Juas 20, 1872. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUER AND COl'iAGE GARDENER. 



503 



We meet with Roses of the choicest Tea, ami of the most 

 !,'lowmg Perpetual varieties, the sweet Carnation in great 

 breadths, and hedges of Veronicas 6 feet or more high, and 

 the "Hill" Bamboo some 17 feet high. 



The range of fruit houses inside the garden is half a century 

 old, but in good order, and it would be difficult to find a more 

 promising crop of fruit than is now to be seen in them. In 

 the new pai-t, at the bottom of the range, some 80 feet long, 

 the Vines are grown on the extension system, and show great 

 vigour. The fruit houses, with the three other ranges of 

 houses, consisting of a pinei-y, plant house, vinery, with wings 

 of plant and forcing houses, are all heated by one of Weeks's 

 duplex lioOers. One of Weeks's large tubular boilers, which 

 was iu use here before, gave way after eleven years' service. 

 Mr. Mathesou is well pleased with this new boiler, but a period 

 of two years is not a fail' test of such an expensive boiler, and 

 there is abundant proof that it is not safe to rely on one 

 boiler where such an amount of work has to be done as there 

 is at Woodstock. 



The old greenhouse chiims a special word for the beautiful 

 effect of the climbing plants which it contains, consisting of a 

 Wistaria running the whole length under the ridge, the Abu- 

 tilou striatum, and Bignouia radicans. Cantua dependeus, 

 trained iu festoons on cross rods, is really beautiful. 



Mr. Mathesou is too well known as a practical gardener to 

 require it to be told how he does things here, it is enough to 

 ^av that his work does him credit. 



The fanning at Woodstock is equally as successfully done 

 Hs the gardening, and it was with regret that we had to leave 

 without seeing more of the enterprising work carried on with 

 such order and success by Mr. Davidson. 



The gardens and grounds of this maguiflceut place are freely 

 open to the public at all times. 



ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY'S MEETINGS. 



Thk May meeting' was held on the '2nd ult. at Burlington 

 House, H. T. Stairitou, Esq., Vice-President, being iu the chair. 

 Mr. Edward Saunders exhibitedau extensive series of Australian 

 l^uprestidie, with the view of showing the gi'eat sexual differ- 

 ences iu these insects, which had not previously been sufl&cieutly 

 recognised. Mr. F. Smith exhibited a large coUeetion of Hy- 

 meuopterous insects, chiefly of the stinging tribes, collected at 

 Hiogo, in Japan, bj' Mr. G. Lewis. Like many other tribes of 

 •Japanese insects, those exhibited were extremely European in 

 their aspect, and among the Ants some of the species appeared 

 identical with European species ; the genera were all represented 

 iu Europe except one genus of l-'ormicidie. There were also six 

 new species of Hylotoma, and a new Sh-ex allied to S. gigas, but 

 with the base of the abdomen constricted. Mr. Verrall exhi- 

 bited a specimen of Syrjjhus lasiophthalmus with two of the 

 legs ilistorted, as though they had sustained an injury on emerg- 

 ing from the pupa shell. 



The Chairman exhibited an Aspen leaf sent by Lord Walsing- 

 liain from Fort Klamash, Oregon, pierced "with a multitude of 

 small oval holes made by small Lepidopterous mining cater- 

 pillars, each of which had detached an oval case formed of the 

 cuticles of the leaf, and which had subsequently produced a 

 Hiiuiite Moth of the genus Ampidisca, which he exliibited. Mr. E. 

 Saimders read "Descriptions of twenty new species of Bupres- 

 tid.T ;" and Mr. W. H. Bates a memoir " On the Longicorn Coleo- 

 ptera of Chontales, Nicaragua," containing 242 species collected 

 by Mr. Belt in the neighbourhood of the gold mines of that dis- 

 trict. Of these, 1^3 were peculiar to Chontales, thirty-eight of 

 them had beau also taken in Mexico, twenty-four in New" Grenada 

 and Venezuela, twenty-two in tlie Amazon region, ten iu South 

 Brazil, and five appeared generally distributed in tropical Ame- 

 rica. Of the 129 genera contained in the collection only seven 

 were represented iu the Old World, but ninety-five of them 

 were universally spread over tropical America. Hence Mr. 

 Bates deduced the two following facts — 1, The homogeneity of 

 the type of the insect faima of the forest regions of tropical 

 America, extending probably over 4.5 degi-ees of latitude ; 2, The 

 existence of a distinct northern element whose metropolis is 

 Central America. 



The June meeting was held on the 4th iust., with the Presi- 

 dent, Professor Westwood, in the chair. A very extensive and 

 valuable series of works presented to the Society since the last 

 meeting were laid on the table, including M. MilUcre's work on 

 the transformations of Lepidopterous insects J the Transactions 

 of the Entomological Societies of France, Berlin, Italy, and 

 Ontario, the Zoological and Koyal Societies of London, &c. 

 Viscount Moreton was proposed as a member. 



