orchids: now to gkow ttiem successfully. 4;i 



thick at tho base and tapors soiiiowhat more to a jjoint tliaii is 

 usual, the gi-owth making but litth; progress. The only metliod 

 of exterminating this pest is to cut out the infested growth, in the 

 centre of which the young grub will be found in a more or less 

 advanced stage. If destroyed in this way an effectual stop to 

 tlieir breeding is attained and much harm to th(; plants prevented ; 

 ])ut, should an infested gro\\i;h be overlooked and the insect come 

 to maturity, a gi-eat amount of damage may be done for another 

 year. Luckily this insect is not veiy general, but it is always best 

 to be on the alert when buying plants. 



The Dexdhobium Beetle [Xylehorus perforaus) is of small 

 size, but quite large enough to be capable of a great amount of 

 mischief if not jiromptly checked, and should it get a foothold 

 on the bulbs, as it often does in the Dendrobiums from the 

 Torres Straits, such as D. Phalaenopsis, D. Schroderiana, D. bigib- 

 bum, D. Dalhousieanum, and D. formosum giganteum, apparently 

 1 laving a liking for, but it does not confine itself to these species. 

 The presence of the insect is indicated by the small cleanly 

 bored holes in the pseudo bulb, both new and old, resembling 

 the small holes found in old worm-eaten furniture ; should 

 these holes escape notice the leaves soon assume a yellowish 

 iippearance and the pseudo bulbs begin shiivelling about an 

 inch below the holes. If the pseudo bulb is cut open, a nest 

 in a small ca\dty will be found, containing one or moie 

 of the beetles, and th(^ surrounding tissues ^all be in a state of 

 decay. It is an open question whether the holes are first pierced 

 by the adult beetle — an insect nearly the size of and resembling 

 an ant — and the larvae deposited therein, or whether they are 

 liatched in the pseudo bulb and afterwards eat their way out of 

 it, as is the case vdtli the Cattleya fly. This enemy may soon 

 he stamped out if proper and timely precautions are taken. I 

 advise an examination of the plants occasionally, and if any traces 

 of the beetle are found, fo cut away that portion of the pseudo 

 bidb and bum it ; in fact, should the plant be found to be badly 

 infested, burn it altogether, and give the remaining plants a 

 dressing of some insecticide. 



Red Spider. — This insect pest is most troublesome, and on 

 Dendrobiums more than any other Orchids ; when plants nw 

 attacked by them and are unnoticed, serious results may follov.-. 

 as they greatly reduce the vitality of the plants. They usually 



