GULTURE, an 
Insects and other Pests. 
All Orchids are liable to the attacks of numerous insects 
and other enemies, such as scale, mealy-bug, green-fly, 
thrips, red-spider, cockroaches, woodlice, and small snails. 
A great deal depends on whether the plants are kept free 
from these, much watchfulness being necessary to keep 
some of them down. Perhaps the worst of all are thrips, 
which generally attack the young leaves before they are 
pushed out of the centre. They rarely come up out of 
the heart of the plant, the only indication of their presence 
being the discoloration of the leaves as they develop. 
To get rid of thrips, fumigation with tobacco, or washing 
the plants with tobacco-water, must be frequently done, 
and the plants should be examined after every dose of 
smoke, or insecticide, till the thrips are thoroughly eradi- 
cated. The same treatment answers for the destruction of 
red-spider and green-fly. Scale, of which several kinds 
are found on Orchids, can only be destroyed by removing 
them with a small brush or a sponge, using a solution of 
soft soap and tobacco to wash them. A good mixture is 
made as follows: To rgal. of rain-water add 80z. of soft 
soap, 20z. of tobacco, and two tablespoonfuls of turpentine 
or paraffin. If the water is first boiled, and the mixture 
allowed to stand till it cools, and then strained through a 
piece of cloth, it forms an admirable and safe insecticide. 
Should any remain after use, it may be kept in a bottle 
for future use. Mealy-bug must be removed with a pointed 
stick, and the affected parts afterwards sponged to destroy 
any eggs that may be left. 
Woodlice prey upon the young roots. They can be 
trapped by slicing potatoes, and laying the pieces where 
the woodlice come to feed. If examined every morning, 
the vermin will be found under the slices of potato. For 
