404 
Greenhouse—continued. 
All plants when potted should have perfectly clean pots 
and good drainage. If this latter becomes blocked it must 
be renewed, otherwise the soil will become sour and the 
plant will suffer. To prevent this, the drainage should 
be covered with some loose material, such as dry leaves 
or moss. 
Worms are sometimes a great nnisance with pot-plants. 
They can often be got at by carefully knocking the plant 
out of the pot, taking care not to injure the roots or break 
the ball. If this cannot be done, watering with soot or 
clear lime-water will kill them. 
When potting it is important that the compost should 
be in good condition—neither dry nor wet. It is a good 
test to take a handful and give it a good squeeze; then if 
it remains in a lamp, which will yet readily break up when 
thrown down, it may be said to be fit for use. Snfficient 
room must be left between the surface of the soil and the 
rim of the pot to enable it to hold a good quantity of water. 
Plants which haye been potted on should always be kept 
a little closer and warmer than they have previously been 
till they have recovered the check. One good soaking 
should be given and the plants allowed to go without water 
for a time, but not to become dry. If it is summer, and 
the foliage is inclined to flag, syringe gently overhead 
three or four times a day. 
Careful attention must be paid to the watering of 
freshly-potted plants, as numbers are often killed from, 
over-watering. It must be borne in mind that the soil 
round a freshly-potted plant has no roots in it, and there- 
fore nothing to absorb the moisture ; and if this be kept 
wet it will become sour, so that when the plant begins 
to send fresh roots into it, instead of growing they will 
be poisoned and rot off. It will thus be seen that it is 
best to keep the plant rather on the dry side till its 
roots have got a good hold and are capable of assimilating 
the moisture. 
All plants must be watered before potting, for if the 
ball is dry at that time it can never be got moist again 
by watering after potting. 
The gravel on which the plants stand, and the floors 
of the houses, should receive*a slight sprinkling of water 
throughout the year—except when damp, close weather 
prevails—at least once a day in the cool pit and Greenhonse, 
and oftener in the warm pit. In very hot weather during 
summer this should be repeated three or four times, at 
the same time syringing the plants overhead, giving 
those that are in blossom just a slight spray, and letting 
those that are not have the full benefit of the syringe. 
Many people are afraid to syringe plants in blossom, 
saying that the flowers are thus caused to damp, or are 
discoloured. This is a great mistake, for if it is done 
whilst the air is dry, with full ventilation on the house 
and the blinds down, it is of the greatest benefit, enabling 
the flowers to last much longer. It must, however, be done 
carefully, in order to avoid bruising, and only perfectly 
clean water should be used. Watering should be done 
with a rose-can to avoid washing the soil out of the pots. 
The summer watering is best done in the afternoon after 
four o’clock, and in winter in the morning. 
Cleanliness is most important for the health of the 
plants, washing frequently leaves and pots, and continually 
removing dead foliage or flowers, for these, if allowed 
to remain, form breeding grounds for fungi, as well as 
looking unsightly. By continually cleaning the house 
noxious insects are turned out of their hiding places, 
whilst when the glass is kept clean the maximum amount 
of light is admitted. All these may seem trivial matters, 
but it is attention to such small details that makes the 
difference between good and bad cultivation. 
Never allow a plant to spoil for want of a stake. Many 
weak-stemmed or top-heavy plants require stakes, and in 
the case of those that throw up several flowering stems 
each should have a separate one, which looks better than 
when only one is placed in the centre. Use the stakes 
as thin as possible, provided they are sufficiently strong 
for the purpose. Bamboos painted green are best, being 
light, strong, and durable, and they can be obtained in 
all sizes. 
Arrangement is a matter requiring careful consideration. 
Never put two similar colours together. It is better to 
have batches of one species arranged in groups. The 
finest effects are obtained when two species of contrasting 
colours are mixed together, and fine foliage plants dotted 
THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 
Greenhouse—continued. 
in between. A splendid effect may be obtained by mixing 
plants having tall loose spikes of flower amongst other 
dwarfer-growing kinds of a contrasting colour. 
