is shown, a ; when magnified, the upper side, b, represents a shield, and the legs are only seen 
when it is turned on its back, c. 
The remedy in this case is by washing the plant by hand and forcing the insect off with the 
thumb or finger-nail ; or take a small, stiff brush and soap-suds, and 
brush the plant until it is thoroughly clean. The name of the 
species that infests the Myrtle, Orange, Oleander, &c., is Coccus Hes- 
peridum. A London friend writes that a little alcohol, applied with a 
camel hair brush, such as is used in painting with AA^ater colors, will 
kill any insect it touches. 
The Mealy Bug {^Coccus Adoniduni), is similar to the previously 
mentioned insect, except that it is cov- 
ered with a white, mealy or downy 
substance. Both of them insert their 
beaks into the bark or leaves, and draw 
from the cellular substance the sap that 
nourishes them. A weak mixture of 
whale-oil soap and water in the propor- 
tion of one pound of soap to five gal- 
lons of water, will be found destructive to them 
mend the use of a soft brush and water 
OLEANDER LEAF WITH SCALE INSECT 
With a few plants, only, we would recom- 
and in this way they can be readily removed. 
COLD PITS. 
There are some plants that are unable to bear a Northern winter, yet can endure a good deal 
of w^hat looks like hard treatment. For instance, they can be taken up from the garden in the 
autumn, and placed in a tolerably light and 
dry cellar and in the spring are ready for 
transplanting again to the garden. There 
are, however, but few cellars fit to preserve 
plants during the winter, and in these only 
the most enduring and long-suftering are 
safe. What is known to gardeners as the 
Cold Pit is only an out-door cellar, ex- 
pressly made for the preservation of plants. 
In such pits many of the more hardv 
green-house plants may be successfully win- 
tered. The following list, including, perhaps, those plants which amateurs would be most 
likely to possess, may be wintered perfectly in a cold pit : — Abutilon, Bouvardia, Camellia, 
Carnation, Cestrum, Crape Myrtle, Erica, 
Fuchsia, Geraniums, Hydrangea, Lantanaj 
Laurestinus, Laurus, Oleander, Pittosporum, 
Pomegranate, Roses of all kinds, Tritoma 
uvaria, Yucca, and many others of like nature. 
Soft-wooded plants, like Verbenas and Helio- 
tropes, are apt to mildew. 
A pit (fig. i) for the purpose described 
should be situated in as sheltered a position 
as possible, and have thorough drainage. It 
may be not more than four feet deep, and be 
reached from the top or outside when the sash 
is removed ; or it may be from six to eight 
feet in depth, with several shelves, like fig. 2, 
and of a size to suit the number of plants to ^" 
be kept. If built on the side of the house it may adjoin the cellar, and have an entrance intr 
it through the cellar wall ; but as dampness is the great enemy of such a place, this trouble may 
29 
