GREENHOUSE AND HOTHOUSE FLOWERS 157 



which, owing to their position, are not so readily accessible as 

 stage plants, and are less frequently examined. For instance, it 

 may fasten on a Stephanotis a plant for which it has a decided 

 partiality and make that fragrant favourite absolutely loathsome. 

 When it gets established in a house it generally baffles all the 

 efforts of the cultivator to get rid of it year after year, conse- 

 quently his object should be to take care that it does not get a 

 firm footing. Red-spider is a tiny mite which forms colonies on 

 the under side of the leaves of many plants, and spins webs. It 

 is almost invisible to the naked eye, but the effect of its operations 

 are only too plain in the loss of substance and green in the leaves, 

 and in the appearance of red or bronze blotches. Thrips is a 

 small, quick-moving insect that may attack either the foliage or 

 flowers of plants. Some plants, notably Cinerarias and Marguerites, 

 are subject to the attacks of leaf-mining grubs, which hatch from 

 eggs deposited by flies between the upper and lower skins of the 

 leaf. Their presence may be known by the appearance of greyish 

 lines in the leaves. 



The foregoing are the most common and troublesome of the 

 insects that attack indoor plants, and now for some remedies. In 

 the first place, we must work on the golden rule of prevention as 

 far as possible, because it saves time, money, and plants. Amateurs 

 should not take up the position that when insects appear certain 

 remedies must be applied ; it is better to decide that, as insects 

 are sure to come, preventive measures shall be adopted whether 

 they are seen or not. In recent years the most common means of 

 keeping insects down is by vaporising preparations of nicotine, which 

 is the poisonous principle of tobacco. The substance, and a small 

 appliance for vaporising and distributing it, are sold together in 

 handy packets, varying in size according to the size of the house 

 to be treated. The packets can be bought from all seedsmen and 

 florists, and they are not expensive. One that is extremely well 

 known is the "XL All." Another is West's. Beginning at the 



