370 



HENDEESON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS. 



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The only certain remedy is to destroy 

 them by hand. 



The Green Fly, or Aphis, is one of 

 the most common, but most easily de- 

 stroyed of almost any insect that infests 

 plants, either indoors or out. In our 

 green-houses, we fumigate twice a week, 

 by burning about half a pound of refuse 

 tobacco stems (made damp) to every five 

 hundred square feet of glass surface, but 

 in private green-houses or on plants in 

 rooms, fumigating is often impracticable. 

 But Tobacco in any form is quickly fatal 

 to the Green Fly; so in private green- 

 houses or in rooms, where the fumes of 

 Tobacco would be objectionable, Tobacco 

 stems can be used by steeping one pound 

 in five gallons of water, until the water 

 gets to be the color of strong coffee. This 

 is applied over and under the leaves with 

 a syringe, and destroys the insect quite 

 as well as by fumigating, only in either 

 case the application should be made be- 

 fore the insects are seen, to prevent their 

 coming rather than to destroy them 

 when established; for often by neglect 

 they get a foothold in such legions that 

 all remedies become ineffectual to dis- 

 lodge them, unless by brushing them off 

 the leaves with a light brush. Another 

 means of preventing the Green Fly is to 

 apply Tobacco in the shape of dust or 

 snuff. The sweepings of Tobacco ware- 

 houses can be bought in most places at 

 a cost of five to ten cents per pound. 

 This, applied once or twice a week to an 

 ordinary sized private green-house, would 

 effectually prevent any injury from the 

 Green Fly. No special quantity of this 

 need be prescribed, as it is in no way 

 hurtful to the plant; all that is necessary 

 is to see that it is so dusted on that it 

 reaches ah 1 parts of the plant, and on 



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both sides of the leaves. It is best to 

 slightly moisten the leaves beforehand, 

 so that the dust will adhere to them. 

 When applied to plants out-doors, it 

 should be done in the morning when the 

 dew is on, or after a rain. Fruit trees of 

 many kinds, shrubs, and Eoses of all 

 kinds, out of doors, are particularly lia- 

 ble to injury from some species of Aphis, 

 but the application of Tobacco in any of 

 the forms alluded to, if made in time, 

 will be found a cheap and effectual rem- 

 edy. 



Ground or Blue Aphis is another spe- 

 cies of Aphis that gets its living from 

 the roots down in the soil, which may 

 have the effect of changing its color, 

 while the Green Aphis feeds in the air 

 on the leaves. The Blue Aphis attacks 

 a great many varieties of plants, both 

 flower and vegetable, particularly in hot, 

 dry weather, and whenever Asters, Ver- 

 benas, Petunias, Centaureas, Beets, Rad- 

 ishes, Lettuce, etc., begin to droop, it 

 will be found on examination, in three 

 cases out of four, that the farthest ex- 

 tremities of their roots are completely 

 surrounded by the Blue Aphis. The 

 only remedy we have ever found for 

 this pest is a strong decoction of Tobacco 

 stems, made by being boiled until it gets 

 to the color of strong coffee, and poured 

 on, when cold, in quantity enough to 

 reach the extremity of the roots. There 

 is no fear of injuring the plants by this 

 application, as it acts as a fertilizer to 

 some extent. 



The Verbena Mite is an insect that can 

 only be seen by the use of a powerful 

 microscope, and its presence is only 

 known by the appearance of the leaves 

 known as " Black Rust," which see. 



The Mealy Bug, as it is familiarly 



