M*i 1-. 1913. 
THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 
359 
U«„ttenseeiion indoor plants. This insect 
. oofcid, and is closely related to the 
insects, but luckily it lacks the hard 
covering and limpet-like power of at- 
radment. Like the red spider and thrips 
it affects a large number of plants, but it 
chieflv confines its attention to those grow¬ 
ing in warmth; the genera it seems to 
pr&er arc such as acalypha, eucharis, gar- 
iknii, stephanotis, and vitis. On the 
eucharis it settles down on the undersides 
of the leaves near to the edges, which curl 
inwards as though to form harbourage, 
whilst on most other plants the mealy-bug 
usually preys on tlie bases of the leaves 
near to the stalk, probably so as to more 
easih obtain plenty of food. The plants 
with* woolly or with hairy leaves are the 
most difficult to cleanse, and these also most 
quickly show signs of distress. Badly 
affect^ pot plants should be laid on their 
sides and forcibly syringed with petroleum 
emulsion. Sponging the leaves with soapy 
water may be resorted to when treating 
moderately smooth-leaved plants, but in no 
case should the sponging mixture contain 
petroleum. Tlie application of methylated 
spirit witli a soft brush is a very effective 
method of killing mealy-bug, especially 
when it is lodged in cracks of bark. 
There are very many kinds of scale insects 
which are injurious to plants grown under 
gl^, which are only distinguished by 
minute structural characters. But. how¬ 
ever, a knowledge of the different 
genera and species is not necessary for the 
gardener, as they are all much alike in their 
depredations, and the same remedial mea¬ 
sures are applicable. It is only the wing¬ 
less female insect which is generally known, 
the winged males, as a rule are few in num¬ 
bers, very minute, and exceedingly short¬ 
lived. The females are developed from 
larvae wliich hav’^e thiee pairs of small legs 
to enable them to reach suitable feeding 
pac^. They at once bore their beaks into 
t le leaf or stem, and settle down there for 
le rest of their lives; the legs and an- 
ennae disappear, and the larvae metamor- 
pli^e into the familiar rounded insect. 
. The persistent habits of the female scale 
insects render their eradication a trouble- 
Ferns, palms, cycads, and 
^ 1 s are the names of a few kinds of 
generally affected by the scale 
♦iin + 1 • common, though for- 
Th/ Z ^ ^^sser degree, to many others, 
fprnc^ ^ easily bruised fronds of most 
man successful employment of 
UFA methods, and when ferns 
mora ^ effected it is best to entirely re- 
rouahlv”^ fronds, then to tho- 
top-dress with 
inseotv! ^ other plants the scale 
destroyed by repeated sy- 
fou? liA, solution at twenty- 
^ater Q ^^^fiervals, or with strong tobacco 
less soapy water is use- 
Anhfrl ^ns^ts are first loosened, 
plan^ inpt+ most rapidly increasing 
<^ncer^h^^iv gardener does not 
W’hethA ^ vexed question as 
*‘hies oonf J^re, as some autho. 
for each different species of aphis 
satisfied plants. He is 
venientlv d' that “ fly ” may be con- 
black three classes: green. 
^oie remed^ai^”^ white fly, and that the 
memW r are applicable to 
other in^ + Perhaps more than 
attentioTi green-fly ” confines 
scoots an 1 ^ ^ young and succulent 
great.' 4e ^^®^quently the harm done is 
^an, the summer enemy of the plants- 
of the ravages are on the plants 
"“^ny efW?; frames, and the only 
gatioir prevention is .regular fumi- 
‘iter forcibly applied with a 
syringe will do much to keep green-fly in 
check, hut with pot plants the use of so 
much water is objectionable. Quassia ex¬ 
tract renders the foliage distasteful to the 
insects, and this hitter property remains 
for a fair time. The best method of pre¬ 
paring the quassia solution is by well boil¬ 
ing one pound of chips in a quart of water, 
adding, whilst hot^ one pound of soft soap ; 
diluting for use with four gallons of water. 
Tobacco water is also effective, but it should 
not be used on plants with hairy or woolly 
leaves, nor should it be allowed to remain 
on the plant long enough to stain the 
leaves. With such plants as chrysanthe¬ 
mums, in which the fly congregate in the 
growing point, it is always well to periodi¬ 
cally dust them with dry tobacco powder. 
The female cattleya fly lays her eggs in 
the bases of yonng growths in the spring 
and during the early summer the broods of 
larvae live on the juices of the plants. 
Fumigation at frequent intervals, so as to 
kill all the fly as they emerge from the 
pupal stage, and so prevent their increase, 
is the best remedy. 
The bulb-mite, which was recently disr* 
cussed in an article on Eucharis grandiflora, 
is common to that plant, hippeastrums, and 
allied genera. The present waiter is de¬ 
cidedly of the opinion that their presence 
is due to errors of cultivation, and in bad 
cases would counsel cremation. In milder 
instances, it would be worth while to try 
vapourising with carbon bisulphide, and, as 
lime is said to be very distasteful to the 
white mites, the bulbs should be washed in 
lime water. 
Biting: Insects. 
Luckily, the summer insects which eat 
portions of plants are not so troublesome 
to the gardener under glass. To combat 
these it is in many cases possible to poison 
their food, but as a general rule the grower 
prefers hand-picking when dealing with 
the day-feeding insect larvae. 
