum_, here illustrated on a twig,
natural size, and magnified. It is brown, tumid, and commonly somewhat
more than hemispherical in shape. Besides this species there is the _L.
filicum_ of Ferns, the _L. hemisphoericum_ of Dracænas, the _L.
rotundum_ of the Peach, and the common _L. hesperidum_, or Orange-tree
Bug, which is one of the flat species, and it spreads to a great
variety of plants. The Scale insect sucks the sap from plants, and in
some instances the ground beneath the foliage is wet and soddened by
the falling sap. Spirit of turpentine applied with a soft brush is
considered to be a good remedy for Scale. It is, however, advisable (as
in other remedies) to test this on a small number of plants at first. A
near relative, a large brown _Coccus_, infests pomaceous trees, and is
especially partial to the Pyracantha, which it often kills outright.
The Scale of the Vine is _Pulvinaria_ or _Coccus vitis_. Careful
washing with soap and water, and the destruction of each separate Scale
as soon as seen, can be recommended for the extirpation of this pest.
[Illustration: Common Scale] COMMON SCALE
_Lecanium hibernaculorum_
(natural size and enlarged)
[Illustration: Thrips] THRIPS
_Thrips minutissima_
Thrips may pursue their mischief to a great extent before they are
discovered by the novice, for their minute size and their habit render
them inconspicuous. But the black deposit they make reveals their
existence to the experienced eye, and the debilitated condition of the
plants they have attacked would soon compel attention were there no
such deposit to tell the tale. The Indian Azaleas are apt to be beset
by Thrips, as the Grape-vine is by Scale, the Pineapple by Mealy Bug,
and the Rose by Green Aphis. Atmospheric humidity is a powerful
preventive, as is also the promotion of vigorous growth by a plentiful
supply of water to the roots of the plants; in fact, starvation and a
dry, hot air will soon bring an attack of Thrips. Generally speaking,
the best remedy is fumigation with tobacco. Or tobacco water and a
solution of soft soap, together or separately, if carefully applied,
speedily make an end of this troublesome pest. A special preparation
may be made as follows: Take six pounds of soft soap, and dissolve in
twelve gallons of water, add half a gallon of strong tobacco water, and
dip the plants in the mixture. Before they become dry, dip again in
pure rainwater to remove the mixture. If too large to dip, apply the
mixture with the syringe, and in the course of a quarter of an hour or
so syringe with pure rainwater. Our illustration shows the Thrips in
the larval and winged state, natural size and greatly magnified.
Ants.—These extremely interesting insects are frequently troublesome in
gardens, and in the spring of the year the small red species mars the
appearance of lawns by throwing up numerous heaps of fine soil. It is
easy to destroy them by dropping a mixture of Paris Green and sugar
near their runs. But as Paris Green is a poison, animal life must be
considered. We recommend a simple remedy which entails no danger, but
it must be followed up persistently. Purchase a few common sponges, as
large as a man’s fist. Dissolve one pound of Demerara sugar in two
quarts of warm water. Immerse the sponges, wring out nearly all the
liquid, and place them near the ant runs. Twice daily throw the sponges
into hot water, and repeat the process until the ants are cleared.
Nests located under walls can be destroyed by boiling water.
Caterpillars cannot often be treated in a wholesale way without injury
to the plant. Hence it is usual to rely on hand-picking, and, tedious
as this may be, a little perseverance will accomplish wonders. We have
seen a fruit garden, literally hideous with clusters of Caterpillars in
spring, completely cleared by a few days’ steady work, costing but a
trifle, and only needing to be conducted so that in removing the vermin
there should be no harm done to the crops. In the same way the
Gooseberry grub should be disposed of. Precautions cannot be taken
against Caterpillars, but the careful cultivator will in good time look
for patches of eggs and clusters of young Caterpillars on the under
sides of leaves, and will carefully nip off the leaves on which the
colonies are feeding, and make an end of them. This enemy cannot be
raked in rank and file, but must be taken in detail, as in guerilla
warfare.
