ROUTINE WORK 139 



scale, naturally grow apace in the warmth and close atmos- 

 phere of the hot-house, but ought never to be found where 

 there is no artificial heat. Green fly and thrips are sometimes 

 troublesome, but a very little watchfulness and attention will 

 suffice to keep them under, and prevention is better than 

 cure. In a small greenhouse, a basin with a decoction of 

 quassia-chips, or even of plain water, and a small paint-brush 

 always at hand in use will keep the enemy at bay. On a 

 larger scale, fumigation occasionally will be necessary. When 

 plants are growing vigorously, there is little to fear from 

 insect pests, and towards this desirable end some kind of 

 artificial manure or plant food is often a great help, such as 

 bone meal in certain cases to be mixed with the soil in 

 potting or one of the many specialities advertised for the 

 purpose. Soot-water, made by putting a coarse canvas bag 

 containing a peck of soot into a barrel of rain-water and letting 

 it stand, after an occasional stir, until the liquid is of the 

 colour of strong tea and quite clear from sediment, is one of 

 the most valuable of fertilisers that can be used, and may be 

 safely given to Ferns as well as to flowering plants. It should 

 be diluted with rain-water when used, and given twice a week 

 during the growing- and flowering-period a much better plan 

 than administering a strong dose haphazard. Stimulants of 

 all kinds must naturally be discontinued when plants are at 

 rest. 



A garden-book in which entries are regularly made ot 

 plants received and from whence they come, with accurate 

 dates of seeds sown and of their germination, with all 

 other details of the kind which may strike the cultivator 

 as being noteworthy, helps to lift the routine of green- 

 house work out of the rut of mere commonplace, and 

 makes it at once more systematic and scientific. Such a 

 record faithfully kept, besides adding tenfold to our interest, 

 increases in value year by year, and can confidently be 



