now TO DESTROY INSECTS. 87 



HOW TO DESTROY INSECTS AND FUNGOUS DISEASES ON GREEN- 

 HOUSE PLANTS. 



C. H. Frey, Lincoln. 



Every greenhouse man has had his troubles with insects and disease 

 among his plants, as practically all plants are subject to disease or are 

 the prey for insects; so then the price of good plants and flowers is eter- 

 nal vigilance in combatting their enemies. 



Insects heading the subject we will mention a few that all are fa- 

 miliar with. Take the aphis, or the green fly. This little fellow will 

 tackle almost any plant, though, like us humans, has preferences and is 

 especially fond of the rose, carnation, etc. Though one of the easiest to 

 keep in check, this insect is found in almost every greenhouse, and, in- 

 creasing so rapidly as he does, will, in a couple of weeks' time, have a 

 village on every rose or carnation. Feeding on the sap by boring through 

 the outer tissues, we can readily see what damage he can do in a short 

 time. 



The method that I have been following for a number of years to de- 

 stroy aphis is to spray with nicofume, two to four teaspoons to a gallon 

 of water, using a Simplicity and a Paragon spray pump. We prefer the 

 latter, though it takes two men to get over the place rapidly. 



Two men will go over the whole place in a few hours, and by having 

 a certain time for this work, say Monday or Tuesday evening of each 

 week, it is never neglected, and if your spraying or fumigating is done 

 late in tTie afternoon the tenderest plant or flower will not burn. For 

 such pla,nts as cyclamen, or begonias in ^ower that we do not want to 

 get moisture on, we paint steam pipes, using equal parts of nicofume 

 and water. 



If the above rule is adhered to, green and black aphis, thrip and 

 white fly will be a minus quantity. 



No doubt many still follow the old practice of burning tobacco stems, 

 but the smell in the house next morning — the flowers, your clothes, in 

 fact everything smells of tobacco smoke. Of course very few have any 

 objection to tobacco smoke, but we don't like such large doses. 



Then there are stems scattered all over the walks, and probably a 

 nice lot of heliotrope or some such tender plant ruined. 



Going back again to insects, we must be on the lookout for black 

 aphis whose especial diet is Queen of Autumn, though he can make a 

 meal on a daisy or a violet. 



Thrip. — This pesky little fellow can do more damage before we real- 

 ize that he is in our midst than any insect the grower has to deal with, 

 from the fact that he works under cover. How many times do we find 

 our carnations marred from the ravages of thrip, in fact almost any 

 flower and even the foliage are his legal prey; and once he becomes es- 

 tablished it will take three or four fumigations each week from the first 

 to several weeks afterwards to get the upper hand of him. 



