July 10, 1873. J 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



31 



cending to a place of safety was gone through : the parent then 

 set off in a straight line, waving her antenna in the air with 

 the peculiar motion eomtaon to aphides, seeking some locality 

 more congenial to aphiJian taste. 



Wherever there is vegetation — roots, branches, leaves, 

 flowers, or frnit, it is more than probable that aphides will 

 occur-, although I have no doubt exceptions to the devastations 

 of this tiny plague of the field and garden may be found. 

 Amongst the most destructive of these insects may be mentioned 

 the Hop and Potato fly, both of them akin to our type, the 

 Rose aphis. There would appear to be as much variety in 

 the insects as in their habitat : — long and short antenna; ; long 

 and short legs; winged and wingless; long tubercles, short 

 tubercles, and no tubercles ; these features will be found sub- 

 ject to innumerable modifications as well as form, size, and 

 colour of head, proboscis, eyes, and body. A very peculiar 

 form of insect from the Walnut tree is remarkable for the hairs 

 on the head and legs ; its appearance would almost induce one 

 to suppose it to be a form intermediate between that of the 

 Rose aphis and the well-known leaf insect : but the peculiar 

 life-history of the latter would cause it to be reckoned as an 

 abortion rather than a natural form of aphis. A very peculiar 

 form of hind-leg will be found on several varieties of aphidie 

 living at the roots of plants. The tibia is as short as, or in 

 some cases shorter than, that of the front legs, the first joint 

 of the tarsus is short, but the second is exceedingly long, 

 almost as long as the tibia. The hind leg of an aphis taken 

 from the root of the Endive shows this peculiarity. The too- 

 well-known American blight belongs to a class of aphidie, dis- 

 tinguished by their wool-bearing bodies, and the absence of 

 tubercles. This class is generally said to be wingless in all 

 its stages, and dependant upon the wind for transportation 

 to new homes. I have, however, captured a woolly aphis 

 with wings, but cannot name its habitat, as I took it on the 

 wing. 



I can find no difference in appearance between insects taken 

 from widely different trees ; for example, one taken from the 

 Oak was found to correspond with another taken on the Larch. 

 Hence, speaking of insects as oak-aphis, &c., leaves one in a 

 certain amount of doubt as to the individual insect spoken of, 

 and in consequence of the classification being in so crude a 

 condition it is very difticult to enumerate the number of 

 species and varieties. I have, however, found aphida; pre- 

 senting more or less distinctive features on the Apple, Mil- 

 foil, Oats, Wych Elm, Walnut, Sow-thistle, Lime, Calceolaria, 

 Larch, Plum, Maple, Thistle, Barberry, Scotch Pine, Potato, 

 Oak, Spindle tree. Sycamore, Juniper, Dock, Geranium, 

 Honeysuckle, Canary Grass, Rose, Willow, Fir, Sow-thistle 

 root. Hop, Mallow, Privet, Parsnip root. Pea, Birch, Endive 

 root, Cabbage, Wheat, Poppy, and Grass root, and I believe 

 326 Bpecies are catalogued and described at the British 

 Museum. 



The affection and care shown for aphidte by ants are well 

 known ; where the " green fly " is numerous, bodies of ants 

 may often be seen carrying them away to the captors' under- 

 ground dwellings, the ants holding their prisoners by the skin 

 of the upper part of the thorax or abdomen ; some assert that 

 it is only one species of aphis that is thus cai-ed for by the ant, 

 but this I am inclined to doubt. I '•ather think it depends 

 very much upon the locality of the ant's nest, and what tree 

 or plant-roots run through the habitation. This one .staunch 

 friend is however amply compensated for by innumerable 

 enemies ; a group of aphidm is a dainty dish for most small 

 birds, who search them out and nibble them up with evident 

 gusto. Many of the Ichneumon flies seek the aphis to lay 

 their eggs in. • The stricken aphis usually separates itself from 

 the herd, and as the larva of the fly grows, it swells and be- 

 comes gouty in appearance ; ultimately it dies, as the fly is 

 ready to leave its host, which has then become a distorted 

 homy shell. Many people mistake the cast skin of the aphis 

 for the corpses of those attacked by the fly ; it seems odd that 

 such mistakes should be made, as the one seems to mo no 

 more like the other, than a dead Daniel Lambert would re- 

 semble a suit of cast-off clothes. Ladybirds, both in the 

 larval and perfect state, feed largely upon Aphidic, but per- 

 haps the worst insect enemy they have is the larva of the Lace- 

 wing fly: this is a near relation to the Ant-Lion, bearing some 

 relation to it about the jaws, which gives it a hungry, cruel, 

 and malignant look, although its appearance in no way belies 

 its character. I believe the aphis has another and most deadly 

 foe in disease. I was astonished at the rapidity with which a 

 brood I had died-off, so I carefully watched one of them to try 



and discover the cause. I found (that usually after changing 

 a skin) the aphis was more pearly-coloured than usual, then 

 changed to the colour of pale ultramarine ash, and then to a> 

 dirty reddish yellow ; the opaque green layer or middle skin 

 of the insect appeared to bfe absorbed, and the blood could be 

 seen circulating in the interior of the insect. Red-coloured 

 globules then appeared in the fluid, after which a slight down 

 covered the outside of the skin, and the aphis shortly tucked 

 its legs under it and died. I will not pretend to say positively 

 that the disease was caused by a parasitic fungus, but I am 

 strongly inclined to think such was the case. 



