TEAS AND NOISETTES.

1. Adrienne Christophle

2. Alba Rosea

3. Belle Lyonnaise

4. President

5. Devoniensis

6. Madame de St. Joseph

7. Madame Margottin

8. Maréchal Niel

9. Rêve d'Or

10. Souvenir d'Elise
11. Gloire de Dijon
12. Reine du Portugal

13. Madame Charles Wood
14. Marquise de Castellane
15. Marguerite de St. Amand
16. Louis Van Houtte

17. Madame Victor Verdier
18. Victor Verdier
19. Mdlle Annie Wood
20. Malle. Eugénie Verdier
21. Duchesse de Caylus

22. Madame Caillat
23. Souvenir d'un Ami

24. Catherine Mermet

25. Maurice Bernardin

26. Maréchal Vaillant

27. Dr. Andry

28. Felix Genero

29. Horace Vernet

30. Prince Camille de Rohan

31. Duc de Rohan

32. Duke of Edinburgh

33. Duke of Wellington 34. Abel Grand

85. Antoine Ducher

36. Devoniensis

37. Fisher Holmes

38. Edouard Morren

39. Pierre Notting

40. Paul Verdier

41. Xavier Olibo

42. Comtesse de Chabrillant

43. Mdlle. M. Dombrain

44. Gloire de Dijon

45. Exposition de Brie

46. Beauty of Waltham

47. Centifolia Rosea

48. Marquise de Mortemart 49. Hippolyte Flandrin

50. Princess Mary of Cambridge

1. Gloire de Dijon

2. La France

3. Alfred Colomb

4. Marie Baumann

5. Ferdinand de Lesseps

6. Charles Lefebvre

7. Comtesse d'Oxford

8. Madame Rothschild

9. Camille Bernardin

10. Madame Victor Verdier

11. Dr. Andry

12. John Hopper

13. Sénateur Vaisse

14. Souvenir d'un Ami

15. Maréchal Niel 16. Malle. Eugénie Verdier 17. Souvenir de la Malmaison 18. Duchesse d'Orleans 19. Louis Van Houtte

20. Prince Camille de Rohan 21. Fisher Holmes

22. Général Jacqueminot

23. Pierre Notting 24. Jules Margottin

25. Victor Verdier

26. Comtesse de Chabrillant

27. Madame Knorr

28. Céline Forestier

29. Duke of Wellington

30. Exposition de Brie
31. Reine du Midi

32. Maurice Bernardin

3. Madame Rothschild

1. Maréchal Niel

4. Edouard Morren

2. Gloire de Dijon

33. Centifolia Roses

34. Princess Mary of Cambridge

35. Devoniensis

36. Madame Willermoz

87. Souvenir d'Elise

38. Catherine Mermet

39. Marguerite de St. Amand

40. Eliza Boëlle

41. Marquise de Castellane

42. Malle. Marie Rady

43. Malle. Bonnaire

44. Madame Clémence Joigneaux.

45. Xavier Olibo

46. Rubens

47. Antoine Ducher

48. Abel Grand

49. Baronne de Maynard 50. Safrano

Taking the last six months of the year, there were only seventyone days on which no rain was recorded, to 113 days on which rain fell, the total rainfall of the six months being 26.25 inches, or an average of 4.37 inches per month; so that the rainfall for the last six months (which include the two harvest months of August and September), is as nearly as possible double the usual rainfall for the half-year. Mr. Peach adds-Three consecutive days in July were-11th, 1.08; 12th, 1.42; 13th, 0.98; -3.48 inches in three days. We have had rain every day this year as yet.

PHYLLOXERA VASTATRIX.

I FIRST became acquainted with this new pest of the Grape Vine at one of the early meetings of the Royal Horticultural Society in 1870. Mr. George Sage, of Ashridge, brought three or four Vine leaves to that meeting, having a number of singular-looking protuberances which had been formed on the under surface. I was looking at the leaves, and could, like Mr. Sage, make nothing of it; when Mr. Moore, of Chelsea, I think it was, came up and at once pronounced it the new Vine pest. It had appeared on one or two plants in a house of young Vines at Ashridge. Mr. Sage was advised to destroy the Vines, but he only removed the diseased subjects; these were sacrificed, root and branches, together with the soil attached, but he allowed the apparently healthy Vines to remain. I made several inquiries of Mr. Sage concerning these Vines during the summer, and he had hopes that the fell destroyer had been conquered; but it appeared again in greater force the following season, and the whole houseful of Vines had to be sacrificed to prevent its further spread.

