on or Paris
green (one teaspoonful to twelve quarts of water) will keep them quiet.

_Root Aphis._ Sometimes the leaves of a healthy plant will begin to look
sickly with no apparent cause. It may be found upon examination that the
blue root aphis is at work, clinging in clusters to the rootlets. Remove
and wash away the soil, and then wash the roots in whale-oil soap suds,
and repot in fresh soil. If no fresh soil is available, tobacco tea or
tobacco dust should be washed into the soil every other day for a week.

_Soil Worms._ The common earthworms sometimes find their way into a pot,
and while they do not seem to bother the roots, I should judge from
observation that they render the soil next to useless, especially in
small pots. Another worm, or rather larva, sometimes to be found, is
very small and hatches into a small white fly. If numerous, they do a
good deal of damage. The treatment recommended for root aphis will get
rid of them; or lime water (slake a piece of fresh lime the size of an
apple in a pail of water, drawing off the water after settling), if used
freely will kill them.

DISEASES

There are but two plant diseases likely to attack plants in the house:
fungus and mildew. The first seems to be a sort of decomposition of the
leaf, leaving a black, powdery residue. It is combated by spraying with
bordeaux. Bordeaux can now be had in paste or powder form, which for
small quantities is much better than to try to mix it yourself.

Mildew causes the tenderest leaves to curl up and some of them seem to
be covered with a white powder. Flowers of sulphur, dusted over the
plants while the foliage is damp, is the standard remedy.

For the sake of ready reference, the foregoing is condensed in the
following simple table of plant insects and diseases.

=======================================================================
INSECT | CONDITIONS |
OR | SUPPORTING | REMEDIES
DISEASE | GROWTH |
-------------------+----------------------+----------------------------
Aphis, green and | Shade; poor | Aphine; tobacco-dust
black | ventilation; | or tea; kerosene
| thick foliage | emulsion; hot
| | water bath; insect
| | powder.
| |
Aphis, blue