Part 46 (2/2)

283. Caterpillars and Aphides.

A garden syringe or engine, with a cap on the pipe full of very minute holes, will wash away these disagreeable visitors very quickly. You must bring the pipe close to the plant, and pump hard, so as to have considerable force on, and the plant, however badly infested, will soon be cleared, without receiving any injury. Afterwards rake the earth under the trees, and kill the insects that have been dislodged, or many will recover and climb up the stems of the plants. Aphides may also be cleared by means of tobacco smoke, but after this has been applied the plant should be well syringed.

284. b.u.t.terflies and Moths,

however pretty, are the worst enemies one can have in a garden; a single insect of this kind may deposit eggs enough to overrun a tree with caterpillars, therefore they should be destroyed at any cost of trouble.

285. Birds.

To prevent destruction of fruit buds by birds.--Just before the buds are ready to burst, and again when they have begun to expand, give them a plentiful dusting with chimney soot. The soot is unpalatable to the birds, and they will attack no bush that is thus sprinkled. It in no way injures the nascent blossom or leaf, and is washed off in due course of time by the rain.

286. Wasps.

Wasps destroy a good deal of fruit, but every pair of wasps killed in spring saves the trouble and annoyance of a swarm in autumn.

287. Cure for Sting of Wasp or Bee.

A little ammonia applied to the puncture will speedily relieve the pain, and so will the juice of an onion obtained by cutting an onion in half and rubbing the cut part over the part affected. It is necessary, however, to be very careful in any attempt upon a wasp, for its sting, like that of the bee, causes much pain and frequently induces considerable swelling. In case of being stung, get the blue-bag from the laundry, and rub it well into the wound as soon as possible. Later in the season, it is customary to hang vessels of beer, or water and sugar, in the fruit-trees, to entice them to drown themselves. A wasp in a window may be killed almost instantaneously by the application of a little sweet oil on the tip of a feather.

288. To protect Dahlias from Earwigs.

Dip a piece of wool or cotton in oil, and slightly tie it round the stalk, about a foot from the earth. The stakes which you will put into the ground to support your plants must also be surrounded by the oiled cotton or wool, or the insects will climb up them to the blossoms and tender tops of the stems. Insects may be prevented from climbing up stakes, trees, &c., by encircling them with a broad ring of tar, which may be renewed as often as may be necessary. Small pots inverted and placed on the top of stakes form a useful trap for slugs, snails, earwigs, &c., which crawl into them for shelter in the early morning, and may thus be caught and destroyed. When it is sought to take earwigs by this means, the bottom of each pot should be filled with a wisp of hay or dried gra.s.s, or a little cotton wool.

289. To free Plants from Leaf-Lice.

The following is recommended as a cheap and easy mode of getting rid of this pest:--Mix one ounce of flowers of sulphur with one bushel of sawdust; scatter this over the plants infected with these insects: they will soon be freed, though a second application may possibly be necessary.

290. A Moral.

I had a little spot of ground, Where blade nor blossom grew, Though the bright suns.h.i.+ne all around Life-giving radiance threw.

I mourned to see a spot so bare Of leaves of healthful green, And thought of bowers, and blossoms fair, I frequently had seen.

Some seeds of various kinds lay by-- I knew not what they were-- But, rudely turning o'er the soil, I strewed them thickly there; And day by day I watched them spring From out the fertile earth, And hoped for many a lovely thing Of beauty and of worth.

But as I marked their leaves unfold As weeds before my view, And saw how stubbornly and bold The thorns and nettles grew-- I sighed to think that I had done, Unwittingly, a thing That, where a beauteous bower should thrive, But worthless weeds did spring.

And thus I mused; the things we do, With little heed or ken, May prove of worthless growth, and strew With thorns the paths of men; For little deeds, like little seeds, May flowers prove, or noxious weeds!

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