30 HOME FLORICULTURE 



closely and you will see them move. Then you will 

 know that it is the ravages of this little but powerful 

 insect which has given your plants such a woe- 

 begone look. 



The only antidote for the red spider that I have 

 ever found effective is — water. "Only this, and noth- 

 ing more." This insect will not stay where there is 

 much moisture. If you apply water to your plants 

 daily, putting it on with a syringe, and throwing it 

 well up among the foliage, so that it reaches the under- 

 side of the leaves where the spider lurks because the 

 leaf over him acts as a sort of umbrella which protects 

 him from falling water, you can soon rout him. But 

 this treatment must be thorough, and it must be kept 

 up, for if you abate your efforts he will soon return. 

 Use every means in your power to keep the air moist 

 at all times. But rely on showering to drive him away 

 when once established. Be sure to remember what 

 has been said about getting the water to the underside 

 of the leaf. In greenhouses, where the plants are 

 syringed often, the spider is seldom found because 

 the air is charged with so much moisture at all times 

 that it is not pleasant for him. This condition cannot 

 be secured in the living room, but much can be done to 

 do away with the dryness usually found there. Some- 

 times I think the spider a blessing in disguise, for 

 the water which you apply to your plants in fighting 

 him is an important item of success in the culture of 

 them, and were it not for the fight you wage they 

 might not get it. 



The other two principal enemies of house plants 

 are mealy bug and scale. The mealy bug looks like a 

 tiny bit of cotton. The scale is a smooth, flat creature, 

 adhering closely to the surface of such smooth leaved 

 plants as the Ivy, Lemon and Oleander. Both are 

 destructive. Lemon or fir-tree oil will rout them more 



