92 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



THE FLOWER GARDEN. 



Insects on House Plants, and the Remedies. 



In response to numerous inquiries we purpose to 

 give a little more in detail than we have previously 

 done, a descrijition of the inseets particularly injuri- 

 ous to house ijlauts, show the best way to prevent 

 their attacks, and the most approved means devised 

 for their destruction. In general, we may remark that 

 considerable heat and dryness of atmosphere are 

 necessary for the hatching of insects. All have 

 noticed in cool summers, or in a season when frequent 

 showers occur, our common grashoppers are scarcely 

 noticed, but if a drought happens, then they come in 

 full force. The same principle applies to plants in 

 the house. Those who give their plants plenty of 

 water by syringing, spraying, and bathing, will not 

 be very much troubled with insects. 

 THE GREEN-FLY. 

 The " green-fly " every plant-raiser knows, and he 

 knows, too, to his sorrow, how. destructive it is if left 

 to itself. The plants which this insect attacks are the 

 softest and most succulent, and at the ends of the 

 young shoots, and the softest leaves. 

 It sucks the juices so as materially to 

 I injure the plant in a short time. The 

 insects of this kind (Aphix) increase 

 with such wonderful rapidity that 

 Reaumur has proved that in five 

 GitEKN-FLT (APHis) generations one aphis may be the 

 MAGNiriED. progenitor of six thousand millions, 

 and there may be ten generations in a year. 



The insect inflicts the injury by means of a long 

 rostrum or beak through which it sucks out the 

 juices— the rostrum, when not in use, lies inflected 

 beneath the breast. Their bodies, at the hinder ex- 

 tremity, are furnished with two little prominent or 

 knotty openings, from which exude almost continu- 

 ally little drops of sweet or honey-like fluid. As they 

 take in great quantities of sap, they would soon be- 

 come gorged if they did not get rid of the supera- 

 bundant fluid. The leaves and bark of plants much 

 infested by these insects are often completely sprinkled 

 over with drops of this sticky fluid, which, on drying, 

 becomes dark colored and greatly disfigures the 

 foliage. 



Of all the means that have been employed for the 

 destruction of this insect, that which has proved most 

 efficient and the one now almost universally practiced. 

 Is fumigation with tobacco. Those who use it fre- 

 quently in green-houses, procure tobacco stems, when 

 they are readily to be had, on account of their cheap- 

 ness ; or in suitable climates a small crop of it is 

 raised for this purpose ; but tobacco in almost any 

 form may be used, and the amount necessary for a 

 stock of house-plants is of inconsiderable value. 

 Some plants, such as Heliotropes, Salvias, Lantanas, 

 and some others with soft, downy foliage, will not 

 bearordinary fumigations without injury to the leaves, 

 and these plants, therefore, should not be subjected 

 to it. Many plants in full flower, but especially Pelar- 

 goniums, will throw off their expanded blooms after 

 smoking, and therefore it is best to remove these be- 

 fore fumigating. Care should be used also to have 

 the foliage of all the plants dry, for if they are wet 

 or damp,^ the smoke will be apt to injure such as are 

 of a soft texture. If the plants are in a conservatory 

 attached to the house, the time chosen for fumigating 

 should be a still evening when there is little or no 

 wind stirring, and the temperature of thehouse should 

 be pretty well up, as then the inseets are more active 

 and the smoke will more easily afl'ect them. A few 

 chips or a little charcoal may be placed upon a small 

 furnace or a pan and ignited, and then a small quan- 

 tity of tobacco placed' upon it — the tobacco should 

 have been previously dampened so as to prevent its 

 burning too rapidly or blazing. See that the fire con- 

 tinues to burn, and add more tobacco, if enough has 

 not been placed on at first, until the room is filled 

 with smoke. It can be left this way all night, and in 

 the morning the plants should be well syringed to free 

 them of the dead insects, and to remove the odor of 

 the tobacco. After a few days it is best to repeat the 

 smoking so as to destroy any insects that may have 

 escaped the first time. In this way fumigation is to 

 be practiced whenever necessity indicates it; but as 

 we have before remarked, a free use of the syringe 

 and a moist atmosidiere will render the necessity of 

 less frequent occurrence. 



When only a plant or two, or a small number of 

 them are to be treated, they can be fumigated under 

 an inverted barrel or large box in a back room or 

 shed. Single plants may be lumigated by making a 

 bell of a newspaper, as shown in the engraving. The 

 smoke can be introduced by means of a tobacco-pipe. 

