1048 



THE PRACTICAL GARDENER. 



applied in the forenoon of very fine days, so that all dampness 

 may evaporate before the houses are shut up for the night. 



DESTROYING INSECTS. 



Insects of various species and varieties will now be making 

 their appearance, particularly on old stinted plants, and upon 

 such collections generally where the plants are not in a thriving 

 state. In a general way, insects, as we have already ob- 

 served, are not the cause of diseases in plants, but the effects 

 of it. Healthy and well-kept plants seldom are attacked by 

 them, whereas sickly and ill-managed ones are sure to be in- 

 fested by them. Some species are more liable to be annoyed by 

 them than others, and Oranges and Camellias, in a particular 

 degree, especially when stinted and ill grown. As the species 

 which attack these are for the most part of the genus Coccus, 

 the only effectual method of ridding them is by sponging them 

 off with a brush or a piece of sponge with soap and water, 

 going over the leaves individually. The Aphis, or green fly, 

 frequently attacks the young shoots of the former ; and in such 

 cases, a safe, cheap, and efficacious remedy is to be found in 

 fumigations of tobacco, or by anointing them with a strong 

 decoction of that narcotic herb. That minute and destructive 

 enemy, the red spider, will not appear, if fire-heat has not been 

 too freely applied ; but even then, a free use of the syringe 

 or garden-engine will subdue them, or, what is more rapid in 

 execution, although less agreeable in such structures, brushing 

 the flues over, when heated for the purpose, with flour of sulphur, 

 mixed in water, and applied with a large brush. As this latter 

 remedy produces a very disagreeable smell in the house, ven- 

 tilation must be freely indulged in for some days afterwards ; 

 and when more speedy means are necessary, sprinkling the 

 floors and other parts of the house with odoriferous perfumes, 

 or bringing in, in abundance, sweet-scented plants, such as 

 Mignionelte, Neapolitan violets, &c. 



TENDER ANNUALS. 



The plants of tuis description, originated from seeds sown 

 last month, should throughout this be attended to, and 



