oh Pine Plants. 431 



of the following summer, I found several of the plants had a few- 

 insects on them ; and from that time I had recourse to many 

 experiments, by which I was able to keep the insects from 

 becoming very numerous, but could not completely destroy 

 them. 



The first week in January 1817, I made a strong hot-bed 

 of leaves, on which I had placed a three-light melon frame. 



1 then selected as many of my small plants as would fill this 

 frame, consisting of those plants that were most infested with 

 the scale. I turned them out of the pots, shook the mould 

 from them, washed them with a glutinous lotion, made with 



2 lb. of soft soap and 3 gallons of rain water. After washing 

 them well with this mixture, I dusted them all over with flower 

 of sulphur, particularly in the hearts and bottom angles of the 

 leaves : I then repotted them, and placed them in the above- 

 mentioned hot-bed. By the end of the following month, I had 

 the satisfaction to see the plants growing freely, and not the 

 least appearance of the scale on them. I then determined to 

 dress the whole stock, but with this slight difference, that as 

 I did not like the yellow appearance of the sulphur, I mixed 

 equal parts of flower of sulphur and sulphur vivum, this 

 mixture being nearer the colour of the leaves. I then pro- 

 ceeded with my next smallest plants, by shaking them from 

 the mould, washing and dusting them with the mixed sulphurs 

 in the same way as the first parcel was done in January. My 

 larger plants had some of the mould taken from the tops of 

 the pots; the plants were then well washed and dusted, as 

 before stated, and the pots filled up with fresh mould. 



During the operation of washing and sulphuring the plants 

 of each separate pit or house, I had the bark beds sifted and 

 fresh tan added to replace the dust, the sifted and new tan 

 well mixed, and the plants in their pots replunged. From 

 that time, which is now twelve years, I have not seen a single 

 scale on my pines. I have since had pines sent to me from 

 Brazil and other parts, which were literally covered with scale. 

 I dressed them, as above stated, placed them amongst my clean 

 plants, and have never afterwards seen one living insect on 

 them. There is no time in the year that the operation may 

 not be performed ; though it may be said the month of March 

 is the best, as the plants will from that time the soonest grow 

 away from any unsightly appearance of sulphur. There is no 

 danger to be apprehended to the plants from a lavish ap- 

 plication of the mixture, nor any caution to be observed after 

 the dressing, more than the usual management of the plants. 



When I applied the above dressing to my pines, I did not 

 even take the precaution to wash the wood- work or walls of 



