INSECTS, MITES, ETC. 211 



glutinous substance called honeydew. The fourth infests 

 the roots and stems of the auricula. They are covered 

 with a woolly down, and suck the sap out of the cells. 



Kembdies. — For the first kinds spray with a Soap and 

 Quassia Solution (No. 14), or with one of the advertised 

 insecticides. For the Eoot Aphis lift the plants, well 

 wash their roots in soapy water and replant in a fresh 

 site. 



Bulb Mite (Rhizoglyphus echinopus). — This is an 

 almost microscopic creature, which feeds on the bulbs of 

 tulips, lilies, and onions, and the roots of dahlias, pota- 

 toes, vines, eucharis, etc. Their presence may be de- 

 tected on plants by small reddish scales on the bulbs or 

 roots, and by the pale yellow colour of the foliage. They 

 can only be seen by the aid of a powerful lens. 



Eemedies. — (1) The most effectual remedy is to burn all 

 infested bulbs and the soil they have been grow^n in. (2) 

 Wash the bulbs, before planting or potting, in a solution 

 of sulphide of potassium and water (one ounce to three 

 gallons). (3) Fumigating in a closed chamber with bi- 

 suli:)hide of carbon. Use one pint of carbon to 1,000 cubic 

 feet of space. A dangerous remedy, however, as the gas 

 is highlj^ poisonous, and must not be heated. Nor must 

 a light of any kind, not even a lighted cigar, cigarette, 

 or pipe, be used near, otherwise the gas will ignite and 

 explode. 



Carnation Mag:g:ot. — The carnation maggot is a 

 terrible foe. Fully grown, it measures about one-third of 

 an inch in length, and is of a yellowish-white colour. Its 

 parent is a small fly, named Hylemia nigrescens. This 

 fly deposits its egg or eggs in or on the leaf, and these 

 subsequently hatch into maggots an eighth of an inch in 

 length, which eat their way just under the skin of the leaf 

 to the centre of the shoot. Here they feed on the pith, 

 and consequently kill the plant. Their presence in the 

 leaves mav be detected by thin whitish lines or streaks 



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