174 



THE GREEN-HOUSE. 



constructed and judiciously managed, either can ever 

 become necessary. 



Flies and wasps are chiefly injurious in the green- 

 house during summer, when the plants are out of 

 doors, and when the peaches, figs, and grapes are be- 

 ginning to ripen. To attract the flies from peaches, 

 place phials or bottles of water with the mouths 

 honeyed near them. Wasps at this season are not 

 troublesome ; but when the grapes and late crop of 

 figs are ripening, then the large blue fly and wasps 

 abound. There are only two eflectual ways of pre- 

 serving the fruit from their attacks : the first and 

 best is to have all the openings of the green-house 

 covered with a fine netting, the meshes of which are 

 not larger than one -quarter of an inch. This will 

 effectually exclude them, as no large fly or wasp can 

 enter a space of that dimension with its wings ex^ 

 tended. The second mode is to secure the bunches 

 of grapes singly, by covering them with bags of 

 gauze or of silver paper, — a bad plan if it can be 

 avoided, as it lessens the flavour of the fruit. Figs 

 may be covered individually in the same manner, and 

 they take less injury from the process. 



Earwigs and beetles are readily caught by the 

 common beetle-trap, or by placing a glass funnel over 

 a pot or vessel of any sort with crumbs of bread be- 

 low. The beetle is less injurious where there are 

 fruits than the earwig, which attacks the peach and 

 fig, and is in the case of wall trees commonly caught 

 in hollow cylinders, as reeds, or bean stalks, or the 



