Evening star., 1935-08-17

DR.. ]. S. Houser OF the Ohio Ex-
pertinent Station has suggested two
methods of control, the first of which
consists of the careful inspection OF
evergreens in Winter or early Spring
for bags and their removal. and the
second the spraying of infested trees
during the eating period with arsenate
of lead at the rate Of l pound of the
paste form to 25 gallons of water.
This is heavy application, but the
bag worm is said to be more resis-
tant than the usual insect to poison.
Home owners with small arbor
vitae or other evergreens In the foun-
dation paintings should carefully ex-
anime their plants for these bags.
They are not easy to find, for the
surface is covered with parts Of leaves
which rather effectively conceal them
from observation.
Microscopic Hosts in Soil.
The official press release of the De-
partment Of Agriculture for August II
contained the following interesting
item:
Life teens in the soil with incon-
ceivable numbers and activity. DR..
Charles Thorn of the United States
Department of Agriculture, in a recent
talk to world soil scientists at Ok
ford, England. said counts Of soil bac-
terra have shown as many as 46 bill
lions of active organisms in gram Of
decomposing plant material. There
are % grams in an ounce, Is ounces
in a pound A. gardener picks up a
double handful Of mellow compost and
there may sift through his fingers.
among other things, living micro
scopic host represented by a figure
that reaches half way across the usual
newspaper column-21, ,000, ,000, 900, =
OO0"
After reading, no one can longer
think Of the soil as an inert mass.
Fortunately, many Of these organisms
are distinctly beneficial to plant life.
Toxic Plants.
r 1NDER the caption, Don't Always
Blame Poison Ivy" a writer in
the April number Of the Missouri Bo-
tanical Garden Bulletin points out
the fact that several plants may cause
skin irritations. Among species men,
toned are the spurges, poinsettias,
Snow-o -on-the-mountain, sneezeweeds
(Helenium Spp), Bermuda grass, rag
weeds. cockleburrs. lady slipper (Cypri
pedium spp), cultivated primroses and
narcissus- Even the garden vege-
tables are not entirely harmless, for
radishes and turnips have on occa-
sion caused trouble. Fortunately, not
every one is susceptible to attack, but,
II one suffers from irritation after
working in the garden, it would be
well to study the situation and deter
mine the casual plant or plants and
avoid their culture in the future.
ANIMALS.
THE third edition of A. c. Hotties
The Book of Animals" recently
made its appearance and presents in
small. inexpensive handbook form in
formation on the culture of all the
species commonly and also rarely seen
in local gardens. The greatest merit
Of the book Is its authcritativeness
and simple style of presentation.
Garden Notes.
WISTARIAS that fail to bloom
" sorely puzzle home owners. There
are many plants 10 years or more of
age that have never set flower clus-
ter. The trouble seems TO be genetic-
hok Sc ~, ;-A
of the plants-and about the best way
is to graft in early Spring a shoot
from an old Towering plant onto the
on-fowertng plant.
The gladiolius, among other good
qualities, thrives well on a minimum
Of water. The smooth, glossy foliage
Is resistant to water loss, probably a
heritage from the environment Of the
original home of many of the parental
forms in South Africa.
What are the new ever-blooming
climbing roses doing this Summer?
Certainly not living up to the ad-
vertising that preceded their distribu-
ton. Probably there was no dishon-
esty intended, with the fault lying in
the limited tests given before dissem-
ination. The Marshall strawberry, for
example, fruits all Summer in parts
of California, but in the Eastern
United States 1t Is strictly Spring
cropper. Rose breeders will have to
be a little more careful in the future
II they hope to keep the confidence
Of home gardeners.
Seedlings do not as a rule closely
follow their parents in color Of fiow-