Immediately symptoms of the pest are apparent from the wilting of the foliage and stems, all infected plants should be removed and burned.  The soil must also be cleared out and the interior of the house thoroughly washed with a solution of carbolic acid in water:—­one part of the former to eight parts of the latter.  To purify the infected soil, use a solution of carbolic acid (one part) and water (twenty parts) and saturate three times, at intervals of a fortnight.  Another remedy is to mix weathered gas-lime freely with the soil.  In either case the soil will be unfit for use for at least six weeks after treatment.  When the house has been well cleansed, fresh compost should be used, to which the addition of lime and soot, mixed with the soil, will be beneficial.

[Illustration:  Mealy bug =Dactylopius odonidum=]

==Mealy Bug.==—­This plague is by no means confined to plants under glass.  In the case of a lot of stove plants badly affected, the desperate course of committing the whole to the fire, and then repairing and painting the house, is often the cheapest in the end.  We have known a Pine-grower compelled to destroy a houseful of plants that have been infested by the introduction of a plant from a buggy collection.  Mealy Bug may be known by its mealy, floury, or cottony appearance.  It has a great fancy for Grape vines.  One of the best remedies is Gishurst Compound, prepared at the rate of eight ounces to a gallon of water, with clay added to give it the consistence of paint.  Miscellaneous stove plants may be cleansed by washing with a brush and soft soap.  Our illustration shows a group of Mealy Bugs natural size, with one insect magnified.

[Illustration:  Red spider =Tetranychus telarius=]

==Red Spider== is present in almost every vinery, however well managed.  A moist atmosphere is a great, though not a certain preventive; but it is not possible, without injury to the vines, to keep the air of the house always so humid that the Spider is unable to obtain a lodgment.  Syringing promotes a moist atmosphere, and is unfavourable to the Red Spider, which thrives best in heat and dryness.  But the most decided repellent of Spider is the use of sulphur on the hot-water pipes.  This may be managed by sprinkling dry sulphur on the pipes, or by making a thick solution of sulphur, clay, and water, with which the pipes should be painted.  Be careful not to raise the heat at the same time, for if the pipes are hotter than the hand can bear fumes destructive to vegetation will be given off.  Melons and Cucumbers may generally be kept clear of Spider by means of the syringe only; but when Melons are ripening they must be kept rather dry, and it is very difficult indeed to finish a crop without having the plants attacked by Red Spider.  Gishurst Compound answers admirably to remove Spider from house plants.  The mixture should consist of one and a half or two ounces to one gallon of water, and should be applied with a sponge.  The scientific name of the Red Spider is =Tetranychus telarius=.  Our illustration shows one of these destructive red mites natural size, and two individuals greatly magnified.