178 



THE GREEN-HOUSE. 



may be perfectly covered. Then return tlie plants 

 to an airy dry part of the house, the less conspicuous 

 the better; one dressing in this way will prove a 

 complete remedy. 



The honeydew is a sweet clammy substance, 

 which coagulates on the leaves of plants, chiefly dur- 

 ing summer, but on some green-house plants, as the 

 Mdsa semperfldrens, Myrtle, and Orange, during 

 winter and spring. Some regard it as the dung of 

 aphides, and it is certainly often found on the rose 

 along with these insects ; but it is also found on the 

 orange alone, and which the aphides seldom inhabit ; 

 and thus it appears to be an exudation in some cases : 

 whatever may be its nature, it appears to be more 

 offensive to the eye than injurious to the plant. We 

 know of no mode of preventing it : washing it oif 

 with a sponge and water from time to time is a pal- 

 liative unattended with injury to the plant. 



The blight is a term in common use, and is applied 

 both to animals and plants when they have received 

 any disease or injury not otherwise to be accounted 

 for. It is supposed to be produced by east winds, 

 extreme heats, thunder and lightning, &c. As far 

 as the disease has been examined, it seems to be a 

 minute fungus growing on the plant, and of course 

 nourished by its destruction. Salt water has been 

 found to destroy it in some cases, but rarely till the 

 injury was already so great that the diseased plant 

 could not recover In gardens the same process as 

 for the mildew has been tried with success, and this 