The same season that the scourge appeared at Ashridge I planted a small house with Vines that were intended to bear ripe fruit in March, and in an adjoining house there were a large number of pot Vines, many of which were seedlings; all

the others had been propagated from healthy Vines which had not previously been affected with this disease, nor have they been since. When all the Vines were in healthy growth the disease appeared on two of the pot Vines; these were taken out at once and destroyed, but the following day the pest was observed on the permanent Vines. My cure was this, and it was radical. No gardener or garden-labourer was allowed to go near the houses. A gang of men from the farm were set to work; every pot Vine and all the permanent Vines were destroyed; the borders were cleared out, and all the loam carted away a considerable distance from the garden; and until the bricklayers had limewashed all the walls the gardeners did not go into the houses. Two seasons have passed away, and no trace of the pest has appeared in any of the vineries. My impression is that it ought to be stamped out as farmers stamp out the rinderpest.

I have been led to record what I know of this insect, and what I believe is the safest way to deal with it. From the remarks made by the Rev. M. J. Berkeley at South Kensington on the 4th ult., one would be led to believe that lifting the Vines and washing the roots was an effectual remedy. In the case of the pest appearing in an isolated vinery in a garden where there is no chance of its spreading, and where the proprietor is anxious to save some favourite Vines, it might be tried. If I had to do with this pest again I would not trifle with it, but would destroy the Vines at once, and after disinfecting the house would replant with young Vines. Had I waited until the autumn to wash the roots of my Vines, the disease would very probably have spread into the adjoining vineries, and the whole would have been lost. We do not hear much about this disease; it would be well that those who have had to deal with it would record their experience. However, for the benefit of others, I would warn all gardeners to look out for the peculiar excrescences on the under surface of the leaves, as its appearance is first discovered from this.-J. DOUGLAS.

SOME PREDATORY INSECTS OF OUR

GARDENS.-No. 39.

Ar the time of the year when dearth of news drives some editors of small country papers almost frantic, and, indeed, leads them often to quit the editorial chair and take holiday, leaving the head compositor in the office to make up the paper as best he can, it was something to be able to report that a specimen or two of the much-dreaded "American army worm" had occurred in England. I do not know whether the statement created any alarm in the minds of those horticulturists who happened to see it, but individually they need apprehend nothing, even if the insect became common here, as it attacks only the cereals. This moth (Noctua unipunctata) has been known in this country by occasional examples occurring at long intervals, and it has, probably, never bred in Britain. The commotion it has raised in certain districts of the United States is considerable, and the caterpillars, which are gregarious, do in some seasons destroy much grain as well as grass, though a little transatlantic colouring seems to be attached to some of the narratives published. Americans must be great in all things, and even their predatory insects are deemed to be more remarkable than those visiting our gardens and fields. It must be admitted that the long stretches of land that are brought into cultivation in some States afford fine scope for the multiplication of many species, while precautionary measures are more difficult to carry out than with us. I believe that we Britons may consider ourselves second to none in the way in which, speaking generally, we keep in check the different species of destructive insects. We have, however, many garden enemies in the great family of Noctuæ, to which the " army worm belongs, and some of them are confessedly not at all easy to deal with. Two of the species of Agrotis have already been touched upon in these notes, and mention ought also to be made of the common Garden Dart (Agrotis nigricans), a species which is variable in appearance, and which has borne other names in the older authors, as, for instance, the Dark Rustic, a name which is a fair instance of an absurd English appellation, as it is not more "rustic" than a host of others. Nor is the moth called a "Dart" so appropriately as some of its congeners, the short blackish streak upon the forewings not being very dart-like, though the moths of this family might be called "Darts" from the celerity of their flight in the dusk of evening. The Garden Dart is a frequent visitor to gardens in July, being

