INSECTS. 213 



pest may be sapping the life of a plant for weeks before it 

 is discovered. Amateur cultivators generally expect to 

 see something more tangible in a spider, if they have 

 heard of the red dragon at all, and are often hard to 

 convince, that this minute insect is the cause of so much 

 disaster. 



I will relate a rather ludicrous incident, to show that 

 some even of larger- experience may become possessed of 

 that notion. 



Some twelve years ago, I had in my employment an 

 active young Irishman, who, by showing more than ordi- 

 nary energy, quickly passed through the different grades, 

 until he was duly installed as foreman ; at that time we 

 had been firing a Camellia house, and by neglect of keep- 

 ing a properly moist atmosphere, the red spider had 

 made sad inroads. John was duly instructed to syringe 

 the plants, night and morning, to destroy it, which he 

 did; no doubt with a double object in view, as the sequel 

 will show. John was on all occasions rather demon- 

 strative, but one morning he came rushing towards me, 

 his face radiant with triumph, with his hat off, but 

 clasped in his hands, in a careful manner, evidently 

 having something of no common value within it. Before 

 I had time to inquire what was the cause of his excite- 

 ment, he yelled out " I've got him ! bedad ! I've got 

 him at last !" " What have you got ?" I enquired, expect- 

 ing to see something in the way of a rat or mouse. 

 " Arrah, the big divil himself, the blaggard that has been 

 doin' us all the mischief, the Heed Sphider!" and opening 

 nis hat, a villainous Tarantula-looking fellow ran out, 

 bigger than a thousand red spiders, which was quickly des- 

 patched by John's brogan. From that time John learn- 

 ed to know what the red spider was, but was never anx- 

 ious to allude to it afterwards. 



The Verbena Mite, another pest most disastrous in 

 its ravages on the Verbena, Heliotrope Petunia, Pelar- 



