4 THE GARDENEE. [Jan. 



weigliing from G to 8 lb. eacL. It was not till October that the 

 presence of the Phylloxera was suspected here, and by the end of 

 November the roots of the whole of these Vines were literally covered 

 with it — so much so, that looked at with the naked eye, the insect 

 imparted its own colour to the roots ; and viewed through a micro- 

 scope, they were seen to be clustered on the top of each other like 

 miniature swarms of bees, so rapidly had they spread and multiplied. 

 So much for the destructive ability of Phylloxera. AYe will now 

 briefly refer to the most important of our observations regarding its 

 habits, itc. In each gall, formed numerously on the under sides of the 

 leaves, there was generally one full-grown insect — and clustered round 

 it, just as described by M. Planchon, eight or nine eggs. The mature 

 insect is of a yellowish-brown colour ; and, examined through a power- 

 ful microscope, is so transparent that the eggs can be seen in its inside. 

 The eggs are equally transparent, and both are very easily destroyed. 

 Even the full-grown insect appears to be made of a thin transparent 

 skin, easily broken, and of a thin transparent viscid matter internally. 

 The way into this breeding-gall is from the upper side of the leaf. AVe 

 have never been able to discover any above ground, except those in 

 the galls ; and have seen only one of the insects with wings, which is 

 supposed to be the male, and that was on the under side of a leaf, 

 and appeared in a semi-dormant state. Underground, on the roots, 

 they breed and spread with marvellous rapidity, and cover the roots so 

 densely that they impart to them their own colour. They effect the 

 destruction of the Vine by eating all the bark off the roots, and burrow- 

 ing into the second coating of the young roots ; and after destroying 

 that, they seem to move on to fresh roots, for we have not in one single 

 instance found an insect on a root after it has been peeled and begun 

 to decay. Contrary to the French theory that it attacks the roots at 

 the neck of the Vine, and works downwards towards the more young 

 and: fibry roots, it has been invariably found that they have begun at 

 the points of the roots, and devoured upwards towards the bole of the 

 Vine. 



It is also quite evident that, like red-spider on the leaves, it thrives 

 best in a dryish warm soil. Having decided to thoroughly stamp out 

 the pest by removing the whole border, we did not cover the outside 

 border with wooden shutters early in October, as usual ; and, owing 

 to the unusual rainfall of the autumn, the soil was of course very 

 wet and cold outside. The most careful examination of the roots 

 outside in this cold damp medium did not lead to the discovery of an 

 insect on the roots up to the arches of the front of the house. The 

 pest, however, was found in svrarms to the very point at which the 

 roots left the protection of the stonework, where the soil was much 