tempted thereto by the display of flowers; in some instances it has, probably, passed through its preparatory stages in close proximity to the spot where it is seen flying. Agrotis nigricans, like others of the genus, is obscurely marked, and the gardener is hardly likely to be able to single it out for destruction, supposing he wished so to do. The wings are dark brown or reddish brown, and present the three customary spots known as the claviform, orbicular, and reniform. Of the first of these Mr. Newman observes that "it is connected with the base of the wing by a mixed longitudinal streak, which presents an appearance of having had the scales scraped off with a penknife." Also he adds that the reniform or kidneyshaped spot, "is more perfectly kidney-shaped than in the rest of the genus." This is, however, rather a nice distinction to have to make, and we have always felt that it is a matter of difficulty, with regard to the different moths belonging to the Noctua family, to give very intelligible distinctions, so as to enable the gardener to know amongst those he may see at rest in various situations which are injurious and which should be spared. Many caterpillars, as already observed, do a large amount of harm in a very insidious way, and frequently it happens that when we attempt to deal with them the injury is almost consummated. Now, an attack upon the moths could be easily carried out by spreading some sweet compound upon any suitable objects, when on a favourable night scores might be taken and slaughtered. But in a grand battue of that sort the innocent and the guilty must suffer alike, or with little exception, since there resort to sugar a crowd of Noctua which do not destroy garden produce, but which feed upon various low plants or the leaves of trees.

Coming back to the Garden Dart, it should be noted that, according to the observations of Mr. Doubleday, the caterpillars shun grass and Wheat, though often feeding in fields on a variety of weeds. To Clover they are particularly attached, but they will eat many plants, and even the leaves of trees, usually feeding exposed. A full-grown caterpillar of this species is about 1 inch in length, smooth, and of an ochre brown, with a grey line running down the back, intersecting a series of dark lozenge-shaped markings, not uncommon among the Noctuæ. At the back of the second segment is a horny plate. The chief characters, however, which distinguish this caterpillar from others of the genus are a double white stripe along the sides immediately above the feet and "claspers," and a number of black wart-like spots.

The moth flies in July and August, at which time the eggs are deposited. I have not seen a complete account of the lifehistory of A. nigricans, but that the caterpillar is most destructive in the spring and early summer is an acknowledged fact, and I presume that it hatches-out in the autumn and hybernates. Among the various young caterpillars of Noctuæ which I have seen in autumn and winter there may have been some of the species before us, yet I cannot be certain that I have seen it then, though its economy is, I think, as here stated. The state of pupation is of short continuance.

Nearly related to this species are Agrotis Tritici and aquilina, and they are so similar to each other that specimens of aquilina stand with those of Tritici in many cabinets. The former, commonly called the White-line Dart, is the commoner species, receiving its English name from a streak of white, or rather pale brown, which extends from the root of the wing to the reniform stigma, but this is sometimes wanting, so that it is not infallible as a distinction; the wing-rays also "show-up" palish on the ground colour, whence some have inferred that the designation was taken, and they give it the plural form-the " White-lined" Dart. The caterpillar feeds at or close to the roots of various Brassicaceous plants, attacking also other species both in the gardens and on open ground in these islands. It does not appear to infest grasses, as stated by Treitschke. There are several varieties of this caterpillar, but it has almost invariably five stripes paler than the ground colour, which is some shade of brown; the second segment has a horny plate, as in A. Tritici, the head, which is small, being partly hidden beneath this; the body generally is smooth and shining. This state lasts until about the end of June, and the moth comes out in July or August, a little later, perhaps, on the average than A. nigricans. The Streaked Dart (Agrotis aquilina) has markings arranged after the same type. Mr. Stainton gives as its distinctive character, that the streak or dash on the forewings is more of an ochreous tint than in A. Tritici; but this test has been questioned by other entomologists. It is also thought, taking a number of individuals for examination, to be rather a larger

species. The caterpillar, which has only been recently observed, feeds like that of A. Tritici on the roots of plants, and especially attacking vegetables when they are growing amongst weeds. This is of a dingy appearance, with a black plate on the second segment, and several stripes of grey, black, and green showing faintly on the dull brown.

To pass by a rapid transit from the garden to the orchard, I may state that a friend of mine conceives he has a plan whereby that better-known-than-liked species of moth known as the Codlin (Carpocapsa pomonana) can be effectually

prevented from destroying our fruit. The plan is simple in the extreme. He has a preparation called the "Pomonananticipative Compound," with which every Apple is to be touched, just at the stage when the moth is ready to deposit its eggs, and the Apple is in an attackable state. Certainly there seems a little difficulty in the application of the remedy to the fruit just at the right time, and the labour would be considerable. Moreover, as the preparation is of a glutinous character, it is at least possible that if it were applied without great caution it might arrest the growth of the Apple, and be as harmful as the insect. I ventured to insinuate these doubts to my friend, but he was so indignant that I dropped the subject. Loudon and other writers on horticulture recommend the burning of weeds under the trees when the moth is on the wing, whereby many may be smoked out of existence; and one author recommends a curious mode of illumination, by the arranging in the orchard or garden of a number of earthenware pans containing oil and floating wicks, and by these not only this moth, but various moths and flies, will be ensnared. Practically this plan will not be of much use; it may amuse those who have time to spare.

