HOUSE-PLANT INSECTS AND DISEASES 137 
then wash the roots in whale-oil soap suds, and re- 
pot in fresh soil. If no fresh soil is available, to- 
bacco tea or tobacco dust should be washed into the 
soil every other day for a week. 
Soil Worms. The common earthworms some- 
times find their way into a pot, and while they do not 
seem to bother the roots, I should judge from ob- 
servation that they render the soil next to useless, 
especially in small pots. Another worm, or rather 
larva, sometimes to be found, is very small and 
hatches into a small white fly. If numerous, they 
do a good deal of damage. The treatment recom- 
mended for root aphis will get rid of them; or lime 
water (slake a_ piece of fresh lime the size of an 
apple in a pail of water, drawing off the water after 
settling), if used freely will kill them. 
DISEASES 
There are but two plant diseases likely to attack 
plants in the house: fungus and mildew. The first 
seems to be a sort of decomposition of the leaf, leav- 
ing a black, powdery residue. It is combated by 
spraying with bordeaux. Bordeaux can now be had 
in paste or powder form, which for small quantities 
is much better than to try to mix it yourself. 
Mildew causes the tenderest leaves to curl up and 
some of them seem to be covered with a white 
powder. Flowers of sulphur, dusted over the plants 
while the foliage is damp, is the standard remedy. 
For the sake of ready reference, the foregoing is 
