PROPER TREATMENT CONTINUED. 57 



the lens, and you will probably discover the pest, which 

 will appear, when magnified, as in fig. 8. Their 

 mischief is often wrought before their presence is even 

 suspected, and without doubt they are the real but mys- 

 terious cause of numerous failures. 



The Aphides, or green plant-lice, you have often seen 

 on the tender shoots of rose 

 bushes in summer time. They 

 are very wonderful creatures 

 and well worth studying, as 

 you will find when you be- 

 come interested in entomolo- 

 gy. But they are much less 

 to be dreaded than the spider, 

 because more easily seen and 

 removed. 



The Mealy-bug is not so 

 likely to trouble you as the 

 other insects mentioned. But 

 if you chance to find on the 

 leaves, near their axils, any 



i . , . i Fig.8. RED SPIDER, MAGNIFIED 



white or grayish spots re- 

 sembling bits of mould, put them under the microscope, 

 and you will at once understand the necessity of keeping 

 them off from your plants. In the same way examine any- 

 thing having a suspicious appearance, and you will per- 

 haps detect some kind of depredating guest which needs 

 to be ousted at once, even though it be only the quiet- 

 looking Brown-scale on the lower side of some shaded 

 ivy leaf. 



For protection or relief, the means commonly employed 

 in greenhouses is dense and stifling tobacco smoke, or, 

 in some cases, a strong infusion or tea of tobacco applied 

 with a syringe. Twice a week generally suffices for the 

 Aphides, at least ; and a constantly moist atmosphere is 

 the safeguard against the Red Spiders. In your rooms, 



