The Practical Garden-Book · C. E. Hunn and L. H. Bailey
ICE PLANT, or MESEMBRYANTHEMUM. Fine little plants for rockwork or edging. The majority of the species are greenhouse and window plants, but a few can be recommended for outdoor planting. A very sunny location, with gravelly soil, will give the best results, either in the open or in the house. Easily propagated by pieces of the plant laid on moist sand in a somewhat sunny place. The common Ice Plant of window-gardens is readily grown from seeds or slips. It is prized for its glandular-glistening thick foliage (whence the common name). The little flowers, which open in sunshine, are also interesting.
IMPATIENS SULTANI is a generally known conservatory plant, making a charming pot subject for warm greenhouse or a room. It is readily propagated from seed or cuttings, seed being preferable. Flowers bright pink-red. Of easy culture in a fairly moist atmosphere. Height about 18 inches.
INSECTS. For horticultural purposes, Insects might be grouped into three general classes: borers, or those which live inside the plant tissue; chewing Insects which live on the outside of the plant; and the sucking Insects.
As a general statement, it may be said that the digging out of borers is the only complete remedy. Sometimes an application of something to the body of the tree may keep them out, but it is always uncertain; and it usually involves more work than to dig them out. All trees which are subject to borers (especially apples, peaches and pears) should be examined at least twice every year. See Borers.
The general run of chewing or biting Insects may be killed by the arsenical poisons. Such Insects are the common types of worms and beetles which feed on foliage. The leading poison which is now used for this purpose is Paris green (which see). Hellebore and pyrethrum are useful when it is not advisable to use arsenical poisons.
The sucking Insects include all the kinds of plant lice, the squash bug and all the scale Insects. These are dispatched by some material which kills by external application, especially material which has kerosene or petroleum in it. The common material heretofore used for this purpose is kerosene and soap emulsion; but it is now believed that the emulsion of kerosene and water is fully as efficient, and since machines have been perfected for automatically mixing it, it is a much more practicable remedy. See Kerosene Emulsion.
In the fighting of all Insects, success depends upon taking them in time. If something is known of the life history of the Insect, very much will be gained, for the operator may be on hand as soon as the Insect is expected to appear.
Insects on House Plants._--The most troublesome or common Insects with which the amateur is likely to meet in the window-garden or conservatory are the red spider, mite, mealy bug, aphis, and scale.
The red spider is a very minute Insect with a reddish body. Its presence may be suspected whenever plants are growing in a warm and dry place. Usually it first appears on the under side of leaves, but it multiplies rapidly, and will soon not be so choice of position. It sucks the juices of the leaves, and they soon indicate the injury by a dull appearance, and also, in many cases, by small whitish or paler areas on the upper surfaces. The mite is of similar habits and size, but is of a pale color, with black on its back. It appears under the same conditions as the red spider. These pests are small, but are very serious if allowed to multiply unchecked. They should be looked after as soon as their presence is detected.
The remedy is to arrange for keeping the air about the plants more moist, and giving drenchings of the foliage with clear or soapy water. The latter is most effective. The soap used may be simply the common washing soap, or that sold at drug stores known as whale-oil soap. In fighting them, care must be used not to keep the soil soaked with water, or it will check the plants in vigor and only add to the strength of the enemy. Even florists sometimes get into just such a predicament. Flagging and extreme variations in dryness and humidity of the air, checking the vigor of plants, favor the appearance and presence of the red spider quite as much as extreme and continued dryness of the air.
The aphids or plant lice are readily discernable when they appear on plants, as they are sure to do under nearly all conditions. They are small, have elongated, succulent bodies, move about slowly and awkwardly, on rather long, hairlike legs, and are most commonly of a pale green color, though often brown or reddish, and sometimes of other shades. Fumigation of the plants in a closed box with burning tobacco stems will kill them. Latterly florists evaporate a liquid extract of tobacco (which is sold by dealers in florists' supplies) by dropping a hot iron into a pan of it. A tea made by soaking tobacco stems in water for a few hours, and applied with a syringe, is effective, and a safe remedy in inexperienced hands. A tablespoonful of tobacco sheep-dip, or extract of tobacco, to a couple of gallons of water, also makes an effective syringing or dipping solution. As mentioned above, we should use care, especially in the winter time, when the soil often dries out slowly, to avoid soaking it when already wet or sufficiently moist.