Mr. Stainton exhibited, on behalf of Mr. Traherne Moggeridge, 

 a sprig of the Cork Oak from Mentoue, having an excrescence 

 at the base of the leaves like a Black Currant, but whicli proved 



to be the female of a globose species of Coccus. He also exhi- 

 bited specimens of a small Moth, Elachista EivUlii, the history 

 of which had been described by M. Crodet de Riville more thau 

 120 years ago, but the existence of which had subseqacutlvbeeu 

 ignored. Its economy is very interesting, the larvie feeding 

 on the leaves of Vines in Malta. Mr. Stainton had now suc- 

 ceeded in rearing it from infested Vine leaves collected at Massa 

 de Carrara by Lady Walsingham. 



Professor Westwood exhibited a mass of very delicate white 

 cottony cocoons as large as a moderate-sized Orange, which had 

 been formed by numbers of the minute larva' of an Ichneumon 

 which had fed within the body of a large caterpillar in Ceylon, 

 collected by Mr. Thwaites. The Professor had extracted 717 

 specimens of winged insects from the mass, aud there stiU re- 

 mained between 200 aud 300 entangled in it, so that the unfor- 

 tunate caterpillar must have supported not fewer than a thou- 

 sand parasites feeding on its internal organs. He also exhibited 

 sprigs of an Apple tree, the buds of which had been destroyed 

 by a caterpillar, probably the Tortrix ceollana. 



Mr. Higgins exhibited a fine series of CetomidiC from Java 

 collected by HeiT Mohuicke, which had recently been described 

 iu the Zoological Archives of BerUn. Mr. J. Jenner Weir men- 

 tioned the interesting fact, that having i^lauted a South Euro- 

 pean species of Ehaumus iu his garden, it was immediately 

 found out by the Brimstoue Butterfly, Gouepteiyx Khamni, 

 which he had never before seen there, aud which deposited on 

 the plant its eggs, from which he liad reared the perfect insect. 

 Professor Newton communicated the fact that the nest of Merops 

 persicus had been fouud lined at the bottom with the wings of 

 Dragon FUes on the bodies of which the bird had fed. Mr. 

 Miilier read a notice of the plague of jVuts in May Island on the 

 coast of Scotland. Mr. McLachlau read a notice respecting 

 large numbers of the splendid Beetle, Calosoma sycophanta, 

 which had been observed upon the dead body of a man toimd 

 hanging in a wood in France. As this insect is known to feed 

 upon caterpillars, it was suggested that it was found in that 

 situation iu search of the larvie of blowflies which had already 

 been deposited iu the body. 



Professor Westwood mentioned a fact recently observed by 

 M. Guenee, showing the repugnance of Nature to perpetuate 

 monstrous varieties. He had reared the male aud female of p 

 rare Moth, brrt the male differed from the onlinary character of 

 that sex by having its wings colom-ed as iu the female. For 

 four days the two moths remained without pairing, but ou that 

 day several of the ordinarily colom'ed males were produced, 

 with one of which pah-ing took place as soon as the male was 

 free from the chrysalis. 



The CLiiiDENEiis' Royal Benevolent Insiiiution — This 

 really benevolent Institution, which has now been iu existence 

 for upwards of thirty j-ears, and which during its early period 

 was vei-y indifferently supported, has uow, we are glad to say, 

 attained a position at least of the highest respectability aud 

 usefulness, if not of absolute wealth. It is the latter which it 

 is now most iu need of ; and as the anniversary of the Institu- 

 tion is to be held on the 2ud of July next, we trust that those 

 who are charitably disposed, aud have the means, will not for- 

 get the attlicted brethren who have contributed so much to 

 their pleasure. Dr. Hogg wiU be very pleased to take charge 

 of any contributions for this desirable object. 



SOME PREDATOEY INSECTS OF OUR 

 GARDENS.— No. 81. 



Uniiouiiiedly it is the case, that not only those compara- 

 tively ignorant of science, but those with some proficiency in 

 botanical aud entomological kuowiedgc, are liable to mistake 

 the work of insects for incipient decay arising from other 

 causes, and oice versa. I have had recently an instance of 

 this with some Chrysanthemums which were evidently perish- 

 ing, and, upon then- being dug up, about the roots were a 

 number of that common centipede, Julus terrestris, aud also 

 sundry parties of earwigs. Now to anyone not fully acquainted 

 with the circumstances it would seem as if liere lay the secret 

 of the sickly condition of the plants, but the truth was that 

 the conditions necessary to insure the health of these par- 

 ticular- Chi-ysanthemums had not been compUed with, and the 

 plants were dying through neglect. The centipedes infesting 

 the roots were not the cause but the consequence of the change, 

 and it is very doubtful whether in their predatory proceedings 

 centipedes ever resort to roots which have not begun to de- 

 compose, unless it be in pursuit of bisects or other living 

 creatures. This does not, of com-se, exonerate centipedes and 

 their relatives from the charge of attacking fruits, which they 

 will sometimes devour. Thus, I have more than once found 

 ripe Strawberries swarming with a small millipede in an im- 



