X ROSES UNDER GLASS 19B 



probably err in keeping the plants in pots too dry. 

 Syringing them three times a day seems a strong 

 measure and likely to lead to the danger of mildew, 

 but it is practised by some of the best growers 

 during April and May. We are apt to forget, per- 

 haps, that out of doors, in the spring months at 

 least, the air, earth, and foliage are almost always 

 very damp at night from dew, which much refreshes 

 the foliage. 



Insect pests of all kinds, and especially aphides, 

 will come whether the house be damp or dry. Pre- 

 vention is better than cure, and sharp eyes constantly 

 looking for the first aphis, assisted by ready fingers 

 to catch and destroy it at once, form the best pro- 

 tection. I remember, on going through a large 

 range of glass-houses where difl^erent flowers, not 

 Eoses, were grown, hearing a boy who was evidently 

 employed there addressed as " Mealy." On in- 

 quiring whether that was really his name or only a 

 sobriquet, I was informed that it was his sole 

 business to go over all the houses from end to end 

 and look for " mealy bug." There had been a great 

 visitation of this pest, which is very difficult to 

 exterminate, and constantly reappears ; but the 

 boy's eye became by training and sole use so sharp 

 at its detection, that the houses were quite clear of 

 it before long, and "Mealy" got a change of occu- 

 pation, and I hope of name. 



A determination that no aphis shall be seen is a 

 saving of trouble in the end, but there are now safe 

 and effectual insecticides which may be used in 

 spraying and syringing without the disagreeable and 

 dangerous fumigation with tobacco. But in such 

 cases it should be remembered that one o^ two of 



o 2 



