July 14, 1906 



tlORTlCULTURi: 



29 



Oncidium concolor 



During FehriuiiT and ]\Iareli this oncidium flowers 

 ■R-itli much profusion in England, and tlie photograph 

 sent is one of some hundreds which was flowering this 

 winter with Messrs. Stanley & Co., orchid importers, 

 Southgate, London. 



After the yellow- blossoms of the well known Oncid- 

 iums varicosum and splendidum are past, this beautiful 

 brilliant colored species succeeds thorn (very shortly 

 after tlie latter) and although not so long in the stem. 

 the vivid yellow of its blossoms appearing in the depth 

 of winter, when no other yellow orchid of such useful- 

 ness is in flower, makes it most desirable, and valuable 

 for all kinds of decorative work. 



Grown suspended as seen in the photograph, its 

 beauty is well displayed at Hackensack, New Jersey, in 

 Mr. C. Moore's collection; there is a well cultivated 

 group of them, and arranged from the roof in pans or 

 baskets, its beauty is much enhanced. 



The blossoms are lasting, and although not generally 

 grown by florists, for cutting, its freedom of flowering 

 and easy culture makes it worthy of a place among 

 the commercial varieties of orchids. 



The Moth Fight in New England 



The summer work in the g3'psy and brown-tail moth 

 region differs materially from the winter treatment, as 

 outlined in a recent number of Hoeticdltdre. Then 

 the men devoted their time to creosoting gypsy moth 

 eggs and cutting and burning brown-tail moth nests. 

 As each town is workins out its own salvation, each local 



superintendent lays down the summer campaign in his 

 particular section, doing what he thinks will suppltment 

 the winter practice to the greatest advantage, banding 

 the trees with burlap or some sticky substance, burning 

 infested brush, spraying, etc. There are several sticky 

 substances on the market for banding trees. The band- 

 ing is done early in the spring before the caterpillars 

 begin to crawl. The trunks are scraped and a band 

 three inches wide and half an inch thick put around 

 each. Only the trees cleaned previously are so treated, 

 the object being to keep the caterpillars from crawling 

 into the tree from infested shrubbery, stone walls, or 

 wherever they might he. 



The object of banding with burlap is to provide a place 

 of concealment for the caterpillars, for after they are 

 partly grown, they crawl down the trunk and hide dur- 

 ing the day. Men visit the burlaps once a day and kill 

 all caterpillars found under them. 



\Miere both the burlap and sticky bands are used, the 

 former should be put above the latter, thus protecting 

 against a caterpillar invasion, and trapping thoso that 

 may be feeding in the tree. 



In badly infested regions spraying with arsenate of 

 lead or disparene is extensively practised. The quantity 

 used varies from five to tw'enty pounds for one hundred 

 gallons of water, the larger dose being required by the 

 older, more resistant caterpillars. 



The brown-tail caterpillars are practically through 

 feeding now and many are pupating. The gypsies will 

 continue to feed for a couple of weeks more. Then 

 come the moths to greatly multiply the present mem- 

 bers, and the wholesale spreading of the brown-tails, as 

 both the male and female moths fly. The female gypsy 

 moth cannot fly, hence gypsy spreading takes place prin- 

 cipally in the caterpillar stage. 



The federal government has appropriated $100,000 

 for the purpose of fighting the moths but their method 

 will probably consist in a search for some parasite, 

 either fungus or insect, which can be successfully accli- 

 mated and distributed. Experimentation in a small 

 way, by Mr. Kirkland in Saugus, has demonstrated the 

 feasibility of such a plan. 



a^ 



Ilex Wilsoni 



The beautiful holly figured in the colored supplement 

 which accompanies this number of Horticulture is the 

 largest leaved and most striking of all hollies, charac- 

 terized as the greatest advance among hollies since the 

 introduction of Ilex Shepherdii, from which it differs 

 in possessing larger and glossier leaves. It is said to 

 be a natural hybrid, having occurred in the nurseries of 

 Messrs. Fisher, Son, and Sibray, of Handsworth, York- 

 shire, England. As to its comparative hardiness, little 

 is known as yet but so fine a subject is well worthy of a 

 trial in tliose sections of our country where the English 

 hollies are reliable. As a single specimen on the lawn 

 it would be an object of great beauty at any and all 

 seasons of the vear. 



