THE ACARINA OR MITES— BANKS. 



mite" of the horticulturists, and is responsil)le for an enormous 

 amount of damage. It l)urrous into health}^ tissue, thereby givino- 

 entrance to destructi\'e fungi and ])acteria. It is especially common 

 in hothouses, where its ravages on orchids have long been known. 

 No one appears to have found a successful treatment. The best way 

 is to burn the atJected bullis as soon as discovered. Some growers, 

 however, secure good results by the following treatment: The soil 

 of the pots of infested plants is allowed to become dry, then the 

 bull)s taken out and washed in a solution of tobacco water and soft 

 soap, with a small amount of washing soda. Then they are sprinkled 

 with freshly slaked lime and left for two days. Then they are washed 

 with the same solution as be- 

 fore, to which a little petro- 

 leum has l^een added. They 

 are then re-potted and often 

 do well. ]\Ir. Woods has 

 shown that this mite, when 

 infesting Bermuda lilies, can 

 not be destroyed, but much 

 good is accomplished by the 

 use of commercial fertilizers, 

 and rotation of crops. 



In Europe it has lately been 

 proved that this, or an allied 

 species, does great damage to 

 the roots of grapevines, and 

 that it may l)e desti'oyed by 

 the use of carbon bisulphide 

 injected into the soil above 

 the infested roots. 



Dr. E. P. Felt has described 

 a species, R. hcteromorplniii., 

 which caused injuries to the 

 stems of carnations grown in 

 greenhouses. We have seen the same, or closely allied species, on the 

 roots of asparagus. Another species has been found to eat through 

 the grafting wax on budded plants, bore beneath the bark, and so 

 prevent the union of graft and stock. A species described by Riley, 

 It. phylhxi-eri^., was supposed to feed on the Phylloxera., but it doubt- 

 less fed on the grape roots. 



The typical species oi Carpoghjplvus^C. paH>iularxi,m^\i^i^ been found 

 on dried tigs in California. It infests dried fruit in Europe. In this 

 genus there is no furrow separating the cephalothorax and abdomen. 

 The position of the long hair on the tibia of legs I and II is different 

 from that of any other Tyrogl^phid. This hair is normally near the 



Fig. 164. — Khizoglyphis khizoi'Hagus. 



