rebraaiy 6, 187; 



JOUKiJAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



ir.5 



one hand, and undue pretension or vulgarity on the otber.- 

 Edwakd Lcckhcijst. 



LISBON BOTANICAL GAEDEN. 



Aboct a mile and a half or two miles from the heart of the 

 city of Lisbon, on high ground, is the Botanical Garden. The 

 garden consists of two terraces, one above the other. The 

 lower terrace contains nothing remarkable except a group of 

 Date Palms (Phoenix dactyUfera) , one of which is about 45 feet 

 high, which are now in various stages of flower and fruit. On 

 the upper terrace are two glass houses, but in bad repair, and 

 apparently not containing anything remarkable. But growing 

 in the open air is a splendid specimen of the Dragon Tree 

 ■(Dracaena Draco) , with a perfectly circular head of foliage, which 

 must be 36 yards at least in circumference, whilst the stem is 

 about 16 feet in circumference. The tree was covered with the 

 dried remains of its fruit. Aloe arborescens is plentiful in the 

 garden, and indeed all over Lisbon, and is now in flower. 

 Also growing in the open air are Musa paradisiaca, Ficus 

 elastica. Euphorbia neriifolia. There is a nice series of plants 

 classified according to their natural orders, the Aloes and Cac- 

 tuses being weU represented ; but the whole garden has been 

 allowed to fall into neglect, and presents a dreary appearance, 

 being overrun by weeds, and most of the beds are nearly 

 choked. It is intended to abandon the garden as a botanical 

 one, and remove as many plants as possible to the garden 

 attached to the new Polytechnic School, but it is to be hoped 

 that the Draciena will not be neglected. The flora generally 

 which one meets with in Lisbon is most remarkable ; Aus- 

 tralian and Brazihan Acacias abound in all the gardens, and 

 thrive and become large trees. There is quite a rage for 

 Eucalypti, which are said to grow as much as 14 feet in height 

 here in a single year. They are to be seen everywhere, and 

 3ome species are at present in blossom. At Embia, in the 

 neighbourhood. Tree Ferns grow in the open air ; and in the 

 grounds of the king's palace, besides Chamaerops and Phcenix 

 dactyUfera, which are common in gardens about the town, 

 -Jnbffia spectabilis and the SeycheUe double Cocoa-nut Palm, 

 Xodoicea. — H. N. Moselet. — (Xature.) 



SOME PKEDATOET INSECTS OP OUR 

 GAEDENS.— No. 40. 



I VEXTCr.E to commence this article with a bit of criticism. 

 A rather celebrated Americm divine makes the following re- 

 mark, at which I open my eyes as I read : " Gardeners know 

 that fumigations of tobacco are inadequate devices for getting 

 rid of aphides that cluster on plants. The truest remedy for 

 these things is to make the plant outgrow them. Give it 

 nourishment, so that it shaU grow faster than they can take 

 possession of it, and its growth will deliver it from all insect 

 invasion." Then follows a moral lesson appended to the illus- 

 tration, which lesson is true enough, though I question the 

 horticultural assertion, which seems to be one of those hasty 

 generalisations which very able men are sometimes betrayed 

 into. However it may be in certain instances, it is a mistake 

 to suppose that, as a rule, weak and unhealthy plants are the 

 Tesort of destructive or injurious insects. The particular 

 group named (aphides) are often found on vigorous plants and 

 shrubs, and " fumigations," &c., are not so bad as remedies 

 after all. 



Fern-culture is a branch of the science of gardening carried 

 ■on with great effect, and regarded with much interest in the 

 present day, being pursued both out of doors and under cover. 

 Even the common Brake Fern (Pteris aquihna), so familiar to 

 the stroUer upon heath or common, is sometimes used with 

 effect, mingled with others of the tribe, to give a picturesque 

 aspect to the rockery or artificial hill. This species is the 

 resort of certain caterpillars of the Lepidopterous order, and 

 these, I have no doubt, would most of them devour the leaves 

 of nearly-allied species. I think it was in 1866 that the cater- 

 pillar of the Broom Moth (Hadena Pisi) swarmed upon the 

 Brake growing about London, and the dealers in insects were 

 plagued with persons who brought them bags full of these 

 creatures, and expected payment for them as curiosities. For, 

 though taking its name from the Broom, in Britain the species 

 seems to prefer this Fern as its food plant. The caterpillar 

 is undeniably handsome, being striped as follows : — First, a 

 ibroadish oUve-green stripe down the back, which is freckled 

 vnth black points, then on each side of this a narrower stripe 

 of yellow ; beyond this comes another stripe of olive green, 



also marked ■with black, and then another narrow stripe half 

 white half yellow ; the legs, claspers, and head are pale green. 

