PLANTS FOB WINDOW GARDENING. 35 



matted or collected at the bottom or sides of the pot; 

 examine to see if they are healthy ; if so, give them a 

 larger pot ; if not, prune off these which are dead, remove 

 the old soil, and pot in the same size, or smaller, as the 



case may require. 



', 

 The custom with gardeners is to pot heaths in the spring, 



but the grower must be guided by the state of the plant. 



Insects give but little trouble, where proper regard is 

 paid to the plants. 



Mealy-bug is sometimes found ; the best course to pur- 

 sue, if the plant is badly infested, is to throw it away, for 

 it is almost impossible to remove the insect ; if but slightly 

 affected, pick them off, and wash the plant well with warm 

 soap-suds ; whale oil soap is preferable. The same rules 

 apply when the plants are troubled with black or brown 

 scale. Erica arborea is particularly subject to attacks of 

 the former, and from the fine, close nature of its foliage, it 

 is very difficult to clean. 



We have never known our heaths to be troubled by red 

 spider or by aphis. 



In growing ericas, some attention must be paid to prun- 

 ing, or rather to pinching; the plants should never be 

 allowed to grow tall and spindling ; they should be grown 



