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HORTICULTURE. 
Aphelandra—continued. ® e, 
« J ~ "Èe N * 
A. nitens (shining).* jl. | lowing rmnilion-scarlet, very large, in = 
erect, simple, terminal spikes, which, after the flowers have fallen, — 
are clothed with the Cena lanceolate, appressed bracts. 
l. ovate, sub-acute, leathery, brilliant glossy on the up er surface, 
inous purple underneath.  h..2ft. to fte Columbia, 1867. 
A. Porteana (Porte’s).* fl. in fine terminal heads; corolla and 
. bracts bright orange. J. rich green, with metallic silvery-white, 
j- veins. A. 2ft. Brazil, 1854. ~ 4 
A. pumila (dwarfish).* fl. orange-coloured ; upper lip erect, con- 
cave, entire; bracts large, purplish. 1. Jarge, cordate, ovate- 
proge acute. h. 8in. Brazil, 1878.» Very distinct, from ‘all 
others, aa : ‘ F: + a 
A. punctata (dotted).* fl. bright yellow, in large and rather dense 
K yg the spiny-edged long pointed bracts are also yellow, with 
the exception of the tip, which is 
_ contrast. November. J. opposite, elliptic, acuminate ; the green 
midrib is conspicuous in the middle of a white central band, which. 
yup” 
a 
~ 
also extends beside the green veins, this silvery band breaki 
on its margin into numerous small white dots, producing: a 
A. Roezlii. A synonym of A. aurantiaca Roezlii. i 
A. variegata (variegated). jl. yellow; spike, 6in. long, with 
bright orange-red bracts. Z. ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, dark 
green with white veins. A. 1}ft. Brazil. 2 
APHELEXIS (from apheles, simple, and exis, habit). 
ORD. Composite. A genus of elegant dwarf evergreen 
greenhouse shrubs. Flower-heads large, solitary, or small 
and two or more together. Leaves small. These plants 
are valuable for exhibition purposes, on account of their 
bright colours, and the length of time they last in per- 
fection; they are included among what are familiarly 
known as “ everlastings.”. The most suitable soil is a com- 
post of two parts of good fibrous peat and one of leaf 
mould, with a liberal supply of silver sand, and a few 
pieces of charcoal added to it. Repot the plants firmly 
in February, and allow thorough drainage. Cuttings can 
be made in spring or summer; small half-ripened side 
shoots are best; and these will root in sandy soil, under 
a bell glass, in a cool greenhouse. 
A. ericoides (heath-like).* (fl.-heads white. April. J. very small, 
three-cornered, imbricated, appressed ; branches numerous, very 
fine, filiform. h. 1ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1796. 
A. fasciculata (fascicled). l.-heads purplish, solitary, terminal ; 
ce — scaly. March. J. acerose linear, roundish, downy above ; 
== lower spreading ; upper appressed. h. 2ft. Cape of Good Hope, 
~~ 1779. There are two or three forms of this species, varying in the 
oT ate a COLOUL DE ath flowers, 
~~ A. humilis (humble, or dwarf).* j.-heads pink, solitary, terminal, 
* anor, niy in sunshine ; peduncles scaly. April. tT subulate, 
e bricate. Branches numerous, slender, covered with 
"j tomentum. +. 2ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1810. A hand- 
“some greenhouse plant, with much-branched stems, terminated 
by the flower-head. Syns. A. macrantha and Helipterum humile. 
_ A,h. grandiflora (large-flowered).* l.-heads rosy-purple, produced 
_ in great abundance. Habit rather dwarf, and free branching. 
- Very highly esteemed, —- 
A. h. purpurea (purple).* fl. dark purple, very abundant. l 
+ silvery white and shining. viene grower, and perhaps the 
- best for exhibition purposes. It is known in gardens as A. 
` _„Ţ7 macrantha purpurea ; also under the name of A. spectabilis. 
A. h. rosea (rose-coloured).* _jl.-heads delicate rose, very profuse. 
À Habit very compact and free-branching. A very showy and de-- 
E sirable variety, known in gardens as A. macrantha rosea, : 
A. macrantha (large-flowered). Synonymous with A. humilis. 
A. sesamoides (Sesamum-like). /.-keads purple and white, 
sessile, solitary, terminal. April. Z, acerose linear, keeled, smooth, 
appressed. A, 2ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1739. 
