AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HORTICULTURE. 



91 



Aphelandra continued. 



A. nitens (shining).* JL glowing vermilion-scarlet, very large, in 

 erect, simple, terminal spikes, which, after the flowers have fallen, 

 are clothed with the imbricating, lanceolate, appressed bracts. 

 1. orate, sub-acute, leathery, brilliant glossy on the upper surface, 

 dark vinous purple underneath, k. 2ft. to 3ft. Colombia, 1867. 



A. Porteana (Forte's).* JL in fine terminal heads ; corolla ami 

 bracts bright orange. I. rich green, with metallic silvery-white 

 veins, h. 2ft Brazil, 1854. 



A. jramila (dwarfish).* JL orange-coloured ; upper lip erect, con- 

 cave, entire; bracts large, purplish. L large, cordate, ovate- 

 oblong, acute. A. Bin. Brazil, 1878. Very distinct from all 

 others. 



A. pnnctata (dotted).* JL bright yellow, in large and rather dense 

 spikes ; the spiny-edged long pointed bracts are also yellow, with 

 the exception of the tip, which is green, and forms a pleasing 

 contrast. November. opposite, elliptic, acuminate ; the green 

 midrib is conspicuous in the middle of a white central band, which 

 also extends beside the green veins, this silvery band breaking up 

 on its margin into numerous small white dots, producing a 

 pretty and distinct form of variegation. South America, 1881. 



A. Roezlii. A synonym of A. aurantiaca Roezlii. 



A. yariegata (variegated). JL yellow; spike, 6in. long, with 

 bright orange-red bracts. L ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, dark 

 green with white veins, ft, IJft Brazil. 



APHELEXIS (from apheles, simple, and exis, habit). 

 OED. Composite. A genus of elegant dwarf evergreen 

 greenhouse shrubs. Flower-heads large, solitary, or small 

 and two or more together. Leaves pT"a11, These plants 

 are valuable for exhibition purposes, on account of their 

 bright colours, and the length of time they last in per- 

 fection; they are included among what are familiarly 

 known as " everlastings." The most suitable soil is a com- 

 post of two parts of good fibrous peat and one of leaf 

 mould, with a liberal supply of silver sand, and a few 

 pieces of charcoal added to it Repot the plants firmly 

 in February, and allow thorough drainage. Cuttings can 

 be made in spring or summer; small half -ripened side 

 shoots are best ; and these will root in sandy soil, under 

 a bell glass, in a cool greenhouse. 



A. ericoides(Heath-like).* Jl.-head* white. ApriL L very small, 

 three-cornered, imbricated, appressed ; branches numerous, very 

 fine, filiform. A. 1ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1796. 



A. fasciculata (fascicled). JL-headt purplish, solitary, terminal ; 

 peduncles scaly. March. L acerose linear, roundish, downy above; 

 lower spreading ; upper appressed. h. 2ft. Cape of Good Hope, 

 1779. There are two or three forms of this species, varying in the 

 colour of the flowers. 



A. humilis (humble, or dwarf).* JL-keads pink, solitary, terminal, 

 opening only in sunshine ; peduncles scaly. ApriL L subulate, 

 erect, imbricate. Branches numerous, slender, covered with 

 white tomentnm. A. 2ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1810. A hand- 



terminated 

 m humtie. 



A. h, grandiflora (large-flowered).* JL-headt rosy-purple, produced 

 in great abundance. Habit rather dwarf, and free branching. 

 Very highly esteemed. 



A. h, 



, . 



some greenhouse plant, with much-branched stems, terminated 

 by the flower-head. SYNS, A. maerantha and HeUpteru 



. h. pm-purea (purple)* Jt dark purple, re. _ 



silvery white and shining. A vigorous grower, and perhaps the 

 best for exhibition purposes. It is known in gardens , 

 maerantha purpurea ; also under the name of A. tpectabilis. 



TV abundant. I. 

 and perha 

 in gardens 

 i.tpectabilu 



A. h, rosea (rose-coloured).* JL-heads delicate rose, very profuse. 

 Habit very compact and free-branching. A very showy and de- 

 sirable variety, known in gardens as A. maerantha rosea. 

 A. macrantha (large-flowered). Synonymous with A. kumilU. 

 A. sesamoides (Sesamnm-likeX JL-headt purple and white, 

 sessile, solitary, terminaL ApriL L acerose linear, keeled, smooth, 

 appressed. A. 2ft Cape of Good Hope, 1739. 