Mealy bug has a small, flat, tortoise-shaped body, from about one-sixteenth to one-eighth of an inch long. The Insects collect in masses in the axils of the leaves. They are covered with a white mealy or cottony substance, and are readily recognized, although persons unfamiliar with their appearance have sometimes mistaken them for bits of down or cotton lodged upon the foliage or in the axils of the leaves. The young are small, and likely to escape observation unless one looks closely. They are flat, of a creamy or pinkish tint, and lie close to the surface of the leaves, especially on the under surface. Coleus and bouvardias are among the plants upon which mealy bugs are most often found. Owing to the oily nature of their covering, it is difficult to wet their bodies with any ordinary liquid that may be applied for the purpose of destroying them. Fir-tree oil is one of the most effective remedies for them. This liquid is rather expensive, but for a small collection a gallon can will last for a long time. It is also effective against other Insects. For mealy bugs, two tablespoonfuls of the oil to one pint of water will make an effective dipping or spraying solution. Soft or rain-water should be used, and tin, wooden, or earthenware vessels. Galvanized iron vessels are to be avoided. Apply forcibly with a syringe or atomizer, preferably in the evening. If effective, the mealy bug will turn buff-color. For other Insects, except for the scale, mentioned below, the solution will not need to be more than half or a fourth so strong. Where there are only a few mealy bugs, the plant may be gone over with a soft brush and the Insects crushed.
Scales are most commonly of a brown or whitish color, flat or tortoise-shaped, and easily seen. They adhere closely by the under surface of their bodies to the stems, branches, and foliage of woody plants. The mature Insect is stationary, and its body at length becomes a shell containing hundreds of eggs. These hatch, and the young emerge from the shell, crawl about and settle, to develop into the familiar form. A strong solution of fir-tree oil, like that used for mealy bugs, is a good remedy. A strong solution of whale-oil soap, made by adding an ounce or more of the soap to three gallons of water, even more if necessary, is also useful in combating them. After dipping or syringing the plants they may be allowed to stand over night, when they should be rinsed off with clear water. Applications may need repeating every three or four days until the Insects are gotten rid of. It is difficult, for a time, to tell when they are dead. If killed, the bodies will fall off easily, and in the case of the soft-shelled species shrivel up somewhat after a time. Kerosene and water emulsion (see Kerosene) will kill them.
INSECTICIDE. A substance which will kill insects. Insecticides are of two general classes--those that kill by contact (see Kerosene), and those that poison the insect (see Paris Green and Hellebore).
IRIS. Many handsome perennials, of which the Blue Flag is familiar to every old-fashioned garden. Most Irises thrive best in a rather moist soil, and some of them may be colonized in the water in margins of ponds. Gardeners usually divide them into two sections--the tuberous-rooted or rhizomatous, and the bulbous. A third division--the fibrous-rooted--is sometimes made. The common and most serviceable species belong to the tuberous-rooted section. Here belongs the beautiful and varied Japanese Iris, Iris laevigata (or I. Kaempferi), which is among the most deserving of all hardy perennials. Most of these Irises need no special care. They are propagated by division of the rootstocks. Plant the pieces 1 foot apart if a mass effect is desired. When the plants begin to fail, dig them up, divide the roots, discard the old parts and grow a new stock, as before. I. Susiana, of this section, is one of the oddest of Irises, but it is not quite hardy in the North. Of the bulbous section, most species are not hardy in the North. The bulbs should be taken up and replanted every two or three years. The Persian and Spanish Irises belong here. The bulbs give rise to but a single stem.
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End of part 10 of 22
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