HOUSE-PLANT INSECTS AND DISEASES —§ 133 
ditions, too much water, or both. It causes the 
leaves to turn yellow and checks new growth. 
Making right the harmful conditions will usually 
renew the health of the plant, but in bad cases it will 
be far better to remove the earth, wash the soil from 
the roots, carefully clean the pot — if the same one 
is to be used —and repot in good porous fresh 
earth. Keep on the dry side until growth is re- 
sumed. 
As a rule, insects do much more damage to house 
plants than is caused by diseases. One character- 
istic of nearly all plant insects which will astonish 
the amateur is the marvelous rapidity with which 
they increase. One to-day, and to-morrow a mil- 
lion, seems no exaggeration. While it may be true 
that, as one of our erstwhile best-selling heroes 
said, “a few fleas is a good thing for a dog; they 
keep him from broodin’ on bein’ a dog,” a few bugs 
are certainly not good for a plant, because in a day 
or two there will be enough of them to endanger its 
life and surely, quickly toruin its appearance. 
Never let the bugs get a start. If you take them in 
time they’re easy: if not you have a very difficult 
and disagreeable task on your hands. 
PLANT ENEMIES 
Aphis. ‘Aphis or green plant louse is the most 
commonly encountered of all the insect pests. It 
used to be dreaded, but with modern methods 
