396 MINNEi^Ol'A STATE HORTtCULTrRAL SOCIETY. 



I used" to try and i^row roses and carnations in the house in 

 winter, but I gave that up long- ago. If it was not aphis, it was red 

 spider, and if not red spider it was aphis, and if it was not either 

 it was mildew ; so I reluctantly left them to the florist's skill. I 

 succeeded in getting a few fine blooms during the winter, but I 

 am sure each one cost me fifty cents. It was too much for the 

 amusement. 



Mealy bugs must be picked ofif, using a tooth-pick, and then 

 wash the plant. On receiving a plant from a florist look it over care- 

 fully for mealy bugs, as they are often on it, and if left to themselves 

 will infest other plants. I have had little trouble with them. 



And now wc have the scale, and of all pests they are the most 

 obnoxious, pestiferous and persistent (I would like to use a few 

 more strenuous words) of all. I confess that they have out- 

 generalled and routed me again and again. Many times I have 

 been on the point of a complete surrender and consigning the in- 

 fested plants to the flames, but then, some of those plants are my 

 particular favorites, some I have had for years, so of course I can- 

 not give them up. So I try my best to keep them down so as to 

 reduce the damage to plants as much as possible, but to get rid of 

 the pests I cannot. I have tried nearly every remedy that I have 

 seen recommended. I have used whale oil soaj) and kerosene 

 emulsion, until I was so nauseated that I had no desire for food for 

 quite a period afterward. I have killed many choice plants by the 

 treatment, but the scale seemed to thrive under it remarkably well. 

 Now I am using a method recommended by Eben Rexford, and it 

 is the best I have ever tried, but it is not easy. It is this : Take a 

 tooth-pick and go over every infested plant and scrape ofif every 

 scale that you can, and then wash thoroughly every portion of the 

 plant in strong soap suds made with Ivory soap. In three or four 

 days repeat the process. If the work is thoroughly done the plants 

 thus treated will be nearly exempt from the ravages of the scale 

 for some time. But they zi/ill come again, when the process must be 

 repeated. I can assure you that it is back-aching work, and if one 

 has many plants they will have little time to gossip with their neigh- 

 bors or attend horticultural meetings. 



Then, there is a class of plants that is everybody's plants. They 

 seem to grow and thrive well under what seem to be the most ad- 

 verse circumstances. They are not bothered with insects and are 

 proof against dust — at least I should judge so from many speci- 

 mens I have seen. To this class belong the bright and ever cheerful 

 geraniums. All honor to the geranium, for it makes many a home 

 bright that otherwise would be plantless and flowerless. They are 