Earwigs are the dread of the florist, for they spoil his best Dahlias
and Hollyhocks, and are too partial to Chrysanthemums. They are readily
trapped, as they like to go up to a high, dry, dark retreat; hence a
bit of dry moss in a small flower-pot, inverted on a stake, will entice
them into your hands; and if you are determined to keep down Earwigs,
this way is sure, though, perhaps, not easy, because it must be
followed up morning and evening from the beginning of June onwards. The
hollow stems of the Bean make good traps, as indeed do hollow stems of
any kind, for Earwigs love to creep into close, dark shelters after
their nocturnal meal; and the cultivator who has resolved that he will
not be eaten up by them needs only to persevere, and he may depend on
trapping every Earwig within the boundaries. Unfortunately, they use
their wings freely, and so travel from the sluggard’s garden to find
‘fresh woods and pastures new.’
[Illustration: Earwig] EARWIG
(with wings spread, magnified)
Slugs are serious plagues to the gardener, and they sometimes appear in
large numbers so suddenly as to suggest the idea that the little Slugs
have come down in showers. Young crops are especially liable to injury
from these vermin, and it is not easy, even in well-kept gardens, to
keep them down. Constant attention is necessary, particularly in wet
seasons. But here, as in the case of many other kinds of vermin, means
may be adopted that will accomplish the double purpose of destroying
the plague and benefiting the land; for lime, salt, soot, and nitrate
of soda are certain Slug-killers, and will usually pay for their
employment by their enrichment of the ground. The nice point always is
to employ them advantageously. It should further be borne in mind that
a Slug slightly touched by lime or salt has the power of throwing it
off by means of the slimy exudation with which the creature is endowed.
But if again quickly assailed in a similar manner death is certain to
follow. Land made ready for sowing may be pretty well cleared of Slugs
by broadcasting it with salt. Unfortunately, these destroyers are only
effective in fine weather. In rainy seasons, or when a crop is rising,
it is necessary to resort to trapping, and many kinds of vegetable
refuse make tempting baits for Slugs. Pieces of Orange peel, suitably
placed, are soon covered with the vermin, especially in the winter
during intervals of frost. Cabbage leaves, sliced Turnips and Potatoes,
or almost any waste vegetable may be used. The traps should be
scattered about at dusk, and be gathered up in the morning, and buried
in pits, or destroyed by fire.
Gas-lime is highly destructive to Slugs, but when first applied it is
poisonous to plant life. An excellent method of using it is to dress
the surface in autumn at the rate of from four to six cwt. per acre,
and to dig the ground deeply four weeks later.
Rows of Peas are easily protected by a covering of barley sweepings, or
by charcoal broken very small and flavoured with paraffin. Slaked lime,
carefully used, is also employed with satisfactory results.
Snails.—In their methods of attacking garden vegetation, and in the
extent of damage they cause, Snails may be placed in the same category
as Slugs. During the day the Snail usually remains in hiding, emerging
from rockeries and creeper-covered walls in the evening or after a
shower of rain. They may be trapped by one of the methods suggested for
Slugs, and preference should be given to the use of Cabbage leaves. It
will, however, be safer to protect young plants by giving heavy
dressings of lime or soot. Hand picking is the surest means of dealing
with them, and in the winter months large numbers may be collected from
among box edgings, the base of ivy-covered walls and similar shelters.
Birds, especially thrushes, show a marked partiality for Snails.
Wasps are a terrible scourge in some gardens. They spoil a large
quantity of fruit, and jeopardise the remainder by forcing the harvest
before the crops are ready for gathering. When the localities of the
Wasps’ nests are known, it is a simple task to dispose of them.
