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Home Vegetable GardeningINSECTS AND DISEASES AND METHODS OF FIGHTING THEMI use the term "methods of fighting" rather than the more usual one, "remedies," because by both experience and study I am more and more convinced that so long as the commercial fields of agriculture remain in the present absolutely unorganized condition, and so long as the gardener--home or otherwise--who cares to be neglectful and thus become a breeder of all sorts of plant pests, is allowed so to do--just so long we can achieve no remedy worth the name. When speaking of a remedy in this connection we very frequently are putting the cart before the horse, and refer to some means of prevention. Prevention is not only the best, but often the only cure. This the gardener should always remember. This subject of plant enemies has not yet received the attention from scientific investigators which other branches of horticulture have, and it is altogether somewhat complicated. Before taking up the various insects and diseases the following analysis and list will enable the reader to get a general comprehension of the whole matter. Plant enemies are of two kinds--(1) insects, and (2) diseases. The former are of two kinds, (a) insects which chew or eat the leaves or fruit; (b) insects which suck the juices therefrom. The diseases also are of two kinds--(a) those which result from the attack of some fungus, or germ; (b) those which attack the whole organism of the plant and are termed "constitutional." Concerning these latter practically nothing is known. It will be seen at once, of course, that the remedy to be used must depend upon the nature of the enemy to be fought. We can therefore reduce the matter to a simple classification, as follows: PLANT ENEMIES Insects Class Eating a Sucking b Diseases Parasitical c Constitutional d REMEDIES Mechanical Number Covered boxes........... 1 Collars................. 2 Cards................... 3 Destructive Hand-picking............ 4 Kerosene emulsion....... 5 Whale-oil soap.......... 6 Miscible oils........... 7 Tobacco dust............ 8 Carbolic acid emulsion.. 9 Corrosive sublimate.... 10 Bordeaux mixture....... 11 Poisonous Paris green............ 12 Arsenate of lead....... 13 Hellebore.............. 14 It will be of some assistance, particularly as regards quick reference, to give the following table, which shows at a glance the method of fighting any enemy, the presence of which is known or anticipated. While this may seem quite a formidable list, in practice many of these pests will not appear, and under ordinary circumstances the following six remedies out of those mentioned will suffice to keep them all in check, _if used in time:_ Covered boxes, hand-picking, kerosene emulsion, tobacco dust, Bordeaux mixture, arsenate of lead. ENEMY | ATTACKING | CLASS | REMEDY --------------------|----------------------------|--------|------- Aphis (Plant-lice) | Cabbage and other plants, | b | 5,8,6 | especially under glass | | Asparagus-beetle | Asparagus | a | 13, 12 Asparagus rust | Asparagus | c | 11 Black-rot | Cabbage and the cabbage | d | 10 | group | | Borers | Squash | b | 4 Caterpillars | Cabbage group | a |12, 14, 4 Caterpillars | Tomato | a | 4 Club-root | Cabbage group | c | see text Cucumber-beetle | Cucumber and vines | a | 1, 11, 8 (Striped beetle) | | | Cucumber-wilt | Cucumber and vines | c | 11 Cucumber-blight | Cucumber, muskmelon, | c | 11 | cabbage | | Cut-worm | Cabbage, tomato, onion | a |2,4,12,13 Flea-beetle | Potato, turnip, radish | a | 11, 5 Potato-beetle | Potato and egg-plant | a |12, 13, 4 Next Page |
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