E ES, or PLANT LICE. These belong to 
the order Homoptera, meaning “same winged,” and the 
s — has reference to the fact that the fore wings 
ae ee in their structure from base to apex, not 
w Avie mto a leathery base and a membranous tip. 
lone r} s vern all minute in size, soft bodied, and generally 
co pity ast: ; the mouth is furnished with a curiously- 
: ‘beak, or rostrum, for sucking hee juice of 
‘ nnæ, or feelers, are long a slender; 
the legs have u sis . ez 3 : 
3 which is gam er a o joints in the tarsi, one of 
a ne 
Toy 
s 
which a sweet 
ìs emitted. They 
CLOPADIA OF’ 
$ 
een, and forms a pleasing + 
{i 
pretty and distinct form of variegation. South America, 1881. € 
Aphides—continued. : ~«—- 
*plant “has its, own peculiar Aphis; but among the worst 
b are the cherry fly and bean fly. All these insects 
„are very destructive to, the young shoots and foliage of 
plants, on which “they cluster im large numbers, sometimes 
“completely hiding the stems, increasing with marvellous 
_ rapidity. They produce eggs in autumn, which lie dor- 
mant through the winter, and upon the approach of 
-warm weather in spring, hatch and*produce individuals 
which, “during the summer, are Viviparous, budding off 
_ young insects at a surprising rate, which quickly in turn 
‘become possessed 6f the same marvellous power; hence 
* the enormous number which are ‘produced in so surpris- 
ingly short a time. “It has been it be Dm that in a few 
—_ 
_ weeks many millions of young» might produced directly 
; or descended from ® single female. See also Black Fly 
and Bean Fly. 
The following remedies may be successfully employed; 
Tobacco. This is applied, as a rule, in three fi h 
of which is useful for particular purposes. eip, em 
is useful as a dry application to plants where, from any 
cause, the other modes of employing it are not desirable. 
It causes no smell, and is useful in conservatories, &c., for 
that reason. The mode of applying it is to dredge or dust 
it over the foliage of the plants affected, and to syringe off 
in from three to thirty hours, according to the nature of 
the plants. Fumigation with tobacco, if done in a proper 
way, is very effective, but it leaves an unpleasant smell. 
The foliage of the plants should be quite dry, and a still 
day must be chosen for the work; the house should be 
filled with smoke, but no flame must arise in the burning. 
The plants should be well syringed the next morning, and 
full ventilation allowed; if the fumigation is repeated 
twice or thrice, it will prove very effectual. Tobacco water 
is made by soaking a pound of coarse shag in 6gals. of hot 
water, to which łlb. of size or soft soap has been added. 
The plants should be dipped into or syringed with this _ 
mixture, and well syringed with clean tepid water about 
twelve hours after. It should not be employed for plants 
having woolly or hairy foliage. Tobacco paper and cloth 
are used for fumigating in the same manner as tobacco; 
but as they vary in strength, more care is necessary, as — 
they sometimes cause the leaves to become spotted. Judi- 
ciously employed, they are cheaper than Tobacco. 
Quassia. Boil lb. quassia chips in 4gals. of soft water, 
for about ten minutes, and after straining off the chips, add 
1lb. of soft soap. Apply in the same way as Tobacco water, 
and syringe the plants with clean water after ten minutes 
or a quarter of an hour. - 
Soft Soap. This, in proportion of Sil» to 12gals. of rain 
water, and lgal. of tobacco water added after it is cold, 
is a cheap and good remedy out of doors, and requires the 
same mode of application as tobacco» water. 
Soap Suds. Where bleaching powder, or much soda, 
is not mixed with these, they make a good insect killer 
for hard-foliaged plants, but should be washed off with 
clean water in twelve hours. No mixture containing 
chloride of lime should be used, 
Various. Fir-tree Oil, Gishurst’s Compound, and Fowler’s 
Insecticide, are all serviceable, if used as directed on the 
labels. Hardeman’s Beetle Powder, applied with the little 
French powder-bellows which is sold with it, is very efi- 
cacious. For outdoor work, nothing surpasses clean cold 
water, applied often and forcibly with a syringe. 
The best mode of clearing Aphis off Beans, Currants, — 
&c., is to remove the tops of the infested shoots, and 
to wash the plants with soapy water, or a solution of 
Gishurst’s Compound. In some cases, a good dusting with 
soot and wood ashes, while the plants are wet, will keep 
them in check. The “Golden Eyes” or ‘ Lacewing” fly, 
and also ladybirds, are to be encouraged, as the larvæ 
of each of these wage incessant war Aphides, 
especially the green varieties, and thin them out cone  ž 
siderably. a f ae 
* 
