1
' ; i
ho ivill tlius know what are hurtful in all stages of their groivth, and what only at particular
times ; and he will be able to communicate liis ideas in language intelligible to
others.
2662. I f any particular insect is peculiarly injurious, he must watch its progress, note the
manner of its feeding, the time it passes in its laiwa and in its pupa state, and the period
of its becoming a perfect insect. This knowledge he will ever after be able to apply
towards subduing or mitigating tho injury ; or, if the advice of a scientific naturalist be
desired, he will thus have materials upon which a sound judgment may be given.
2663. Beneficial insects should be encouraged, as small, though powerful, auxiliaries in
subduing those which ai*e injurious. Were it possible to breed or domesticate in any
11'ay the lady-cow, our gardens would no longer be overrun with plant-lice (aphides).
All the small and early wasps arc highly useful in clearing fruit-trees of innumerable
small caterpillars ; and that thousands of insects arc annually tho food of sparrows and
other small birds, has already been mentioned.
2664. The operations ivhich, in a general way, may be directed to the removal of
insects, may be considex'cd as of three k in d s ;— preventives, palliatives, aud efficient
processes.
2665. The preventive operations are those of tbe best modes of cultm-e, as relate to
tbe choice of the seed or plant, soil, situation, treatment, and climate. The first four
are under the control of man, and an attention to them will undoubtedly lessen the risk
of having injured crops ; but, as regards climate and weather, neither foresight nor
solicitude can avail anything.
2666. The palliative operations are numerous, and some may be considered as tolerably
efficient. Most insects will be injured, and in part destroyed, by artificial bad weather,
such as excessive waterings (when the plants will beai- it), stormy application of water
with a syringe, and I’iolent wind produced by shalcing the tree or plant : by these means
many insects will be bruised ; and others, that are shaken to the ground, can there be
destroyed.
2667. Insects may he further injured by watering the plants upon which they feed
with water tinctured either with tobacco, tar, or lime ; or by scattering upon the leaves
powdered quicklime, soot, ashes, barley awns, &c. ; but these remedies cannot be recommended,
as they injime the trees as much as the insects.
2668. The smell o f tar is particularly offensive to most insects ; and the effects
[iroduced upon them by the fumes of tobacco, sulphur, urine, &c., are well known.
Plants, whose leaves are fully expanded, will not be injured by water heated to 120° or
130° ; and those without leaves will bear being operated upon with hot water at 200°.
2669. Operations fo r the efficient removal or destruction o f insects are either those of
enticement, hand-picking, or catching. The first is effected by placing in their way, as
a trap, more tempting food than that afforded by the plant fi-om which it is desired to
remove them, and may be practised on many kinds with much advantage. The late Sir
Joseph Banks had the merit of first recommeuding aud maldng known this plan, which
may be executed in vai-ious ways.
2670. For the wire-worm, and other insects that feed upon the roots of vegetables,
let slices of potatoes be stuck through with skewers, and then buried near the seeds or
plants : the grubs will collect upon these slices during night ; and by examining them in
tlie morning, vast numbers may be captiu-ed. This is particularly recommended to proprietors
of large kitchen-gardens.
2671. For slugs, the following method may likewise be practised in extensive grounds,
11'ith similar advantage : — Mr. IGrby states, that J . M. Rodwell, Esq., to preserve some
of his wheat fields irom the ravages of the common grey slug (Zimax agréstis Z .)
(fig. 295. a.), “ caused a quantity of turnips, sufficient to dress eight acres, to be got
together ; and then, the tops being divided, and the apples sliced, the pieces were laid
separately, dressing two stetches with them, and omitting two alternately tül the whole
field was gone over. On the following morning he employed two women to examine,
and fi-ee from the slugs (which they did in a measure), the tops and slices ; which, when
cleared, were laid upon those stetches that had been omitted the day before. I t was
observed invariably, that in the stetches dressed with the turnips, no slugs were to be
found upon the wheat, or crawling upon the land, though they abounded upon the turnips ;
while, on the undressed stetches, they were to be seen in great numbers both on the wheat
and on the land. The quantity of slugs thus coUected off eight acres was near a bushel.”
( I n t to E n t , vol. i. p. 180. note.) The same method wül prove equally efficacious in
small gardens, by substituting cabbage leaves for turnips, laying them near the infested
plants, and removing the slugs very early evei-y morning.
2672. Hand-picking, iu many cases, is the most effectual method to check the progress
of caterpülars in small gardens or plantations ; great quantities may thus be
gathered of those kinds which feed upon esculent vegetables, and the dwarf fruit-trees,
as currants, goosebemes, &c.
