Page:The Amateur's Greenhouse and Conservatory.djvu/213

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It is remarked above that to do complete justice to the orange and the lemon they must be planted out in a good border in a well managed conservatory. We are tempted to add that to do perfect justice to them they should be grown in houses devoted to them alone, and we may as well add further that an amateur desirous of a special and very choice hobby in the way of plant growing, could hardly find a more attractive subject than the orange when provided with a proper house and cultivated with earnestness. As a winter garden, a well managed orange-house would be quite unique, and the very fact that it would have to be kept cool and airy all the summer would render it an agreeable place of resort even then, when covered gardens are least cared about. For general purposes the common orange is the best for the amateur cultivator, but in an orange-house we should of course require a collection of varieties, and the St. Michael&rsquo;s and Tangerine would probably be most prized amongst them.

All the insect plagues that ever were known appear to have a liking for the orange. The black deposit we frequently find on the leaves is a sure sign that thrips or scale have secured a lodgment. To get rid of this sooty pollution syringe the trees well and then wipe the leaves on both sides with a dry sponge, which must be frequently washed and squeezed dry as the work proceeds. It is a tedious business, but it must be done. If scale and meally bug obtain a decided lodgment it will be necessary to sponge the trees with warm strong soapsuds. If green fly appears smoking must be resorted to. While, however, you are removing the vermin, you must promote the health of the trees by good management, for in almost every case the appearance of any insects upon them may be