Evening star., 1936-05-02
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

The ant is another thing the gardener
fumes and fuses over, when he might
as well leave it alone.
Casing 'em, pouring water on 'em.
stepping on 'em-
These are Just some Of the ways the
busy gardener tries to oust them from
his domain, with what results will be
known henceforth.
Most Of it is labor lost, as far as really
getting rid Of the creatures.
We never see an ant, any more, with
out thinking of the wise words of the
idiot boy, who, looking down at mass
of them as large as dinner plate. said:
There's lot of them things in the
world, amt they mister?"
Ants have most distressing habit OF
turning up in newly dug ground, espe-
cially If one has Just sown grass
seed in 1t.
Even in good lawns they appear over
night, throwing up neat mounds of the
reddest clay, reminding the gardener
that where man may plant ants may
turn up in due season.
* X 4
The big season of the busy ants is
right now.
They, too, feel the urge Of Spring, and
respond feverishly with subterranean
dwellings and tunnels on a large scale,
ending mostly in somebody's flower bed.
It is very irritating to find these
mounds of purest clay, but even more so
to do anything about them.
Gases used to kill ants are always
dangerous. Some of them are inf1am-
mable, and some deadly to inhale. Many
,;,.Ir 70 thor, oofc
Poisonous bats have their dangers.
The careful gardener-and that ought
to mean every gardener-is extremely
loath to use at any time materials which
will endanger the health of small ami
mails Of any kind.
Bait for cutworrns, for instance, is
highly dangerous, and ought never to
be used unless placed beneath stone,
or small box upturned. Even then the
most extreme caution ought to be used
in handling it. One Of the dangers Is
forgetting where it has been placed.
Perhaps the best way, some will think, is
not to use such materials at all.
Poisonous sprays, as commonly used,
may be kept tightly closed, and out of
harms way. In the use of these the
dilution is so high, in most cases, that
little danger attends them. Commonly,
they are washed off plants before any
possible harm could come from them.
1t is we'll to do all sorts of spraying on
a calm day, for fumes of insecticides and
fungicides are unpleasant, and some of
them will cause irritation Of the lungs
and eyes if blown in.
X X X
Perhaps the best way to end the ant
nuisance is to lure the insects to con-
crete walk or the like, and when enough
of them have gathered carefully pour
boiling water on them.
The sensitive person win find this task
somewhat repugnant but he will remind
himself that there must be line, after
ALL where the sentiments must end.
Every person will have different crea-
ture which spells the dividing line
to him.
A swarm of ants on the walk scarcely
runs the risk of stirring emotion; the
hot water treatment will do a great
deal toward ending their depredations,
at the same time it will run no risk of
harming vegetation, if care Is taken that
the water does not flow onto plants
Pouring water down the ant hills,
stamping them down fiat, and the like,
mostly means effort wasted. Ants are
almost as persistent as they are methodi-
cal and busy.