. The book of the garden. Gardening. 182 CULINARY OR KITCHEN GARDEN. Depressaria applana. — The common flat- bodied moth, fig. 63, is another of this genus of moths whose Fig. COMMON PLAT-BODIED MOTH, CATERPILLAR, AND CHRYSALIS. caterpillars do great mischief to seed - crops of carrots and parsnips, by de- vouring the whole umhels of flowers, and not unfrequent- !y stripping the plants of their entire stem fo- liage. Their mode of oper- ating is to draw the flower- heads together by many strong silken threads, which they af- terwards ex- tend into a net- work habita- tion, in which they r
. The book of the garden. Gardening. 182 CULINARY OR KITCHEN GARDEN. Depressaria applana. — The common flat- bodied moth, fig. 63, is another of this genus of moths whose Fig. COMMON PLAT-BODIED MOTH, CATERPILLAR, AND CHRYSALIS. caterpillars do great mischief to seed - crops of carrots and parsnips, by de- vouring the whole umhels of flowers, and not unfrequent- !y stripping the plants of their entire stem fo- liage. Their mode of oper- ating is to draw the flower- heads together by many strong silken threads, which they af- terwards ex- tend into a net- work habita- tion, in which they remain consuming the seed-vessels, and after a time changing to pupse, some- times within the web, at other times rolling themselves up in a leaf or within the stem, in which they remain secure. The wire-worm (Elater) also attacks them under ground from their earliest stages. Copious applications of caustic lime are of much use in such cases ; and highly-stimulating manures, such as guano or pigeons' dung, accompanied with deep-trenching, will be found beneficial— the former to stimulate the carrots into rapid growth, and the latter to derange the economy of the insects during their transformation. Amongst other means of getting rid of the wire-worm is the rather novel one of feeding it with rape-cake to repletion. The rape-cake is broken up into small pieces about the size of marbles; and when the finer particles are re- moved by sifting, the larger pieces are sown in the drills at the same time as the seed; or a better way is to drill the ground from 3 to 4 inches deep, and in these drills to sow the rape- cake, covering it up and drilling again at the usual depth for the carrot-seed. The month of March or beginning of April is the best time to BOW the rape-cake, and which may be done weeks before the carrots are sown, because at that time the worm is resuming its depreda- tions after awakening from its winter torpid state. The drier the season the more effective it will b
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1850, booksubjectgardening, bookyear18