 These are generally to be found feeding in August, and upon 

 the first alai-m they quit the twigs and fall to the earth. 

 When I first discovered these I took them to be the caterpillars 

 of the Aster Shark (Cucullia Asteris), a much scarcer species, 

 to which they have some resemblance, but my swans turned 

 out to be geese ! The moth is on the wing in .June, and it 

 belongs to that division of the Hadense which have no dark 

 streak from the base of the forewings, nor a pale blotch on the 

 costa. From H. oleracea, which it closely resembles, H. Pisi 

 is distinguished hy ha'viug a transverse waved yellow line 

 parallel with the hind margin of the forewings, and spreading 

 into a blotch at the angle ; in some examples this line is 

 lighter in colour ; this generally accompanies a deeper shade 

 of brown, ordinary specimens having the gi'ound colour reddish 

 brown. 



Another pretty little moth which has been found on several 

 species of Fern, and which in gardens occasionally feeds on a 

 variety of low-growing plants, is that designated the Smjill 

 Angle-Shades (Euplexia lucipara). In the perfect insect the 

 abdomen is conspicuously crested ; the forewings toothed at 

 their edges, of a greyish rosy hue, crossed by a deep brown, 

 almost black baud, in which the renal spot shines conspicu- 

 ously. This moth is less variable than are many others of the 

 NoctUi'E section. The caterpUlar occurs throughout the sum- 

 mer, but more towards its close ; I have rarely found it feed- 

 ing in the daytime. In appearance it is very velvety, ■with a 

 shght hump on the twelfth segment, the head small and shin- 

 ing ; the colour is some shade of green, sprinkled over -with 

 a few white points ; on the back are darker markings, which 

 are said sometimes to form a series of lines V-shaped, but 

 which for the most part are indistinct. The adult caterpillar 

 enters the earth to become a pupa, this state lasting through 

 the winter and spring. Like the preceding moth (H. Pisi), 

 this species is much commoner some seasons than it is in 

 others. 



With the imago of another species attached to the Brake I 

 am well acquainted. The caterpUlar I have not observed ; it 

 seems to be distributed throughout England. This moth is 

 the Brown Silver-line (Panagra petraria), taking its EugUsh 

 name from characteristic hues which cross the pale brown of 

 the forewings ; the hiudwings are greyish white, with apecuUar 

 glossiness. The caterpiUars of this species are " loopers," 

 having only four claspers ; they are stated to be of an oUve 

 green above, which shades off into white towards the spiracles; 

 across the white portion runs a series of chocolate Unes, whUe 

 from head to tail are other and darker Unes. The moths sit 

 with expanded wings upon the fronds of the Brake in May 

 and June ; I have also seen them take considerable flights in 

 the daytime', contrary to the usual habit of moths. The 

 caterpillars are reported to occur in May ; if so, it must be at 

 the commencement of the mouth, and they would injure the 

 young fronds were they numerous. 



On some exotic Ferns Acari have been found rather nume- 

 rously ; on their economy, however, I do not enter, since they 

 do not, in my opinion, rank amongst insects. Let it be ob- 

 sorved here that Ferns gro^n-n in cases, exotic or otherwise, do, 

 as a consequence, escape the attacks of many enemies, though 

 they are Uable to diseases, the germs of which are more readily 

 introduced than the eggs of insects. The larva of a smaU fly 

 of the Dipterous order has occasionally injured the fronds of 

 some one or two of the more succulent species, but its economy 

 has not as yet been worked out. Mr. Newman has communi- 

 cated through the pages of the " Entomologist " some curious 

 facts observed by himself regarding the history of a Saw-fly 

 larva, which infests the leafstalks of the Lady Ferns. While 

 feeding it forms lateral apertures in the stalk, and the result 

 of these is an exudation of a mass of white froth, perhaps 

 designed by Nature to defend the insect from some foe, as it 

 does not seem to be connected with the Ufe of the larva, as in 

 the case of the Cuckoo-spit (Tettigonia spumaria). Mr. New- 

 man has not informed us whether he has reared this species to 

 maturity ; of the habits and appearance of the larva, he says, 

 " Having removed the froth, which is excessively sticky, ad- 

 hering to the finger as tenaciously as a saccharine preparation 

 like marmalade, I found the stipes discoloui'ed, and of a dark 

 brown colour instead of a vivid green. On opening the stalks 

 I found in each a single Saw-fly larva. On being ejected, one 

 of these threw itself on its back, turned over and over, and 

 wriggled on the paper with much vigour and activity. The 

 appearance of the larva is strictly maggot-like, the colour 



