
much you can do if you haven’t tended to it at 
the droopy stage. Save what leaves you can as 
starts for new plants. 
Nematodes—Microscopic parasitic worms which 
work their way inside the roots, forming knots and 
small swellings which you can see if you’re curious 
enough to wash all the dirt off and take a chance 
on stopping up the kitchen sink. Re-rooting will 
delay the action on these but sooner or later they’ll 
probably turn up again. Best preventative: steri- 
lizing soil. 
Cyclamen Mite—Distorted leaves in center of 
plant caused by feeding of tiny (invisible to naked 
eye) insects which prefer tender, young leaves. 
Best preventative: regular spraying or sodium sele- 
nate treatment. Everybody has a pet cure for this. 
So do we. Moth-ball fumigation is cheap and easy. 
A child of three can do it. Of course, it doesn’t al- 
ways kill the mites, but neither does any other 
treatment. Usually the second or third try will 
get them. Place your plant, together with a hand- 
ful of moth-balls (scant if you have big hands) in 
an airtight container. This may be a cardboard 
box, raincoat, kettle, bread box, oven (unheated), 
paper bag, etc. The plant MUST be dry or the 
fumes will kill it. Also, don’t let the moth-balls 
touch the foliage. Leave for twelve hours. Don’t 
let yourself backslide about isolating any infested 
plants regardless of what kind of bug is involved. 
Isolation is a precaution that pays off big 
dividends. 
Thrips—Little black bugs size of sharp end of a 
pin, one-eighth to one-sixteenth of an inch long. 
Very active. Lay eggs in plant tissue, on violets 
usually leaf reverse. Recognized as whitish spots 
which enlarge to dead-looking blotches as eggs 
hatch and the young feed on surrounding Saint- 
paulia. The adults take to cavorting around inside 
the flower buds which causes such irregularities as 
streaked flowers, distortion and premature drop- 
oing of flowers and buds. Try NNOR dip and keep 
a sharp eye out for recurrances. 
Now, you all, there are just lots and lots of 
things about violets that we don’t know. For that 
matter, there are lots of things about ’ em that no- 
body knows. Violets are still new, and in a very 
real sense, everybody, professional and amateur, is 
experimenting. If you experience an obscure ail- 
ment of some sort, or find a good remedy for al- 
ready known diseases and pests, let people know 
about it. Write to us, or to any other grower, or to 
the African Violet Society. Your experience may 
not be new at all. On the other hand, coupled with 
the experience of others, it may be very valuable. 
One request: be specific in your descriptions. “Lit- 
tle bugs” is a total loss. All bugs are little. HOW 
little. See? 
After reading this, don’t go get worried over 
your collection. You probably don’t have half the 
things you'll think you do. People wouldn’t have 
nearly as much trouble growing violets if they just 
relaxed and kept their pores open. 
Yours, 

