1876.J 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



24T 



writers confess that they know no remedy. In- 

 deed the insect is not so easily managed as the 

 canker-worm, and has heretofore defied man's 

 efforts to counteract its ravages. The similar 

 larva of the grape-vine flea-beetle is brought to 

 grief by a thorough dusting of the infested vines 

 with dry lime, while an application of any mix- 

 ture having Paris green as its basis, deals rapid 

 death to the striped cucumber beetle. I would 

 consequently advise your Virginia correspon- 

 dent to dust his trees with lime by means of a 

 perforated vessel attached to the end of a pole, 

 or to syringe them thoroughly by means of a 

 garden syringe, with water in which Paris green 

 is stirred — one pound of the green to 15 or 20 

 gallons of water. The proper proportion of 

 green and water to be effectual wdll depend on 

 the quality of the former, and should first be as- 

 certained by a few experiments on a small scale. 

 The first remedy will prove most expedient if 

 the trees are small — the last, pei-haps, if they are 

 large. 



They are oval, fixed on the small end, and ar- 

 ranged in rows along the ribs of the leaves. The 

 larva which eats only the parenchyma of the 

 leaves, descends when full grown, and enters the 

 earth to transform ; while the beetle hybernates 

 under whatever shelter it can find. As preven- 

 tative measures, therefore, I would advise a good 

 sprinkling of lime on the ground under the in- 

 fested trees, as soon as the larva is noticed on 

 them, and a careful collecting and burning of 

 all leaves and rubbish late in the fall of the year. 



QUERIES. 



Cephalanthus OcciDENTALis. — A. F. S., Moliue, 

 Ills. "The above is the name of the specimen sent. 

 It is a beautiful, hardy shrub, and it is a wonder 

 it is so seldom cultivated. Though naturally 

 found in swampy places, it is much improved by 

 culture in ordinary garden ground. In some 

 parts it goes by the common name of swamp 

 button ball. 



ITERATURE, ^RAVELS & pERSONAL ^OTES. 



COMMUNIGA TIONS. 



"LAWS FOR NURSERYMEN." 



BY PETER HENDERSON, NEW YORK. 



In the July number of the "Monthly" an arti- 

 cle headed as above has special interest for me, 

 as I had some time ago a similar experience. In 

 May of 1875, we had a large bed of Tuberoses 

 flowering* in one of our greenhouses, and had 

 been picking a thousand or more daily, when 

 all at once the supply began to diminish so as to 

 attract the attention of the man in charge, and 

 it became evident that some one was stealing 

 them at night. A watch was set and the thief 

 captured, who proved to be a young workman 

 who had left our establishment a few days pre- 

 vious, and whose knowledge of the premises 

 made his stealing the flowers an easy matter. 

 On being caught, he plead so piteously that we 

 let him go, but the ungrateful scamp came right 

 to the spot again the next night, and got safely 

 off with another lot. Watch was again set, but 

 the sentinel slept, and once more he was success- 

 fill. I now brought in the aid of the police and 

 he was again caught; this time he asked no 

 quarter, nor got any, and I had him duly com- 



mitted before a magistrate. But when the case 

 came up before the grand jury, the District At- 

 torney advised them that there was no case, a3 

 there was " no law on the Statute books against 

 stealing flowers." The consequence was that he 

 was discharged, and, flicredible as it may seem, 

 the first use he made of his freedom, was to 

 again pay a nocturnal visit to my Tuberose bed, 

 and he got off" scot free with another basketful I 

 The thing was now getting serious ; Tuberoses 

 were worth $3 per 100, and he took 500 at least 

 at every haul. The law had shown itself power- 

 less to punish ; the fellow had found this out and 

 was determined to make the most of his " rights," 

 as he evidently held to the principles of Kobin 

 Hood and other rievers who believed in 



"The good old rule— the simple plan 

 That he may take who has the power, 

 And he may keep who can." 



But on the next night of his foray he came to 

 grief in a way that has induced him to leave our 

 Tuberoses undisturbed since. 



Now the perfect absurdity of having such valu- 

 able interests, as are now owned by the horticul- 

 tural community, unprotected by law is almost 

 beyond belief. This man had stolen nearly $100 