Mi
2673. Catching the perfect insect is undoubtedly the most certain plan for preventing
a renewal of the same injury the following year, for the death of one female will cut oif
a generation of many hundred larvæ : this plan has been recommended by P. Musgrave,
before mentioned (2659.) ; but from the difficulty that attends its general adoption, the
time that is requisite to become expert in the use of the insect net, and the uncertainty
of capturing that particular moth which does the injury (all moths flying only at night),
it does not appear likely to be of much practical utility. It is obvious, that if tho
caterpillars arc numerous, twenty may be picked in the same time that two moths
might be caught, and thus the advantage of one operation over the otlicr is as two to
twenty.
2674. Dressing with lime is, perhaps, the most generally beneficial operation that has
yet been proposed, provided it be done at the proper season ; and as tliis depends entirely
upon the economy of the insect whose depredations it is intended to counteract, no
general rules can be laid down, excepting the two foUowing : viz. first, that it shoiüd be
done when the leaves are wet ; and, secondly, that it should be repeated frequently, and
at judicious inteiwals.
2G75. More particular instructions for destroying insects will be found in another part
of this work, where we shall notice those species peculiar to certain plants or trees.
2676. The young gardener, after having made himself well acquainted with the
elements of entomology, wiU derive much additional infoi-mation from the perusal of
Kirby and Spence’s Introduction to Entomology, and the study of Westwood and Humphreys’
Butterjiies and Moths ; Westwood’s Entomologist’s Text Book, &c.
S u b s e c t . 2. Operations relative to Diseases and other Casualties.
2677. The subject o f the accidents and diseases to which plants are liable has been
treated of in the “ Study of the Vegetable Kingdom” (Part. II. Book. I. Chap. V I.) ;
and it there appeared, that very little could he done by art in curing diseases ; but that
much might be done to prevent them by regimen and culture, aud something to the
healing of wounds by amputation and exclusion of air.
2678. The operations for the cure o f accidents are chiefly cutting off injured parts, supporting,
and coating over. Amputation must be performed with suitable instruments,
and so as to leave a smooth section calculated to throw off' the ivater. In cutting out
large wounds which ai-e deep, the chisel will require to be used ; and in cutting off
diseased or injured parts from small and delicate plants, a very sharp knife. Supporting
tlie stem or trunk of bruised and wind-shaken trees, or such as are otherwise injured or
rendered less secure in their general structure, is an obvious operation, and requires
to be done promptly and effectually. It is also requisite in the case of cutting out such
deep wounds as may endanger the stems or branches of trees or plants exposed to the
free air.
2679. Coating over wounds to exclude air is an usefiü practice ; and though it may bo
dispensed ivith iu the case of small wounds on healthy plants, it ought never to be neglected
in the case of large wounds on any description of plants, or small ones made on
such as are sicldy. The usual application is now clay and loam, made so thin as to be
laid on with a brash, and two or three coats may be given. On large wounds, paint, or
putty and paint, may be used ; and in the case of deep hoUow wouiids, the pai-t may bo
iiUed up with putty, or putty and small stones, for the sake of saving the former, and
then made smooth and well painted. A composition of tar and tallow is also recommended
as being very efficacious.
2680. The operations for curing diseases ai’c few, besides those for the cure of accidents.
AVashes are applied by the sponge, brush, syringe, or watering-pot, for filth, mildew, and
blight ; and for the tivo latter diseases, sulphur, or powdered lime, is sometimes added by
dredges or the hand while the plant is wet. Slitting the bark is the operation for hidebound
trees ; and peeling off'the outer, rough, and already separating bark, by scraping-
irons and bark-scalers, is resorted to in the case of old trees, as cutting out is in the case
of canker. In scaling off care must be taken not to injure the inner bark ; and in
cutting out for canker, sharp instruments must be used, aud a coating applied. (See
1733. to 1760.)
S e c t . IX. Operations o f Gathering, Preserving, and Keeping.
2681. Gathering, preserving, and keeping vegetable productions, foi-m an important
branch o fth e horacultural division of gardening. Some productions, after being reared
and perfected, are to be gathered for immediate consumption ; but a part requires to be
preserved in a state fit for culinary pui-poses ; or for sowing or dispersing ; or sending to
a distant market, family, or friend.
2682. Gathering vegetables or their different parts is, in part, performed with a knife, as
iu cutting off some fruits, as the cucumber, or heads of leaves, as the cabbage ; and in