Cockroadies and crickets often do much 
damage to glass-house plants; the foi - 
mer insect pikers tropical heat and raiely 
invades the cooler houses. Ihe roots, as 
well as the growths, of many orchids are 
freely eaten, and the young flower scapes 
of the eucharis are another favourite food. 
The out-of-the-way parts of the houses, 
especially around the hot-water pipes, 
should be kept scrupulously clear so as not 
to leave harbourages for the obnoxious in¬ 
sects ; and, as they prefer absolute dryness, 
all likely places should be flooded with 
water daily. Poison, spread on sma 1 
squares of stout hi-own paper or on 'bread, 
should be laid in their haunts every even¬ 
ing—they being nocturnal feeders—and 
crathered up in the morning. Phosphorus 
paste is very useful for this purpose, as also 
are several of the advertised preparations. 
Weevils are also night-feeding ii^cts, 
and, being comparatively small, their de¬ 
predations frequently pass unsuspect^. 
While tlie perfect beetle feeds on the 
fronds of ferns, and on the leaves of various 
plants, the greatest damage is done by 
their larv«, which prey on the too^ ot 
such plants as ferns and palms. These 
yellow legless creatures have enormous 
appetites and eat large quantities of roots 
It is always difficult to rid pot-plants of 
root-feeding pests without injuring the 
host The mature insect may be caught 
on a sticky cloth at night; when disturbc^l 
they at once fall to the ground, so it only 
remains to place the plants on the cloth or 
on sheets of greased brown paper during 
the day time. The \arv^ must he either 
picked out from amongst the roots with a 
sharp instrument or be destroyed by a 
vapouraiit. Cecil Aubrey. 
MACKAYA BELLA. 
This, one of the larger-growing members 
of the order Acantliacese, forms a good- 
sized shrub, and was introduced from 
Natal in 1869. It is a very pretty flower¬ 
ing plant for the greenliouse, but in order 
to have it at its best it needs special treat¬ 
ment. 
While it is benefited by a warm tem¬ 
perature in the spring and early part of 
the summer, it should, in August, be well 
exposed to sun and air in order that the 
wood may be thoroughly ripened. In 
winter only sufficient water must be given 
to keep tlie soil slightly moist, when, in 
spring, under the influence of additional 
heat and moisture, it will start into growtli, 
and bloom usually about Hay. The flowers, 
which are borne in racemes, are bell¬ 
shaped, about two inolies long, and of a 
pleasing shade of pale lilac. T. 
THE BEST PERPETUAL- 
FLOWERING CARNATIONS. 
The following seJections have been com¬ 
piled by the Perpetual-flowering Carnation 
Society from lists sent in by its members, 
and published in the official “ Year Book ”: 
Twelve Best Varieties for 
Profit. 
May Bay, 26 votes; Enchantress, 25; 
White Enchantress, 25; British Triumph, 
25; Winsor, 21; Rose Pink Enchantress, 
20; White Wonder, 20; Scarlet Glow, 19; 
Beacon, 18; Mrs. C. W. Ward, 17; White 
Perfection, 16; Lady Northcliffe, 14. Varie¬ 
ties which received over six votes : Gloriosa, 
10; Britannia, 7; Carola, 7; R. F. Felton. 
7. Twenty-seven commercial growers took 
part in the voting. 
Twelve Best Varieties for 
Exhibition. 
Carola, 23 votes; Scarlet Glow, 18; White 
Perfection, 17; Baroness de Brienen, 17; 
Mikado, 15; Enchantress, 14; Mrs. C. W. 
Ward, 13; R. F. Felton, 13; Lady Meyer, 
12; White Wonder, 12; Gloriosa, 11; Mar- 
mion, 11. Varieties which received six or 
morei votes: Benora, 10; Rose Pink En¬ 
chantress, 8; May Bay, 7; Mrs. C. F. 
Raphael, 7; British Tiiumph, 6; Lady 
Northcliffe, 6; Sunstar, 6; Rosette, 6. 
Twenty-five commercial growers took part in 
the voting. 
Twelve Best Varieties for 
the Greenhouse. 
Enchantress, 19 votes: May Day, 19, Bri¬ 
tannia, 17; British Triumph, 15; Carola, 
15; Lady Alington, 15; Mikado, 14; Scarlet 
Glow, 13; White Wonder, 13; Mrs. C. W. 
Ward, 12; R. F. Felton, 11; White Perfec¬ 
tion, 10. Varieties which received six or 
more votes: White Enchantress, 9; Baroness 
de Brienen, 8; Rose Bore, 8; Lady North¬ 
cliffe, 7; Winsor, 7; Rose Pink Enchantress, 
7; Beacon, 6. Twenty-four gardeners and 
amateurs took part in the voting. 
Twelve Best Varieties for 
Bedding: Out. 
Britannia, 16 votes; Mrs. Burnett, IS; En¬ 
chantress, 13; May Bay, 12; Rose Pink 
Enchantress, 12; White Perfection, 12; 
Winsor, 10; Mrs. T. W. Lawson, 7; Mikado, 
7; Beacon, 7; Mrs. C. W. Ward, 7; Rose 
Dore, 6. Sixteen gardeners and amateurs 
took part in the voting. 
Epacris onosmiseflora flore 
pi ena. —This, which is also known 
Epacris purpnrascens, is remarkable among 
the members of this genus for its markedly 
double blossoms, whicli in tlie best forms an* 
like little rosettes. In some individuals tlu*v 
are pure white, and in others of a bluisli 
tint.—8. W. 