The imago of the Codlin moth is a pretty little creature, measuring scarcely an inch with expanded wings, which are variegated with different hues of brown, and they exhibit also a brilliant mark resembling the letter O. These emerge in June from silken cocoons spun by the caterpillars in cracks of the bark of the Apple or of other trees; a certain proportion of these cocoons are destroyed every season by tomtits and other birds. The female moths pursue the work of depositing eggs with diligence, proceeding from branch to branch, and placing one egg on each fruit they touch, inserting this just within the leaves of the calyx. It is thus protected until the time of hatching, and as soon as it quits the egg-shell the young larva bites its way into the crown of the Apple, and is soon secure from attack and well supplied with food. It has been pointed out that the thinness of the rind at that point facilitates the entrance of the larva. Passing obliquely into the fruit, the larva avoids the centre, though after it has somewhat increased in size it bores a hole in the base of the Apple, to give it a more convenient communication with the outer world. As the Apple grows, so does its internal enemy, until, being nearly full-fed, it determines upon finishing its career with a banquet, not without results to the Apple and itself. Some who have observed how hard and horny is the encasement which surrounds the pips of the Apple, can hardly credit the fact that this small larva gnaws a hole through; yet so it is, and thus entering the core, it obtains comfortable quarters, and feasts upon the unripe seeds. But this proceeding is fatal to the Apple. Nature, when the grand end of fructification-the propagation of the species, is arrested, casts off the fruit, and, ceasing to receive any life from the tree, it falls, giving, as one may imagine, a rather unpleasant shock to the

66

inmate who is the cause of the mischief. It has been observed that this catastrophe usually occurs in the night, and almost immediately the caterpillar departs through the aperture it has already formed, and making for some sheltered spot, usually some cranny in bark, it sits for a day or two in a state of inaction, and then spins its cocoon. Whether it is true or not I cannot say, but it is asserted that sometimes the caterpillar of the Codlin moth quits the fruit while it is yet on the tree. Not all windfalls," however, have been the victims of this small moth; some of them are the prey of the Apple Saw-fly (Tenthredo testudinea), which is abundant in some seasons and scarce in others. Professor Westwood had an opportunity of observing the proceedings of the female insects on one occasion, and he believes the usual period of attack is about that time in May when the trees are in full blossom; they are shy of the approach of an on-looker, which rendered it difficult to ascertain exactly their mode of oviposition. This saw-fly expands about three-quarters of an inch; it has a shining black body; the under side, legs, the front of the head, and the antennæ are pale orange; the wings transparent, slightly marked with brown. The caterpillars are of a dirty buff colour, with tawny heads; the body is transversely wrinkled, and we can at once distinguish these from the caterpillars of C. pomonana by the circumstance that in it we have six legs and ten claspers, while the caterpillars of Tenthredo testudinea have six thoracic legs and fourteen claspers or ventral legs. These quit the fruit they have infested upon its fall, or soon after; they do not spin upon the trunks or elsewhere to pass the winter, but entering the earth they there change to pupæ in July, to emerge after a nine-months repose. -J. R. S. C.

SUTTONS' FLOURBALL POTATO-COVERING VINE BORDERS.

I BEG to add my testimony to the quality and quantity of produce of Suttons' Red-skinned Flourball, and also as to its being the best Potato we grew this season for resisting the disease. I examined the crop while lying on the ground after it was dug up, and could not find one diseased Potato.

During the last three months of 1872 we had 20 inches of rainfall. I ordered a Vine border, 140 feet by 11, to be covered with half-inch oak boards. The Grapes that remain are as good as they were three months since. I estimate the preservation of the crop as more than paying for the covering. The same boards creosoted will be allowed to remain on the border, a quarter of an inch being allowed to intervene between each board to let the rain reach the border. The darkcoloured boards will assist in heating the soil, and will encourage the roots to come to the surface; evaporation, a cooling and drying process, will also be prevented.-OBSERVER.

