80 HOUSE PLANTS 



MEALY BUG 



Mealy bug, which is almost always present 

 in the greenhouse, sometimes infests house 

 plants, too. This insect looks like a small 

 tuft of white cotton, and is found on the under 

 side of the leaves and in the joints. A 

 strong stream of water will usually wash it 

 off, but if that fails use kerosene emulsion 

 or fir tree oil, which must be diluted accord- 

 ing to the directions on the package, and 

 applied as a spray or with a feather. Alcohol 

 has also been successfully used when there 

 were only a few mealy bugs. With a feather 

 or small stick put one drop on each bug, 

 and he will immediately succumb. 



VARIOUS SCALES 



Very often scale insects will be found on 

 the leaves of palms, ferns, rubber plants 

 and cycads. The commonest one is the 

 brown scale. It is one-quarter to three- 

 eighths of an inch long, and nearly as wide, 

 and its hard, convexed shell is dark brown 

 in colour. The other scale commonly found 

 on greenhouse plants is white, and about the 

 size of the head of a pin. 



