- ROSES UNDER GLASS 195 
probably err in keeping the plants in pots too dry. 
Syringing them three times a day seems a strong 
measure and likely to lead to the danger of mildew, 
but it is practised by some of the best growers 
during April and May. We are apt to forget, per- 
haps, that out of doors, in the spring months at 
least, the air, earth, and foliage are almost always 
very damp at night from dew, which much refreshes 
the foliage. 
Insect pests of all kinds, and especially aphides, 
will come whether the house be damp or dry. Pre- 
vention is better than cure, and sharp eyes constantly 
looking for the first aphis, assisted by ready fingers 
to catch and destroy it at once, form the best pro- 
tection. I remember, on going through a large 
range of glass-houses where different flowers, not 
Roses, were grown, hearing a boy who was evidently 
employed there addressed as ‘‘ Mealy.” On _ in- 
quiring whether that was really his name or only a 
sobriquet, I was informed that it was his sole 
business to go over all the houses from end to end 
and look for ‘“‘mealy bug.”” There had been a great 
visitation of this pest, which is very difficult to 
exterminate, and’ constantly reappears; but the 
boy’s eye became by training and sole use so sharp 
at its detection, that the houses were quite clear of 
it before long, and ‘‘ Mealy”’ got a change of occu- 
pation, and I hope of name. 
A determination that no aphis shall be seen is a 
saving of trouble in the end, but there are now safe 
and effectual insecticides which may be used in 
spraying and syringing without the disagreeable and 
dangerous fumigation with tobacco. But in such 
cases it should be remembered that one or two of 
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