Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-05-02
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

Now begins the gardeners annual
fight with insects.
In many cases this battle will not be
as vigorous as discussions of the matter
have led one to think.
There is many an ordinary garden
In which nothing special IS grown but
where distinction Is achieved by grow
ing the common things we'll, in which
few insect pests arise to annoy the
owner.
Such a gardener is fortunate. for his
very next-door neighbor may be afflicted
with root lice, which destroy his a5ters;
red spider, which PLAYS havoc with
sweetpeas; aphids, which, unchecked,
will harm rcsebushes: the dread Jap
ancse beetle. which aims to eat up an
entire garden.
An average state Of affairs, however,
shows us a determined assault in the
Spring by the ephids, perhaps some in
cl1nation on the part of climbing roses
to mildew. and a visitation of black
spot, or leaf-spot. on bush roses.
Ordinarily these will be the extent
of the depredations. and most of the
harm can be controlled by determined
measures. There are on the market
several combined sprays which Will do
good Job of ending both chewing and
sucking insects and in controlling
fungus growth of various sorts.
n 4
Most of us will not be bothered in
our gardening operations by such queer
pests as the ounce curculio, broad
shouldered snout beetle, whose larva
burrows in ounces.
Various scales af1ict fruit trees and
certain ornamentals, such as lilacs.
These can be kept down and minimized
by a painting with various preparations
to be secured at any dealer in garden
The main trouble in this interesting
battle lies with the gardener in most
cases.
He simply will not apply the remedy.
In the first place, he may not recog-
nize the danger. This is of course. the
first and essential step. He will not go
this far. however, unless he becomes
interested in the work.
No doubt there are thousands OF per-
sons solemnly playing bridge who do
not like to play bridge and who de-
voutedly wish that Mr.. Work and all
his minions were condemned to eternal
torture Of playing through eternity.
There are thousands of men smoking
pipes who really prefer cigarettes; there
are soldiers in uniform who wish that
they had the easy freedom of yonder
young man IN his SpOTLS CdI.
There are all these, but probably
their number is far exceeded by the
group of amateurs who fervidly chatter
about the divine work of gardening and
yet who all the time cordially detest the
never-ending interest which the garden
demands.
These people will never be able to
take the first step in insect control, not
because they do not have the money to
spend for insecticides and fungicides
and the like. but simply because they
are constitutio'ally incapable Of recog-
nizing an insect when they see one.
The first step. then, is to know your
insects.
The next is to seek, either from some
active gardener or through books, the
proper remedies.
AS we have pointed out. the dangers
which threaten an average small garden
are not many, and he vino is determined
to give his plants fair chance will soon
be able to find out for himself all he
needs to know.
Thousands, perhaps tens Of thousands,
small gardens contain hundreds of
thousands of iris which have never
known the borer, the bane of many iris
growers.
Sometimes 1t seems as If the COM