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410 



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is an ingenious and no doubt effectual 

 way of accompiisliing the same end. It 

 is made by merely fixing a forked 

 branch or back of wood, to the raised 

 centre of a massive saucer or feeder, 

 which being kept constantly full of 

 water, forms a sort of foss, impassable 

 to vermin, round the plant it is intended 

 to guard; crickets and cockroaches are 

 very fond of flour scapes, and to be 

 dreaded accordingly ; red wafers scat- 

 tered over sand among the pots are to 

 them very tempting baits, and if swal- 

 lowed, the red lead they contain acts as 

 a poison; but these pests are best de- 

 stroyed by the mixture recommended 

 for the white scale. The thrip does 

 not do much mischief, except where 

 plants are either neglected or grown in 

 too hot and dry a temperature. It 

 usually first appears among the lataseta, 

 and is to be removed by careful wash- 

 ing. Small snails abound in some col- 

 lections, while in others they are un- 

 known: it is difficult to conjecture 

 whence they come, and all but impos- 

 sible to eradicate them entirely. They 

 batten upon the tenderest roots, such 

 as plants put forth when they are just 

 beginning to grow, and if not kept in 

 check would speedily produce irre- 

 trievable mischief. Lettuce leaves, 

 slices of potato, turnips, &c., are very 

 enticing, and while they divert the at- 

 tention of the enemy from the roots, 

 they also afford an opportunity of cap- 

 turing him. The collections which are 

 watered exclusively with rain water are 

 the least infested. But the worst plague 

 of all is the small white scale, which in 

 its first insidious approaches, appears 

 only as a white speck upon the leaves, 

 then covers them with a soft whitish 

 down, and finally kills them. For this 

 the following remedy will be found ef- 

 ficacious, viz. : dissolve half a pound of 

 camphor in a pint of spirits of wine, the 

 result will be an impalpable powder, to 

 which add one pound of scotch snuff, 

 one ditto pepper, one ditto sulphur, and 

 keep in a bottle carefully stopped. This 

 mixture should be dusted over the in- 

 fected parts, and repeated whenever 

 or wherever the enemy shows itself. 

 If persisted in for some time the mix- 

 ture rarely fails to effect a perfect cure; 

 and it has the further good property of 

 acting as a more deadly poison to cock- 

 roaches, &c., which have quite disap- 

 peared in the collection at Knypersley 



since this mixture came into frequent 

 use. Besides the above annoyances, 

 the red spider and the brown scale are 

 frequently injurious, but never except 

 in cases of gross neglect. 



4th. Give the plants a season of rest. 

 Without a season of rest most plants 

 will not live at all, and others do so 

 very imperfectly. It is easily accom- 

 plished in a variety of ways, eitlier by 

 moving the plants from the warmer to 

 the cooler end of the house, or by di- 

 minishing the quantity of water, or by 

 placing them in a cooler house. Even 

 exposure in a hot dry atmosphere, al- 

 though it scorches their leaves, not 

 unfreqently throws them into vigorous 

 flower. Plants from the East Indies 

 and from other climates, where the ex- 

 tremes of drought and wet are not felt 

 so severely as in Brazil or Hindostan, 

 require a season of rest proportionally 

 short, and of a less decided character. 



" 5th. Attend to the condition of the 

 air. In winter, 60^ to Goo is a whole- 

 some temperature for most of the spe- 

 cies; in the summer it may rise to 70^ 

 or 75o, or even higher if derived from 

 the heat of the sun. Where there are 

 two houses, the warmer one should not 

 be lower than 70^^ even in winter, but 

 fortunately there are comparatively few- 

 kinds that insist upon so hot a berth. 



" The air should always be soft and 

 nearly saturated with moisture. The 

 latter should, however, be prevented 

 from dripping upon the plants as it 

 condenses, and this is easily effected by 

 fixing a small copper pipe or piece of 

 channeled wood under each rafter and 

 sish-bar, to catch and carry off the 

 water. 



" 6th. Do not over-water. This a 

 beginner is very apt to do, and a griev- 

 ous fault it is. When plants do not 

 shrivel or flag, it is a sign that they are 

 content with the humidity that the at- 

 mosphere of the house supplies. When 

 watering is necessary, it should not be 

 done indiscriminately, but according to 

 the wants of particular plants. It is 

 also of great importance to use rain 

 water only, which may be collected for 

 the purpose in a tank, as shown in the 

 plan of Mr. Rucher's house, and which 

 should not be applied of a temperature 

 below 60*^. 



" Syringing in moderation maybe had 

 recourse to in hot weather. Some of 

 the sobralias, together with bromheadia 



