48 GARDENING BY M YSELF. 



tribe have disappeared — or not appeared— 

 as the case may be. 



A sweeter, easier remedy for those who 

 live in their greenhouse, is pure cold water. 

 A vigorous shower bath, at short intervals, 

 is the best thing I ever tried. 



Worse than the green aphis, but not so 

 well-known, is the red spider. A minute 

 speck of scarlet, — too small to be noticed, 

 but working infinite harm. You can trace 

 them by their work ; for after their feeding, 

 the plant leaves turn brown as if they had 

 been slightly scorched. I lost almost a 

 whole set of fine seedling calceolarias once 

 in that way, before I ever guessed what was 

 the matter. Water is the great remedy 

 here, — showering, syringing, washing the 

 leaves ; whatever you can do best ; and re- 

 member that the hotter and dryer the air 

 where you keep your plants, the more 

 danger they are in from red spider. 



The verbena mite, or "rust" — another 

 creature known chiefly by its work, is be- 

 yond the reach of most remedies, bedding 



