THE AMATEUR’S FLOWER GARDEN. 
271 
At the end of the week give one more heavy soaking, and 
the next day spread over the ground amongst the trees a 
coating of rotten manure ; or a mixture of fine earth and 
guano; or a mixture of guano, wood-ashes, and earth. This 
course of treatment would annihilate the vermin, and put 
new vigour into the trees, and establish a most valuable rule 
for future action, founded on this fact, that pure soft water is 
the most potent of all insecticides . 
Let us suppose another case. Say a lot of asters, stocks, 
or solanums in a pit or frame, smothered with green-fly. If 
we had to advise upon them, we should first consider the 
state of the weather. If still cold and unsettled, we would 
syringe the plants with a weak solution of “ Fowler’s Insec¬ 
ticide,” and give the roots a soaking of weak manure water. 
But if we could trust the weather, we should advise the 
planting of them out in the open ground, with a good 
watering to follow to start them into growth, and escape the 
trouble and expense of employing a preparation. They would 
“ grow out ” of fly, as we say in garden phraseology, and 
almost by magic become clean and thrifty. 
But it will frequently happen that vermin will attack 
plants that appear to be in perfect health, and in such a case 
the resort to invigorating measures may appear to be a 
misdirection of our energies. At the risk of appearing 
tedious, we will here remark that plants, apparently full of 
vigour, may be suddenly debilitated by excessive heat or 
drought, and in such a case invigorating measures may be 
really needed, although there are no striking evidences in the 
appearance of the plant of an impoverishment of its juices. 
Therefore we propose that the cultivator should be cautious 
against delusions, and as much as possible make it a rule to 
invigorate the plant that is beset with vermin, as the first 
step towards a purification. 
However, one way or another, we come to nostrums at 
last, and the first amongst many that we shall recommend for 
general adoption, is— 
Hot Water, which we have proved, by numerous experi¬ 
ments, to be more efficacious than cold water as a vermin 
killer, and a perfectly safe insecticide if employed in a sensible 
manner. The u monarch of all I survey ” in the world of 
plant-vermin is the Aphis. How, hot water will unseat this 
king and lay him in the dust. All vermin love dirt and hate 
