CHAPTER XIV 
PESTS AND DISEASES 
Green-fly.—This is the most troublesome pest of the Carna- 
tion, but it need not prove destructive if preventive measures 
are employed at the proper time. When the plants are 
under glass, nothing is more effectual than vaporising with a 
good nicotine compound directly the first signs of fly are 
observed. Plants growing in the open should be sprayed 
with quassia extract, dipping in this liquid any plants badly 
affected, or having the aphides concealed in the points of 
the shoots where spraying cannot reach them. 
Red Spider.—In hot, dry seasons, red spider is a trouble- 
some little pest, usually attacking the under side of old and 
young foliage ; its presence may be detected by the yellow 
appearance of the foliage, caused by the insects feeding 
upon it. Slight attacks may be remedied easily, by laying 
the plants on their sides and forcibly syringing them with 
clear water. An excellent remedy, and the best preventive, 
is to spray the plants with common salt diluted in water 
at the strength of one ounce of salt to two gallons of water, 
taking care that the spray reaches the under sides of the 
leaves. If this is done in the cool of the evening, once a 
week, and the plants syringed next day with clear water, it 
will have the effect of keeping them clean and healthy. 
Thrips. — These little black insects do considerable 
damage to the tips of the flower-stems, young foliage, and 
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