 Fill the bowl two-tliirils full of quick-burning tobac- 

 co, and, after lighting, |)lace a i)iece of cotton cloth 

 over the bowl, and blow the smoke through the stem, 

 with the mouth. Instead of fumigation, a weak solu- 

 tion of tobacco may sometimes be used quite as effec- 

 tively ; this is often the more convenient way for a 

 few plants. Soak or steep some tobacco in water 

 until the strength is extracted. The strength of the 

 water may be determined by dipping a leaf into it or 

 letting it remain in it for a short time ; if the leaf is 

 brown or burned, or turns so when taken out of the 

 water, the solutiun is too strong, and must be reduced 



by increasing the quantity of water. When the right 

 degree of strength is acquired, dip the whole plant 

 into the water, and afterwards syringe it off with 

 clean water. \Vhat we 

 desire to impress most 

 forcibly on the minds 

 of our readers, and es- 

 pecially those who keep 

 only a small number of 

 plants in the living- 

 room, is the better way, 

 of watching them so 

 elot^cly, and syringing 

 and washing them so 

 frequ iitlv. tliat tlie fly 

 is kept under and the 

 plants maintained in the 

 highest state of health. 



TDRIPS. 



This is an exceedingly , 

 active little insect, and - 

 seems to leap rather 

 than fly. The engrav- 

 ing shows a thrips of natural size. Fig. f, and the 

 same insect magnified. Fig. h. These insects are ex- 

 tremely small, and have long, slender bodies, with 

 very narrow wings, v hich are fringed with fine hair. 

 They live on leaves, flowers, in buds, and even in the 

 crevices of the bark of plants, but are so small that 

 they readily escape notice, the largest not being more 

 than one-tenth of an inch in length. The color of the 

 insect varies from a whitish-yellow to a dark brown. 

 It attacks the ex' remities of young shoots and tender 

 leaves, which becomes brown and shriveled, and will 

 crumble to dust when rubbed between the thumb and 

 finger. 



The same means that have been recommended for 

 the destruction of the " green-fly " serves for this little 

 pest also, but it does not succumb 

 so readily — the fumigation must 

 be more frequently "and persis- 

 tently practiced. As we have 

 said in reference to the "green- 

 fly," so with this insect; it may 

 THBiPs. ^,g prevented to a great ex-tent 



from multiplying, by syringing and frequently wash- 

 ing the leaves of the plants. 



If a vinery should be seriously attacked with thrips, 

 wait until all the foliage and fruit are taken off the 

 vines ; then remove all kinds of plants that have 

 green leaves into other houses, and shut up the vinery 

 close, and fill it with the fumes of sulphur. 



RED SPIDER. 



The Red Spider (Acarius iellarius) is a troublesome 

 little insect, and one which, if allowed to run un- 

 checked, would speedily bring devastation and total 

 ruin to the plants of the house or conservatory ; but 

 it is no doubt designed for some beneficial purpose. 

 We can more clearly see the compensating good from 

 its attacks than in the case of most other plant-prcy- 

 ere. If it were not for the whole«ome fear which it 

 continually inspires, gardeners and other plant-grow- 

 ers would probably very frequently maintain an at- 

 mosphere so dry as materially to injure or destroy 

 their plants. If you catch a glimpse Of a red spider, 

 you may be sure that the atmosphere of your plant- 

 room has been kept too dry— if it is your living-room, 

 it has also been too dry for the health of the human 

 occupants. It will be seen by the en- 

 graving that the insect is very minute, 

 as shown by the little dot a ; the same, 

 highly magnified, appears at 6. The 

 body is of a blood-red color, and the 

 feet a light red. 



A plant upon which this insect has EEDSpiDEB(/lca- 

 taken up his abode, in a short time rinsteUarhu).; 

 shows some leaves turning yellow, indicating pre- 

 mature decay ; when they are numerous they work 

 webs on the under-side of the leaves, and sometimes 

 all over it, until the plant becomes amass of half-dead 

 and decayed leaves. 



Water is fatal to the red spider, and, as before re- 

 marked, with an atmosphere of proper humidity, this 

 insect would never get a foothold. When once firmly 

 established upon the plants, the speediest way to de- 

 stroy them is by the fumes of sulphur. This remedy, 

 however, must be used with much caution, as the free 

 use of it will cause most plants to shed their leaves. 



Fortunately, but little of it is required ; and in the 

 green-house it has been found sufticieut to mix a lit- 

 tle flour of sulphur with water, or with milk, whicli 

 is said to be better, and to paint or smear with it a 

 small surface of the heating jiipes or the flue ; a very 

 little of it in the atmosphere proves suflicient for the 

 destruction of the insect. In the ease of a few house- 

 plants, wc think that sponging of the leaves on both 

 sides, and syringing the jilants so that the water is 

 thrown on tiie under as well as the upper sides of the 

 leaves, will be ell'ectual, without recourse to sulphur. 



