Destroying the Red Spider. 277 



delight ; for, except the fine collection lately made by Mr. 

 Knight, of the King's Road, Chelsea, there is not an orange 

 or lemon tree in the nursery gardens near London that is not 

 a disgrace to the collection. 



I am, Sir, &c. 

 Woodstock, Sept. 10. 1827. An Amateur. 



Art. IV. On destroying the Med Spider in Hot-houses. By 

 Mr. David Cameron, A.L.S., Gardener to Robert Bar- 

 clay, Esq., F.L.S. H.S., Bury Hill, Surrey. 



Allow me to inform you of my method of destroying the 

 red spider in the plant stoves here, which is very simple, and 

 probably may already be known to you. I take a quarter 

 of a pound of flour of sulphur, mix it in a common-sized 

 watering-pot of water, and pour the mixture along the top of 

 the flues when the fires are at work, putting least near the 

 furnace and most at the farther extremity, through a coarse 

 rose, when the sulphur will be found to have run down the 

 sides of the flues, and adhered to them, as well as upon the 

 top. The sulphureous exhalation arising from the hot flues 

 generally destroys the spider in five or six days, when a good 

 syringing will clear the plants of them ; but the house is 

 neither steamed nor syringed from the time the sulphur is 

 put on till they are killed. When too much sulphur is put 

 on, I reduce the quantity, by pouring water along the flues ; 

 and, if too little, by going over them again with the mixture. 

 By this method the stove is kept free from the spider during 

 the winter months. They only begin to do injury towards 

 autumn, when they are stopped from doing farther injury as 

 soon as the fires are lighted for the season. The same method 

 is practised at Messrs. Loddiges', by brushing over the steam- 

 pipes with sulphur. Vineries and peach houses might be 

 completely cleared of the red spider in the same way before 

 the foliage comes out, because then the sulphur might be put 

 on much stronger, without doing any injury; which it cer- 

 tainly would, if put on too strong, where there is tender 

 foliage in the house. I am, Sir, &c. 



David Cameron. 

 Bury Hill Gardens, Oct. 2. 



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