PINE-APPLES FLOWERING PREMATURELY. I SHIFTED my fruiting Pines last September, and plunged them in a tan bed. The bottom heat has since ranged from 75° to 80°, the top heat from 55° to 60°. I intended to start them about the middle of February, but to my surprise I find they are now showing for fruit.-J. B.

[We asked Mr. Begbie, of Bicton Gardens, to advise on this, and the following is his reply:

Your correspondent's management of Pines differs from mine, which is as follows:

Large suckers potted into 8-inch pots in August or September, are repotted into fruiting pots in May or June following, and at the end of August or beginning of September the pots are quite full of healthy roots; the plants are then put to rest gradually with a bottom heat of 75° to 78°, and a top heat of not over 60° at night, air being admitted night and day.

During October and November the bottom heat is kept steady at 70°, the top heat at 55°, until the middle of December, when the bottom heat is advanced to 78°, and the top heat to 60° by night, and 65° to 70° by day, with air at all times, less or more according to circumstances. The first mild day is then taken advantage of to give the first watering since September. By this treatment at least ninety per cent. of fruit will be showing by the middle of January.

Another batch of suckers, potted into 7-inch pots in March, are shifted into 11 and 12-inch fruiting pots in July, rested from October until February, started into fruit in March and April, and so on in accordance with space and requirements; growing properly, and giving the rest, which should not be

overlooked, as on this hinges the secret of success in Pine culture, and of the time that fruit is to be started. Your correspondent's Pines will now require very careful management, with a steady bottom heat of 80°, top heat 60° by night, and 65° to 70° by day. Water, which should be heated to 80°, should be given to the roots when necessary, but very little top moisture should be afforded at present. When Pines are out of flower, gradually increase moisture bottom and top. With proper management, taking it for granted that his Pines are well furnished with healthy roots, he may count upon having early Pines, which will be more valuable than if they had been started in February.-R. BEGBIE, Bicton Gardens.

DANGSTEIN.-No. 2.

THE RESIDENCE OF REGINALD H. NEVILL, Esq.

IN continuing our notice of the wonderful collection of plants at this place, we come next to the conservatory, which is spanroofed, 50 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 16 high. This at the time of our visit was principally occupied with a mixed collection of flowering plants, as Heaths, Epacrises, Chinese Primulas, Cinerarias, Chrysanthemums, and Salvias, the last of which were singularly gay. The bright-coloured berries of Solanum Capsicastrum studded over well-grown plants also formed an important element in the display. Two fine plants of Macleania speciosissima are trained on trellises; and there are noble specimens of Gleichenia microphylla, dichotoma, and spelunca, while planted about there is a great variety of other Ferns, which greatly enhance the beauty of the scene. But it is to the fernery proper-a structure of the same height and length as the preceding, but 20 feet wide-that the eye is at once attracted; so natural its arrangement, so varied the forms it presents, and withal so verdant its hues, that it fixes itself at once on the memory. It would be a difficult task to enumerate the fine specimens to be found here, but a few must be signalised, such as Cibotium princeps, with fronds 15 feet long, one of the finest plants in the country; Marattia elegans, Angiopteris evecta, with 12-feet fronds; Marattia purpurascens; noble specimens of Cyathea medullaris, Cibotiums, various Dicksonias, and other tree Ferns, besides a host of those of less altitude, whilst the roof is gracefully covered with Lygodiums.

Adjoining the fernery is the museum, in which there is a good collection of works on gardening, together with many objects of interest, and an illuminated volume containing a list of the plants at Dangstein, as well a visitors' ook containing the names of many distinguished horticulturists. Passing through the museum we enter a new'y-erected house containing a charming collection of Filmy Ferns, which for completeness and rarity would vie with any collectic n that we know. When we saw it, it had only been completea three weeks, and nothing could be more satisfactory than the way in which the plants were succeeding. In length this house is 36 feet, in breadth 10 feet, and it is heated by the air passing over the hot-water pipes in the adjoining house, and from thence conducted through drain-pipes into the atmosphere of this. The arrangement appears to answer admirably, for the health of Filmy Ferns, with but two or three exceptions, was surprising, and one would readily have supposed that they had occupied their present position for more months than they had done weeks.