Turpentine and gunpowder were formerly in vogue, especially among the
younger members of the community, to whom a spice of danger is always
an attractive element in the fun. But these are clumsy methods of
destruction and will not compare with the far easier remedy of
poisoning the colonies by means of cyanide of potassium. Dissolve one
ounce of the drug in a quarter of a pint of water. This will be
sufficient to destroy several nests, but it is a deadly poison, and
must be kept in a place of safety. Soak a piece of rag in the fluid,
and lay it over the entrance to the nest. There is no occasion to run
away; not a Wasp will venture out, and those which return from foraging
will not lose their tempers and find yours, but at each successive
attempt to enter their home they will become feebler, until they fall
near or beneath the drugged rag. After an hour or two the nest may be
dug out, when every insect, including queen and pupæ, will be found
dead.
If the colonies lie beyond your frontier, or their positions cannot be
ascertained, the enemy must be disposed of by stratagem and in detail.
One of the best modes of trapping them is to put some injured fruit
beneath one of the trees, and over it a hand-light raised about three
inches above the ground by stones or pieces of wood placed at the four
corners. This light must have a rather large hole at the top. Upon it
should rest another light from which egress is prevented, except
through the apex of the lower light. After the Wasps have visited the
fruit, they will rise into the first light, and gradually find their
way through the opening into the one above, from which not one insect
in a hundred will escape. In a trap of this kind we have seen an
enormous number of Wasps and Hornets which had been lured to death
within a few hours.
Another simple and effective method of destroying these pests is to
pour a small quantity of ale mixed with sugar into glass jars and
suspend them from branches of Pear or Plum trees. The vessels must be
emptied every few days and the liquid renewed.
[Illustration: Wireworm] WIREWORM
(natural size and magnified)
Wireworm is the most persistent and destructive of all the ground
vermin. There are fully a dozen species of beetles the larvæ of which
are known as ‘Wireworms,’ and of these the ‘Spring-Jacks,’
‘Click-Beetles,’ and ‘Blacksmiths’—_Elater obscurus, E. lineatus_, and
_E. ruficaudis_—are the most prevalent. The female beetle deposits her
eggs in the earth in the height of the summer, and in due time the
worms emerge and commence their depredations. These worms have a tenure
of three to five years in their subterranean homes, during which time
they feed voraciously, and are not very particular as to what they eat.
Their muscular power renders them expert in burrowing, and they are
well protected by their horny jackets. When their term of feeding is
completed, they descend to a considerable depth and change into the
chrysalis state, from which they come forth as jumping beetles in the
course of July and August, a certain proportion remaining in the ground
to complete their final change in spring. Their power of destruction is
then at an end. They resort to flowers, lead a merry life for a short
time, and when they pass away leave plenty of eggs to continue the race
of Wireworms.
For practical purposes the Wireworm may be regarded as inhabiting every
kind of soil and consuming every kind of crop. The crops it is most
partial to are Grass, Potatoes, Turnips, and the juicy stems of all
kinds of cereals. The larvæ may be trapped by burying in the ground
pieces of Potato, or better still thick slices of Beet root; the spots
to be marked, and the traps examined every few days, when the Wireworms
can be destroyed. Superphosphate sown along the drills with seed has
saved spring-sown crops from destruction; and Vaporite, a proprietary
article, has also been used with marked success. The latter gives off a
gas smelling of naphthalene which kills the Wireworms. Soot is a
well-known remedy, and by its use the crops are also benefited.
Woodlice are very destructive but easily caught, and they may be
completely eradicated by perseverance. When a frame or pit is infested,
they can be destroyed wholesale by pouring boiling water down next the
brickwork or the woodwork in the middle of the day. If this procedure
does not make a clearance, recourse must be had to trapping. In common
with Earwigs, they love dryness, darkness, and a snug retreat; but
while a mere home suffices for Earwigs, a home with food is demanded by
Woodlice. Take a thumb pot, quite dry and clean. In it place a
fresh-cut slice of Potato or Apple, fill up with dry moss, and turn the
whole thing over on a bed in a frame or pit. Thus you have devised a
Woodlouse trap, and next morning you may knock the vermin out of it
into a vessel full of hot water, or adopt any other mode of killing
that may be convenient. Fifty traps may be prepared in a hundred
minutes; and those who are determined to get rid of Woodlice may soon
make an end of them.
