CHAPTER XIV 

 PESTS AND DISEASES 



Green-fly. This is the most troublesome pest of the Carna- 

 tion, but it need not prove destructive if preventive measures 

 are employed at the proper time. When the plants are 

 under glass, nothing is more effectual than vaporising with a 

 good nicotine compound directly the first signs of fly are 

 observed. Plants growing in the open should be sprayed 

 with quassia extract, dipping in this liquid any plants badly 

 affected, or having the aphides concealed in the points of 

 the shoots where spraying cannot reach them. 



Red Spider. In hot, dry seasons, red spider is a trouble- 

 some little pest, usually attacking the under side of old and 

 young foliage ; its presence may be detected by the yellow 

 appearance of the foliage, caused by the insects feeding 

 upon it. Slight attacks may be remedied easily, by laying 

 the plants on their sides and forcibly syringing them with 

 clear water. An excellent remedy, and the best preventive, 

 is to spray the plants with common salt diluted in water 

 at the strength of one ounce of salt to two gallons of water, 

 taking care that the spray reaches the under sides of the 

 leaves. If this is done in the cool of the evening, once a 

 week, and the plants syringed next day with clear water, it 

 will have the effect of keeping them clean and healthy. 



Thrips. These little black insects do considerable 

 damage to the tips of the flower-stems, young foliage, and 



