I approach this subject with more hesitation than any I shall attempt to treat in this little work, for the reason that the wisest of us are so ignorant and the ablest so little prepared to do battle for the saving of our plants. It has been stated on good authority that no species of injurious insect has ever been exterminated and I think it not unlikely that the same may be said of diseases which injure or destroy our plants. Yet it is true that new harmful insects and diseases are continually coming to the front to take their dreadful toll from the cultivator.

There are two classes of insects which do damage to plants; first, those which devour the foliage, some during the larval stage and others when adult; second, those which pierce the bark, leaves, flowers or fruit and suck out the juice. The former, which includes all the Lepidoptera, and the Chrysomelids among the Coleoptera, are best combated by arsenical poisons applied to the plants on which they live; the latter by contact insecticides that will form a coat over them and shut off their breathing. To the second class belong the Hemiptera in which the Aphides and scales are included. These are best combated with the whale oil emulsions, but the greatest care should be taken in preparing them lest damage be done to the foliage.

The cottony scale (Pulvinaria sps.) infects Ficus of all species, including the wild ones, and it must be combated before it reaches the cottony stage, which is an egg stage, and during this time the cotton containing the eggs is blown about by the wind. I believe that ants sometimes carry these eggs. Use an emulsion of whale oil soap for these and spray from the under side of the leaves. The Lecanium scales are found on many tropical plants; the comptie and Hamelia patens for example, and should have similar treatment. Aphides are sometimes quite troublesome and should be sprayed with a solution of whale oil soap or gold dust.

One of the greatest scourges the cultivator has to contend with in our area is root knot, the work of a Nematode worm. It usually attacks the roots of young plants and in a short time they swell up and become knotted into unsightly shapes and the plant dies. It attacks plants in pots or boxes but is worst on those in the open ground. I know of no satisfactory remedy for it but heavy mulching for outdoor things is helpful, though it does not always prevent its ravages. One should closely watch his young plants and if they look sickly or are inclined to wilt it is best to dig down carefully and examine about the roots. If they show the knot dig the plants up and thoroughly wash all the dirt from them. It may be possible by severe trimming to cut away the injured part, after which put the plant into a small pot and in some cases it will come on. All trimmings should be destroyed. In case the roots are ruined it may be possible to make cuttings from the top of the plant.

There is a borer, the larva of one of the night flying moths, which enters the growing ends of shoots of Erythrinas and some other things; it also works down the flower stems and wherever it attacks it brings ruin. The branches attempt to put out new growth, only to be attacked again, while the bloom stems that it works on shrivel and die. In some cases it prevents large trees from growing or blossoming. I do not know at what time of the year this moth is active but if at the proper time a light could be put inside a muslin enclosure covered with any sticky substance and the same set near the trees the moths would be caught.

We have a twig girdler which is occasionally troublesome as it cuts off twigs and small limbs. It is a beetle and is very hard to control because it works singly and at night. The only remedy would be to keep trees and shrubs likely to be troubled with it continually sprayed with arsenical poison.

Many palms are greatly disfigured and even injured by having the epidermis of their leaves eaten, the refuse being deposited along the surface. This is the work of a small Chrysomelid beetle which looks to the ordinary observer exactly like a blue ladybug. For several years I was deceived by this wretch, and as I knew that ladybugs were the horticulturist's friends I was always careful not to injure these gentry; I even distributed them around, hoping that they might help me out. It is needless to say that now I am not even polite to them any more. The arsenical solutions would destroy them but they would disfigure the palms, hence it would be better to use some colorless contact solution such as Pratt's Scalecide and this will also destroy other kinds of scales on palms.

Ants are often very troublesome, and they carry various kinds of scale and aphis which they establish on cultivated plants. O. and W. Thum's Tree Tanglefoot applied to the trees or plants which they infest will prove an effective remedy. The lubber grasshopper (Dictyophorus reticulatus) is one of the regular features of Florida, and is sure to be found during the growing season wherever Crinums or Amaryllis are grown. They hatch out in early spring, the young being greenish black marked with yellow or red. Later in life they change color and sometimes reach a length of three inches; at this time they are gaudily painted with yellow, orange, black and rose or red. They are handsome at all times but are as evil as they are beautiful. I would not say that a full grown lubber will eat as much as a mule, but he will in a short time destroy nearly as much. Woe to any of the Amaryllis, Crinums or other succulent leaved plants that he visits, for his path is marked as if by fire and the sword. He cuts off at or near the ground the most vigorous leaves, apparently eating only at the point where he cuts. One lubber at a single visit will often cut off every leaf from a large Eucharis or Hip-peastrum and then go on to the next and destroy it.