FIGHTING PLANT ENEMIES.

 FIGHTING PLANT ENEMIES. 

The devices and implements used for fighting plant enemies are of two sorts:



(1) those wont to afford mechanical protection to the plants;



(2) those wont to apply insecticides and fungicides.



Of the primary the foremost useful is that the covered frame. It consists usually of a wooden box, some eighteen inches to 2 feet square and about eight high, covered with glass, protecting cloth, mosquito netting or mosquito wire. the primary two coverings have, of course, the extra advantage of retaining heat and protecting from cold, making it possible by their use to plant before is otherwise safe. they're used extensively in getting an additional early and safe start with cucumbers, melons and therefore the other vine vegetables.



Simpler devices for shielding newly-set plants, like tomatoes or cabbage, from the cut-worm, are stiff, tin, cardboard or roofing paper collars, which are made several inches high and enormous enough to be put round the stem and penetrate an in. approximately into the soil.



For applying poison powders, the house gardener should supply himself with a powder gun. If one must be restricted to one implement, however, it'll be best to urge one among the hand-power, compressed-air sprayers. These are used for applying wet sprays, and will be furnished with one among the several sorts of mist-making nozzles, the non-cloggable automatic type being the simplest . For more extensive work a barrel pump, mounted on wheels, are going to be desirable, but one among the above will do an excellent deal of labor in little time. Extension rods to be used in spraying trees and vines could also be obtained for either. For operations on a really small scale an honest hand-syringe could also be used, but as a general thing it'll be best to take a position a couple of dollars more and obtain alittle tank sprayer, as this throws endless stream or spray and holds a way larger amount of the spraying solution. Whatever type is procured, get a brass machine it'll out-wear three or four of these made from cheaper metal, which succumbs very quickly to the, corroding action of the strong poisons and chemicals utilized in them.



Of implements for harvesting, beside the spade, prong-hoe and spading- fork, only a few are utilized in the tiny garden, as most of them needn't only long rows to be economically used, but horse- power also. The onion harvester attachment for the double wheel hoe, could also be used with advantage in loosening onions, beets, turnips, etc., from the soil or for cutting spinach. Running the hand- plow close on either side of carrots, parsnips and other deep-growing vegetables will aid materially in getting them out. For fruit picking, with tall trees, the wire-fingered fruit-picker, secured to the top of an extended handle, are going to be of great assistance, but with the fashionable method of using low-headed trees it'll not be needed.



Another class of garden implements are those utilized in pruning but where this is often attended to properly from the beginning , an honest sharp jack-knife and a pair of shear will easily handle all the work of the type necessary.



Still another kind of garden device is that used for supporting the plants; like stakes, trellises, wires, etc. Altogether insufficient attention usually is given these, like proper care in storing over winter they're going to not only last for years, but add greatly to the convenience of cultivation and to the neat appearance of the garden.



As a final word to the intending purchaser of garden tools, i might say: first thoroughly investigate the various sorts available, and when buying, don't forget that an honest tool or a well-made machine are going to be supplying you with satisfactory use long, long after the worth is forgotten, while a poor one may be a constant source of discomfort. Get good tools, and take excellent care of them. And let me repeat that a couple of dollars a year, judiciously spent, for tools afterward well cared for, will soon offer you a really complete set, and increase your garden profit and pleasure.

 

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