INSECTS. 181 



different solutions destructive to aphis, &c., falling harm- 

 lessly on these. 



Thrips is an active insect,varying in size from that hard- 

 ly perceptible by the naked eye, to the size of the green 

 fly, and varying in color from whitish-yellow to dark 

 brown ; it is a jumping insect, very active in its move- 

 ments, and when it once gets a foothold is very destruct- 

 ive. It succumbs to tobacco smoke, but not so quickly 

 as does the green fly. It luxuriates in shaded situations, and 

 is generally found where plants are standing too thickly to- 

 gether,or where the ventilation or light of the green-house 

 has been deficient. I think it may be safe to assert that 

 in any well-regulated green-house or hot-house no injury 

 from insects will ever become serious, if proper attention 

 to syringing and fumigating has been given. Syring- 

 ing, or other means of keeping a moist atmosphere, 

 must never be neglected for a day, and fumigating by 

 tobacco smoke should be done, at the least, once each 

 week. This has been our own practice for nearly twenty 

 years, and we rarely ever see an insect in our green- 

 houses. 



The "Carnation Twitter." This is an insect but little 

 known, and called in this district only by its local name 

 of " Carnation Twitter," given from its rapid and nervous 

 motion. As seen by the naked eye it is about the twen- 

 tieth part of an inch in length, and of a thickness not 

 more than that of a cambric needle. It is of various 

 shades of color, from green to black ; it is never very 

 numerous on the plants, but most destructive and evidently 

 poisonous in its attacks on all varieties of the Carnation 

 and Pinks. 



Its effects on the Carnation somewhat resemble those 

 of the red spider, except that when attacked by the 

 " Twitter," the leaves have a cankered and twisted ap- 

 pearance, easily distinguishable from the browning 

 effects of the spider. When Carnations or Pinks get 



