274 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 



energy, quickly passed through the different grades, un- 

 til he was duly installed as foreman ; at fl> at time we 

 had been firing a Camellia house, and by ntglect 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 demonstrative, 

 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 some- 

 thing of no common value within it. Before I had time 

 to inquire what was the cause of his excitement, he 

 yelled out " I've got him! bedad! I've got him at last!" 

 *' What have you got, " I enquired, expecting to see 

 something in the way of a rat or mouse. " Arrah, the 

 big devil himself, the blaggard that has been doin' us all 

 the mischief, the Reed Sphider ! " and opening his hat, a 

 villainous Tarantula-looking fellow ran out, bigger than 

 a thousand red spiders, which was quickly despatched by 

 John's brogan. From that time John learned to know 

 what the red spider was, but was never anxious to allude 

 to it afterwards. 



The Verbena Mite, the minute cause of the " black 

 rust" so disastrous in its ravages on the Verbena, Helio- 

 trope, Petunia, Pelargonium, and various other plants, is 

 so small that it cannot be seen by the naked eye ; but its 

 ravages under certain conditions are so disastrous as to 

 render the cultivation of the Verbena and some similar 

 plants next to impossible. 



Viewed by a powerful microscope, this insect, magni- 

 fied 400 times, appears of the size given in Fig. 58 ; it 

 moves with great rapidity, and can only be examined as 

 it stops to feed. When this little pest has once got a 

 foothold, all direct remedies to dislodge him seem to be 

 powerless; the fumes of tobacco, so destructive to the 



