Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1918-05-24
Your War Garden

The recent almost daily rains that
have prevented gardeners from getting
In their gardens have furnished just
| the sort Of conditions under which in
sect pests and plant diseases thrive
and multiply. Gardeners are likely to
find that after an enforced absence or
several days from their gardens that
insects have been holding high carnival
and have been doing much damage.
To arrive at an understanding OF the
best methods Of destroying insects and
controlling diseases 1t Is arst nece ssary
to know something Of the habits of in
sects that destroy vegetables and the
means Of controlling them.
1t is well to remember that probably
nine-tenths Of the things which de-
stroy garden vegetables can be SUBJ
divided into three classes. The first
and commonest are eating insects. The
second are chewing or sucking insects
and the third Is fungous diseases. The
latter are bIghts and mildews. There
| is a standard remedy for each class
that Is the basis, of all preparations
that can be either bought all right to
apply, or can be made ready by mixing
with water. or can be made at home.
To make some Of the mixtures at home
in small quantities is a troublesome
task.
The three basic remedies are, for
eating insects, arsenic; for chewing and
sucking insects, nicotine (tobacco) or
oils and for fungous diseases, copper
bordeaux 1nixture).
All Of the remedies for eating insects
have as bases some form OF arsenic,
the commonest Of which are arsenate OF
lead or Paris green. These are stom-
ach poisons and in order to be effective
must be actually swallowed by the IN
sect Such sprays are, or should be, APP
piled to those parts Of the plants that
are being eaten, so that the insects Will
eat some Of the poison. Such sprays
should not be applied until the par
ticular pest against which 1t Is used
has put in it's appearance.
| It ought to be applied to all parts OF
the plants likely to be attacked by
insects. If properly applied and given
time to set on the plants these arsenic
preparations will stick to the plants
for some time. but continued and fire.
auent rains will soon wash them or
This makes 1t necessary ordinarily to
make more than one application OF
these sprays The exception to this
rule is Paris g,reensprays. which wash
off very easily. and for that reason care
should be used in applying Paris green
only when it seems probable that there
will follow several days of dry wealth
er.
Chewing and sucking insects diner
from the eating varieties in this that
altho they destroy the tissues ana
leaves Of plants they either only suck
the juice or after chewing portions OF
the plants spew out the tissue. Many
Of these insects have soft porous skins.
and breathe thru their skins To de-
stroy them effectively nicotine or oils
must be applied directly to the insect
itself These sprays are contact
spray and act on the insect like mar
cotic, penetrating the breathing organs
of the insects thru their skins and suf-
locating them. 1t Is therefore neces-
sary to be particular to apply these
sprays directly on the bodies Of the
insect, altho, Of course, more or less
of it will be distributed over the plant.
Many of these insects seem to know
by instinct the danger they are in from
these sprays and they therefore fire.