APHIDES, or PLANT LICE. These belong to 

 the order Homoptera, meaning " same winged," and the 

 name has reference to the fact that the fore wings 

 are uniform in their structure from base to apex, not 

 divided into a leathery base and a membranous tip. 

 Aphides are all minute in size, soft bodied, and generally 

 long legged ; the mouth is furnished with a curiously- 

 constructed beak, or rostrum, for sucking the juice of 

 plants ; the antennae, or feelers, are long and slender ; 

 the legs have usually two joints in the tarsi, one of 

 which is generally very ill-developed; and near the tip 

 of the abdomen, on the back of a ring, in many kinds, 

 stand two prominent tubes, called honey-tubes, from 

 which a sweet secretion, much sought after by ants, 

 is emitted. They are very destructive, and nearly every 



Aphides continued. 



plant has its own peculiar Aphis; but among the worst 

 are the cherry fly and bean fly. All these insects 

 are very destructive to the young shoots and foliage of 

 plants, on which they cluster in large numbers, sometimes 

 completely hiding the stems, increasing with marvellous 

 rapidity. They produce eggs in autumn, which lie dor- 

 mant through the winter, and upon the approach of 

 warm weather in spring, hatch and produce individuals 

 which, during the summer, are viviparous, budding off 

 young insects at a surprising rate, which quickly in turn 

 become possessed of the same marvellous power; hence 

 the enormous number which are produced in so surpris- 

 ingly short a time. It has been computed that in a few 

 weeks many millions of young might be produced directly 

 or descended from a single female. See also Black Fly 

 and Bean Fly. 



The following remedies may be successfully employed: 



Tobacco. This is applied, as a rule, in three forms, each 

 of which is useful for particular purposes. Tobacco powder 

 is useful as a dry application to plants where, from any 

 cause, the other modes of employing it are not desirable. 

 It causes no smell, and is useful in conservatories, .fee., for 

 that reason. The mode of applying it is to dredge or dust 

 it over the foliage of the plants affected, and to syringe off 

 in from three to thirty hours, according to the nature of 

 the plants. Fumigation with tobacco, if done in a proper 

 way, is very effective, but it leaves an unpleasant smell. 

 The foliage of the plants should be quite dry, and a still 

 day must be chosen for the work; the house should be 

 filled with smoke, but no flame must arise in the burning. 

 The plants should be well syringed the next morning, and 

 full ventilation allowed ; if the fumigation is repeated 

 twice or thrice, it will prove very effectual Tobacco water 

 is made by soaking a pound of coarse shag in 6gals. of hot 

 water, to which jib. of size or soft soap has been added. 

 The plants should be dipped into or syringed with this 

 mixture, and well syringed with clean tepid water about 

 twelve hours after. It should not be employed for plants 

 having woolly or hairy foliage. Tobacco paper and cloth 

 are used for fumigating in the same manner as tobacco ; 

 but as they vary in strength, more care is necessary, as 

 they sometimes cause the leaves to become spotted. Judi- 

 ciously employed, they are cheaper than Tobacco. 



Quassia.. Boil lib. quassia chips in 4gals. of soft water, 

 for about ten minutes, and after straining off the chips, add 

 lib. of soft soap. Apply in the same way as Tobacco water, 

 and syringe the plants with clean water after ten minutes 

 or a quarter of an hour. 



Soft Soap. This, in proportion of 81b. to 12gals. of rain 

 water, and Igal. of tobacco water added after it is cold, 

 is a cheap and good remedy out of doors, and requires the 

 same mode of application as tobacco water. 



Soap Suds. Where bleaching powder, or much soda, 

 is not mixed with these, they make a good insect killer 

 for hard-foliaged plants, but should be washed off with 

 clean water in twelve hours. No mixture containing 

 chloride of lime should be used. 



Various. Fir-tree Oil, Gishursf s Compound, and Fowler's 

 Insecticide, are all serviceable, if used as directed on the 

 labels. Hardeman's Beetle Powder, applied with the little 

 French powder-bellows which is sold with it, is very effi- 

 cacious. For outdoor work, nothing surpasses clean cold 

 water, applied often and forcibly with a syringe. 



The best mode of clearing Aphis off Beans, Currants, 

 &c., is to remove the tops of the infested shoots, and 

 to wash the plants with soapy water, or a solution of 

 Gishursf s Compound. In some cases, a good dusting with 

 soot and wood ashes, while the plants are wet, will keep 

 them in check. The " Golden Eyes " or " Lacewing " fly, 

 and also ladybirds, are to be encouraged, as the larvae 

 of each of these wage incessant war against Aphides, 

 especially the green varieties, and thin them out con- 

 siderably. 



