Ontario Teachers' Manuals: Nature Study

by Ontario. Department of Education

In gardens where the soil is light or sandy, cutworms are most likely to be troublesome. Watch for them about the time that the plants are nicely above ground. They come up at night and cut the young plants off just above the ground. They are about an inch long, gray and brown, fat and greasy-looking. To protect the plants put one quarter of a pound of paris-green with twenty-five pounds of slightly moistened bran, using a little sugar in the water and stirring the paris-green into the bran very thoroughly. If too wet, add more dry bran. It should crumble through the fingers. Sprinkle a little of this mixture with the fingers along the row close to the plants. The cutworms eat this poisoned bran quite readily. Care must be exercised in using this poison lest poultry should get at it. On the other hand, poultry should not be allowed to get into the garden. Wrapping a piece of paper around the stem when transplanting young plants will help to save them from cutworms.

ROOT MAGGOTS

Root maggots of cabbage, radish, and onions are the larvæ of flies similar in appearance to house-flies but a little smaller. When the plants are young, the flies lay their white eggs on the stem close to the ground. When the eggs hatch, the larvæ crawl down under the ground and cause the plants to decay. The wilting of the leaves is the first sign of the trouble. Prevention is better than cure in this case. Dust some dry white hellebore along the rows of onions or radishes and around the cabbage plants; or, for radishes, make a decoction of insect powder (Pyrethrum), four ounces to one gallon of water, and pour around the root, using half a teacupful to each plant.

FLEA-BEETLES

The turnip flea-beetle quickly destroys young plants of the cruciferæ family by eating their leaves. Paris-green, one part to twenty parts of pulverized gypsum (land plaster) dusted on the plants while damp, helps to destroy these insects.

To the teacher.—When pupils who are absent find it impossible to give the necessary attention to their garden plots at school, they should turn them over to other pupils or to the teacher, who may at his own discretion use the produce for purposes of general garden revenue.

SEED GERMINATION

The seeds for the garden should be purchased quite early in the spring. As the planting of poor seed is often the cause of much disappointment, it is well to test the germinating power of the different varieties to be planted. The pupils of this Form should test especially those varieties which they have chosen. To do this, place about twenty-five seeds in a germinating dish, which may be made as follows: Take a deep plate, such as a soup plate, fill it about half full of moist sand, and spread over this a piece of moist cloth. Put the seeds upon this cloth and cover them with a second piece of damp cloth or moss. To prevent drying out invert over it another plate and set all in a warm dry place (about 70 to 80 degrees F.). After a few days count the number of seeds that have germinated. This will be a guide in planting as to how thick the seed should be sown.

The pupils should watch the development of germinating grains, such as corn and beans, germinated in the same way as in the last exercise. The following points may be observed:

1. The first change noticed. (Swelling of the seed)