240 
THE LADIES' FLORAL CABINET. 
in a good dressing of manure as close to the plant as pos¬ 
sible, followed up by a thorough soaking of water. This 
last, of course, if the ground is dry, which is almost in¬ 
variably the case in August. Plants so handled grow 
vigorously, avoid the fatal check, and give healthy cuttings 
when needed in August. The “ rust ” that is found on 
heliotropes, bouvardias, &c., is probably the same thing, 
or in any case is produced by the same cause. This is 
particularly noticeable in heliotropes, as they become 
“ rusted ” at once if pot-bound. The insect producing 
“ black rust ” is invisible to the naked eye, but under the 
microscope somewhat resembles a cockroach in shape 
and general appearance. When plants are affected, a 
syringing twice a week with fir-tree oil is effective in 
checking it; but, as in everything of this kind, prevention 
is the best remedy. 
Celery Rust. — Although this is a little out of the 
florist’s line, yet a valuable lesson may be drawn from the 
causes that produce it. The celery “rust ” is occasioned 
by anything that injures the roots—an excessive rain or 
drought—either cause kills the working roots, and the yel¬ 
lowing up or “ rusting ” of the leaves soon follows. In 
the open field this is beyond our control, but the hint 
given is invaluable in operations under glass, where 
watering is at our command. There is but little doubt 
that nine-tenths of the failures in rose-growing for winter 
flowers is traceable to the fact that the working roots of 
the plants have been destroyed by having been kept too 
wet or too dry. 
Green Fly. —Of course, we all know that this insect 
can be destroyed by fumigation with tobacco, but in 
cases where cut-flowers are grown, particularly roses, 
tobacco smoke will take the color out of the buds, and 
to a great extent lessen their value. The “ fly ” can be 
kept down by simply spreading tobacco stems about the 
house and giving them a dash of water whenever you 
are watering. The slight fumes that are constantly aris¬ 
ing from the tobacco will keep the green fly entirely un¬ 
der subjection. We kept a rose-house, 312 feet long and 
20 feet wide, entirely free from “ fly ” .with a layer of 
tobacco stems, ten inches wide and two inches deep, run¬ 
ning the full length of the house. It is not safe to put 
the stems on the bed where plants are growing, as some¬ 
times there are ingredients used in curing the tobacco 
which will cause injury to the plants. I have known 
several cases of this. The stems need renewing every 
six weeks. 
Mealy Bug. —We have tried various emulsions of 
kerosene oil for this pest, but with indifferent results. 
Alcohol, which is the basis of most insecticides for mealy 
bug, will do the work, but it is too expensive for general 
use. The imported preparation known as “ fir-tree oil ” 
is by far the best and most economical remedy we have 
yet tried. It kills the bug and its eggs and does no 
practical injury to the plants. In using the fir-tree oil or 
any similar insecticide, it is better, when practicable, to 
dip the plants in the preparation. In my experience one 
dipping is as good as ten syringings and much more 
economical. A common error in the use of all insecti¬ 
cides is the want of persistence in their use. It is much 
better to use a weak application of any insecticide fre¬ 
quently than a stronger dose of it at less frequent periods. 
For example, we have always found it more effective 
and safe to fumigate with tobacco smoke our houses 
twice a week lightly, rather than once a week and more 
heavily. 
Rose Bug. — This most dangerous insect first ap¬ 
peared in quantity about New York seven or eight years 
ago, and probably you are all familiar enough with it by 
this time. It is about as large as a lady-bug, but is 
brown in color. The perfect bug feeds on the tops, eat¬ 
ing the leaves and doing some injury, but the great mis¬ 
chief is done by the larvae feeding on the roots. This is 
a white grub, about a quarter of an inch long, which is 
hatched in the soil by the bug. Its presence at the roots 
is quickly shown by the yellowing and dropping of the 
leaves, which by the inexperienced may be attributed to 
the ordinary causes of overwatering or too high a tem¬ 
perature, but if a plant is dug up dozens of the grub will 
be found about the roots. The only remedy seems to 
be to pick the perfect bugs from the tops by hand. The 
rose bugs have not done so much damage in the last few 
years, as the now general practice of planting new stock 
each year seems to have disturbed and prevented their 
breeding. 
Black Ants .—These symbols of industry will cause 
considerable injury and annoyance in a greenhouse if al¬ 
lowed to gain headway. They tunnel the soil in pots and 
benches, and carry the soil up the stems of the plants 
and encrust with it the mealy bug and scale, which they 
pretend to devour but never diminish. They can be 
readily exterminated by dusting the large runs of them 
with pyrethrum, applied with a bellows. It is useless to 
spread it around by hand, as they are killed by breathing 
it, and it must be distributed in fine particles. In the 
winter of 1883 our place became badly infested with 
ants, and only the persistent daily use of pyrethrum for 
three months exterminated them. 
Mildew. — The only remedy we have ever used for 
mildew is sulphur, either by putting it on the pipes so 
that the fumes will be thrown off by the heat or in the 
liquid form, as follows : 1 lb. lime and 1 lb. sulphur in 2 
gals, water; boil this down to one gallon, and use a wine- 
glassful of this to five gallons of water and syringe the 
affected plants twice a week. This is particularly useful 
in summer when not firing, and is a certain remedy. It 
has been recently suggested to use linseed-oil mixed with 
sulphur for painting the pipes, it being claimed that in 
this way the sulphur would do no harm to the plants. 
Now, while the linseed-oil may be a good thing to mix 
with the sulphur to make it stick to the pipes, it is cer¬ 
tainly of no other benefit. It is well known that sulphur 
mixed with water alone is used on hot-water pipes in 
greenhouses and graperies as an antidote against mildew 
and red spider, without injury to the plants. It has been 
our practice for years to sprinkle the pipes with water, 
and then dust the sulphur on while wet, and I have never 
seen the slightest injury to roses or other plants by this 
manner of applying it. Many serious results have oc¬ 
curred by burning sulphur in greenhouses or applying it 
on brick flues, where the temperature is perhaps 300 de¬ 
grees, but I never heard of injury to plants resulting 
