388 



THE PESTS OF GARDEN PLANTS 



and those who are determined to get rid of Woodlice may soon 

 make an end of them. 



MEALY BUG 

 Dactylopius odoniduj, 



MEALY BUG. This plague is by no means confined to plants 

 under glass. In the case of a lot of stove plants badly affected, the 

 desperate course of committing the whole to the fire, and then re- 

 pairing and painting the house, is often the cheapest in the end. We 



have known a Pine - grower 

 compelled to destroy a house- 

 ful of plants that have been 

 infested by the introduction 

 of a plant from a buggy col- 

 lection. Mealy Bug may be 

 known by its mealy, floury, or 

 cottony appearance. It has a 

 great fancy for Grape vines. 

 One of the best remedies is 

 Gishurst Compound, prepared 



at the rate of eight ounces to a gallon of water, with clay added to 

 give it the consistence of paint. Miscellaneous stove plants may be 

 cleansed by washing with a brush and soft scap. Our illustration 

 shows a group of Mealy Bugs natural size, with one insect magnified. 



RED SPIDER is encouraged by a dry hot atmosphere. It occurs 

 in almost every vinery, however well managed. A moist atmosphere 



is a great, though not a cer- 

 tain, preventive ; indeed we 

 cannot, without injury to the 

 vines, keep the air of the 

 house always so humid that 

 the Spider is unable to obtain 

 a lodgment. Syringing ope- 

 rates in aid of a moist atmo- 

 sphere, for, like other vermin, 

 the Red Spider (which is in 

 reality a mite) thrives best 

 in heat and dryness. But 

 the most decided repellent of 

 Spider is a painting of sulphur on the hot-water pipes. This may 

 be done by sprinkling dry sulphur on the pipes, or by making a paint 

 of sulphur, clay, and water, with which the pipes should be painted. 



RED SPIDER 

 Tetranychus telarius 