Avoid overcrowding. A far better effect is always 
obtained by having a few good groups with plenty of 
room between the plants, so that their full beauty ma, 
be seen, than by haying a lot huddled together, whic 
is not good either for the plants or for the observer. 
Prsts are a continual source of trouble to the cultivator 
of Greenhouse plants. Green Fly, Red Spider, Thrips, 
Mealy Bug, and Scale are the chief enemies. For all 
these, except the last, fumigation with the XL All 
Vaporiser and Liquid is the best and safest remedy for 
any plant, whether in blossom or not, but is rather 
expensive. Tobacco-paper may also be used with good 
effect for the first-named, but many plants cannot stand 
it, especially if young and tender, whilst most flowers 
will suffer. Syringing or sponging with some insecticide 
is very effective, and is necessary for Scale, but these 
preparations must be used with care, especially in the 
ease of young or rough-leaved plants. Small plants may 
be dipped in a solution of insecticide, but in any case 
they should all be washed clean an honr or so later with 
pure water. A safe insecticide is Fir-tree Oil; while 
a cheap and safe one is hot water (140deg. Fahr.). 
GREEN MANURING. This is one of the best and 
cheapest ways of adding humus or organic matter, to poor 
sandy soils especially. The term is applied to some quick- 
growing crop, such as mustard, which is ploughed in green. 
Green Mannring adds nothing to the mineral matter of the 
soil, Its utility is due to its getting organic matter from 
the carbonic acid of the air; and also, as in the case of 
leguminous plants, a certain amount of nitrogen from the 
same source. The roots of green crops bring up plant- 
food from the subsoil to the surface for the use of 
succeeding crops. Green Manuring helps to smother weeds, 
and it may in. some cases destroy insects. Various crops 
are used for Green Manuring: they should be quickly- 
growing plants yielding a large quantity of green stuff. 
The crop should be ploughed or dug in when the weather 
is moderately moist and warm to favour decomposition. 
GREEN PUG MOTH (Lupithecia rectangulata). 
Of. insects seldom recorded as hurtful in gardens the 
Green Png is one. Yet to both Apple and Pear trees its 
caterpillars are decidedly injurious, feeding as they do 
upon the blossoms, the principal parts of which they 
consume, and then spin together the petals by means of 
a web.. The Moth is a very common one in this country, 
as well as in North and Central Europe; and in France 
the damage inflicted by it is very great. By reason of 
their habits, the caterpillars are not often detected, and 
they are somewhat difficult to deal with also on that 
account. 
The Moths are about fin. in stretch of wings, and 
very variable as to colour: they are found in June and 
July, and are nocturnal. Usually the wings are green, 
striped with blackish-grey, and near their centre is a 
black spot. Sometimes, however, grey-brown, and even 
almost black specimens are found. At rest these insects 
may be found in the daytime on fences and walls in the 
vicinity of their food-plants, and they should always be 
destroyed. 
The eggs are laid upon the buds, and here they remain 
until the early spring of the following season, when they 
hatch ont. The larve are stontish, and of a pale 
yellowish-green, with a darker green or a dull red 
stripe down the back. When about to become pupe the 
pests drop from their food-plant, and make a slight 
cocoon of earth. 
Wherever the blossoms in early spring are observed 
prematurely to brown, it would be advisable to examine 
them for the caterpillars. If found, boards covered with 
tar should be arranged beneath the trees, which should 
be tapped at night, when the caterpillars are neadily 
alarmed and many will drop. These should be collected 
and destroyed. Spraying with an insecticide is of no use 
in such an infestation; in fact, an arsenite is likely to 
do more harm than good. Where fowls are allowed to 
run in an orchard or in a garden they would destroy 
large numbers of the lary~ if the soil beneath be ronghly 
dug. Insectivorous birds, like starlings, should always 
be encouraged, 