After all, perhaps the most inveterate enemy of the aphis is 

 the gardener ; he fumigates, powders, syringes, dips, and 

 brushes his plants, but still does not entirely rid himself of his 

 pests ; although when the area is Umited he meets with partial 

 success ; still in the Hop garden and Potato field but little can 

 be done to check these rapidly multiplying destroyers of the 

 cultivator's profits. Where the result is most disastrous, tha 

 less appears capable of being done to check the ravages of this 

 tiny destroyer. Fumigation, from its very nature, cannot be 

 put into practice, and other methods of destruction may be 

 considered as of little use where large quantities of plants are 

 close together : the probability then is that the best mode of 

 securing ourselves against the damaging attacks of the aphis is 

 to encourage the preservation and multiplication of insects that 

 prey upon them, such as the Ladybird and Lacewing fly. — 

 (English Mechanic and World of Science. Extracts from a 

 Lecture by Mr. E. P. Pett.) 



WOKK FOR THE WEEK. 



KITCHEN QABDEN. 



The weather during the past week has in many parts of the- 

 country been particularly favourable for plautiug out the main 

 autumn and winter crops. Where Broccolis are planted between 

 Peas a narrow space should be dug for them if the ground is 

 very hard ; the rest of it can be dug and the intermediate rows 

 of plants put iu when the Peas are off. As the heads of Arti- 

 chokes are taken the stems should be cut close to the roots ; clear 

 the stools from decayed leaves, and loosen the surface of the 

 soil about them with the hoe. No time should now be lost in 

 getting out those varieties of Broccoli which come in during 

 the autumn ; they may now take the place of the early Peas, 

 Earth-up the Cattlifioicers that were planted at the beginning 

 of last month ; plant more for use in the autumn. The main 

 crops of Celery should now be planted out ; loosen the earth 

 about the early crop, and give it good supplies of water if 

 there is not sufficient rain to keep the soil quite moist. Keep 

 the linings of the Cucumber frames made up, so as to afford a 

 gentle warmth through the bed, for however warm the weather 

 may be, this is necessary to procure fine handsome fruit. As 

 soon as the tops of Garlic and Shallots begin to die pull up the 

 roots ; after allowing them to remain on the ground a daj' or two 

 to dry, tie them in bundles, and hang them in a root-cellar. 

 Another sowing of Lettuce should be made in drills where the 

 plants are to remain ; a little of the Paris White and Bath Cos 

 may be sown at the same time. Save and prepare horse drop- 

 pings for Mushroom beds to produce through the autumn and 

 winter; take care that the newly-made spawn bricks are tho- 

 roughly dry before being laid by. Sow a few rows of Spinach 

 to keep up a succession, thin the preceding crop, and keep it 

 watered in dry weather. Thin-out the last sowing of Turnips 

 to a foot or 15 inches apart, and as the weather is now favour- 

 able, the main autumn crop may be sown. 



FRUIT G.UIDEN. 



Protect fruit from birds by covering the trees with nets. 

 Where Currants and Gooseberries are required to be kept on the 

 trees late in the season, they should be matted-up. Finally thin 

 wall fruit. Keep the shoots of the trees neatly laid in. Do not 

 uncover the fruit more than is necessary, (iive espalier trees 

 their summer pruning. Keep fruit borders frequently hoed and 

 raked. Pinch out the point of the present year's wood of the 

 Fig before nailing-in. Stop and nail-in Vines, and continue 

 to carefully watch the progress of the green fly. When new 

 Strawberry plantations are intended, prepare the ground by deep 

 trenching and well manuring with rotten dung. Layer into 

 3-inch pots a sufficient number of the desired kinds of plants 

 for the purpose. This little trouble will be amply repaid by the 

 quantity and quaHty of the first year's crop. 



FI-OWEB GARDEN. 



The recently-planted beds will still require watching to get 

 the plants in them fairly on the start. The heavy rains of the 

 last month have chilled the ground, and some of the more 

 tender or badly-rooted i)lants look sickly. As the gi'ounds and 

 shrubberies are much frequented by company at this season, pay 