Rats and Mice.—Traps are efficient while they are new, and almost any
reasonably good contrivance will answer for a time, but will fail at
last, or at least for a season. To keep down Rats and Mice effectually
there must be invented a succession of new modes of action, for these
creatures—Rats especially—are so clever that they soon see through our
devices, which then fail of effect. Generally speaking, two rules may
be prescribed. In the first place it is imprudent to fill up their
holes or stop their runs; let them have their way. If you stop them,
they will make new thoroughfares, to the further injury of the
foundation; and, besides, when you are acquainted with their runs, you
know where to put traps and poison for the vermin. As to the best
poison, there is nothing so effectual as arsenic; but it should be
employed with great care, and before it is brought on the premises the
question of safe storage must be considered. A fat bloater split down
and well rubbed with common white arsenic will kill a score of Rats,
provided only that they will eat it. Cut it into four parts, and place
these in or near their runs, and cover with tiles or boards to prevent
dogs and cats obtaining them. If this fails, try bread and butter
dressed with oil of rhodium and phosphorus. The oil of rhodium seems to
possess an irresistible attraction for these vermin. When dry food is
preferred, there is nothing so good as oatmeal; and it is a golden rule
to feed the Rats for a few days with pure oatmeal, and then to mix
about a fourth part of arsenic with it. Several proprietary articles
are offered for the destruction of Rats. Before resorting to these
means of annihilating vermin it is necessary to take steps to prevent
the bodies from proving a nuisance after death. A good fox-terrier will
keep a large garden free from Rats and Mice.
THE FUNGUS PESTS OF CERTAIN GARDEN PLANTS
Many of our garden plants are liable to the attacks of fungi. Cures are
in most instances unknown, but in some cases preventives—which are
better—have been adopted with partial or entire success. Plants raised
from robust stocks, grown in suitable soil and under favourable
conditions, are known to be less liable to disease than seedlings from
feeble parents, or those which have been rendered weakly by
deficiencies in the soil or faulty cultivation. Whether weakness is
hereditary, or is attributable to a bad system, the fact remains that
disease generally begins with unhealthy specimens, and these form
centres of contamination from which the mischief spreads. It is,
therefore, important that seed from healthy stocks should be sown, and
that a vigorous constitution should be developed by good cultivation.
Anbury, Club, or Finger-and-toe.—The disease known by these various
names is common in the roots of cultivated cruciferous plants such as
Cabbages, Kohl Rabi, Radishes, Swedes, Turnips, &c., and also in many
cruciferous weeds, including Charlock and Shepherd’s Purse. The cause
of this disease is an extremely minute fungus, which may lie dormant in
the soil for several years for want of a comfortable home, and when a
cruciferous plant becomes available the fungus fastens on the fine
roots, multiplies rapidly in the tissues, and produces malformation and
decay. After the disease has made some progress insect agency
frequently augments the mischief, so that on cutting open a large
decaying root it is not unusual to find the interior packed with
millipedes, weevils, wireworms, and other ground vermin.
Unlike the Potato disease, which spreads from plant to plant through
the atmosphere, the fungus of Finger-and-toe infects the ground, and
from the first spot attacked the disease spreads rapidly in all
directions and in various ways. It may be carried by the soil adhering
to implements or the boots of labourers. And each patch becomes a new
centre of infection which is spread by digging or raking. Every scrap
of infected soil, or of diseased fibre which may be added to the
manure-heap, distributes the virus over a wider area, so that
Finger-and-toe may suddenly appear in parts of the garden which have
hitherto been free from this troublesome pest. A very simple experiment
will prove the certainty and ease with which the spores may be
introduced to fresh land. Macerate the tissue of old Finger-and-toe in
water; use this on young isolated plants of Cabbage or Turnip and in a
short time the plants will be infected.