SCALE INSECT. 



T?he Coccus, or Scale Insect, is a common pest on 

 some kinds of jilants ; the orange, the myrtle, the 

 camellia, the oleander, and many other hard-wooded 

 plants, are apt to be infested by them. Tliere are 

 many species of Coccus, varying slightly from each 

 other. One kind of plants is the home of one 

 variety, and another sort devotes its attention exclu- 



OOCCUB, OH SCALE INSECT. 



sively to some other kind. The grape, the pear, the 

 elm, and almost every kind of our cultivated and 

 forest trees, has its special representative of this class 

 of insects. In the engra- 

 ving the insect of natural 

 size is shown, a; when 

 magnified, the upper side, 

 6, represents a shield, and 

 the legs are only seen when 

 it is turned on its back, c. 



The remedy in this case 

 Is by washing the plant by hand, and forcing the in- 

 sect off witii the thumb or finger-nail ; or take a 

 small, stiff brush and soapsuds, and brush the plant 

 until it is thoroughly clean. The name of the species 

 that infests the myrtle, orange, oleander, etc., is 

 Coccus Hesperidum. 



The Mealy Bug (Coccus Adonidum) is similar to 

 the previously-mentioned insect, except that it is 

 covered with a white, mealy or downy substance. 

 Both of them insert their beaks into the bark or 

 leaves, and draw from the cellular substance the sap 

 that nourishes them. A weak mixture of whale-oil 

 soap and water, in the proportion of one ]K)und of 

 soap to five gallons of water, will be found destruc- 

 tive to them. With a few plants only, we would 

 recommend the use of a soft brush and water, and in 

 this way they can be readily removed. — Vick's Floral 

 Guide. 



Full length Portrait of some unhappy wo- 

 man's husband. The man who thinlcs it 

 nonsense for wife and girls to make flower 

 beds. 



How to Preserve and Restore Flowers. 



Flowers may be preserved in a fresh state for a 

 considerable time by keeping them in a moist atmos- 

 phere. Those who love to see plenty of fresh flowers 

 in their parlors or sitting rooms will be gratified by 

 adopting the following plan : Pour water into a flat 

 porcelain or glass dish. Set a vase of flowers in the 

 dish, and over it place a bell glass, with its rim in the 

 water. The air which surrounds the flowers, being 



c o n fl n ed be- 

 neath the bell 

 glass, is kept 

 con t i n u a 1 1 y 

 moist witli the 

 water which 

 rose with it in 

 the form of 

 vapor. As fast 

 as the water 

 is condensed it 

 runs down the 

 sides of the 

 bell glass 

 back into the 

 dish ; and if 

 means were 

 taken to inclose the water in the outside of the bell 

 glass, so as to prevent its evaporating into the air of 

 the sitting room, the atmosphere around the flowers 

 would remain continually damp. Those who wish to 

 " linger on the beauty " of a rare flower or bouquet 

 will be repaid by this experiment. It can be tried on 

 a small scale by inverting a tumbler over a rose-bud 

 in a saucer of water. Another method by which some 

 flowers may be preserved for many months, is to care- 

 fully dip them, as soon as gathered, in perfectly 

 limpid gum water, and after allowing them to drain 

 two or three minutes, to let them upright, or arrange 

 them in the usual manner in an empty vase. The 

 gum gradually forms a transparent coating on tlie 

 surface of the petals and stems, and preserves their 

 flgure and color long after they have become dry and 

 crisp. Faded 

 flowers may be 

 generally more 

 or less restored 

 by immersing 

 them half way 

 up their stems 

 in very hot 

 water, and al- 

 lowing them to 

 remain in it un- 

 til it cools, or 

 they have re- 

 covered. The 

 cooled portion 

 of the stems 

 must then be Portrait of the fortunate woman's hus- 

 ,..,t ,.tT oTiil tTio band,whomakes wifeandchildrenhappy 

 cut ott, ana tne and home pleasant, 

 flowers placed 



iu I'lear, cold water. In this way a great number of 

 faded flowers may be restored ; but there are some of 

 the more fugacious kinds on which it proves useless, 

 but flowers may also be preserved and their tints 

 deepened by adding to the water a little of the solu- 

 tion of carbonate of ammonia and a few drops of the 

 phosphate of soda. The efl'ect of this, in giving the 

 flower a deejicr color and a stronger appearance, is 

 quite wonderful ; and by cutting off every other day 

 about one-half inch of the stems of the flowers with 

 a sharp knife, they may be kept as long as their 

 natural life would last. 



The bestinvestment afarmer,gardeneror house- 

 keeper can make, is to put a dollar " on interest " by 

 subscribing for The Lancaster Farmer. It will 

 pay handsomely before the year is out. 



