RASPBERRY MOTH 



734 



RAVENSARA 



ning of November, we would prune one strong cane to 

 3 feet, a second to 2 feet, and a third to within a couple 

 or 3 inches of the soil. By these means a nice little 

 crop may be taken the first year, and good shoots re- 

 served for the next. 



From Seed. This is practised chiefly with a view of 

 raising new kinds ; and the seed collected from superior 

 berries, when thoroughly ripe, is washed from the pulp 

 and dried, then packed in papers until spring. In the 

 beginning of February it must be sown, and a gentle 

 hotbed would hurry the process much. The seedlings 

 must be pricked out when 3 inches high, and generous 

 treatment must be continued ; and towards the middle 

 of May, having been hardened off, they may be planted 

 at once in their final destination. All that is requisite 

 now is careful training, the keeping down suckers and 

 watery spray ; and when the shoots are 5 feet long, 

 the top may be pinched to consolidate the wood. 



Soil. When wild, being an inhabitant of woods, a 

 damp soil, somewhat retentive of moisture, is found to 

 suit it best. We have generally known it most successful 

 in a darkish soil of an alluvium character ; any of our 

 loams, however, of sound texture, will grow it in per- 

 fection, but the soil should be tolerably deep. A hot 

 and loose sand, short of depth, is the least suitable. To 

 meet the increased amount of transpiration from the 

 leaf to which the cultivated plant is liable in sunny 

 situations, extra provision in the way of top-dressing 

 and mulching is highly to be commended. 



Culture during the Growing Period. Soon after the 

 canes begin to shoot in spring, a slight thinning-out is 

 very beneficial ; this may take place about the beginning 

 of May. In a few weeks' time a thinning of the suckers 

 may take place, for, in general, they produce a profusion, 

 and such draw on the resources of the plant, and exhaust 

 the soil. About four or five may be left on each stool ; 

 if they are very gross, the moderate ones may be left ; 

 if weak, the strongest. 



If they have not been mulched, it should be done 

 immediately. As soon as the last fruit is gathered, the 

 old bearing shoots may be cut clean away, and the 

 young canes drawn a little closer together. When over 

 5 feet in height, the tops may be pinched ; this, however, 

 should not be done before the end of August. 



Culture during the Rest Period. As soon as the leaves 

 have all fallen, pruning may take place, and our practice 

 is to leave four canes. These we cut at different heights ; 

 the tallest about 4 feet ; the next about 9 inches lower, 

 and so on with the rest. By these means the young 

 spray is nicely divided, and the plants fruit from bottom 

 to top. The canes are now neatly fastened, and a top- 

 dressing completes the rest period. All useless suckers 

 or canes are drawn away. 



Training. The earliest and finest are obtained from 

 canes planted beneath a south wall, and trained against 

 it in fan-shape. But in the open ground the best mode 

 of training is round a small hoop at top. The worst form 

 is plaiting the canes together ; and training in arches, 

 or other compact forms, excluding the light and warmth 

 of the sun, is little better. 



Forcing. Raspberries may be forced, growing either 

 in pots or in the borders of the house. They may be 

 also planted on the outside of a pit, and bearing canes 

 being introduced within, and trained to a trellis, whilst 

 the present year's shoots are left outside. 



RASPBERRY MOTH. (Lampronia rubiella.) Where 

 this tiny moth happens to be plentiful it is more destruc- 

 tive to the canes than the beetle which feeds on the 

 fruit. The eggs are laid in the flowers in both cases, 

 but the caterpillars of the Lampronia live through the 

 winter months, secreted about the plants, and on the 

 return of warm weather, and when the buds begin to 

 swell, they crawl over the canes, from bud to bud, which 

 they penetrate, devouring the pith and other parts of 

 the interior. For this reason they are termed Raspberry 

 Stem-bud Caterpillars to distinguish them from the 

 beetle. The caterpillars are more or less of a bri'ht 

 red, with a black head, two pairs of black spots near the 

 head, six black feet near the head, and about one-fourth 

 of an inch long. The moth itself is under half an inch in 

 expanse, and the fore-wings are brown, marked with 

 numerous yellow specks and larger spots of the same 

 hue. The injured buds afterwards grow, but as the 

 season advances the leaves fade and the young shoots 

 die, thus disclosing the fact that Raspberry Stem-bud 



Caterpillars have been at work in them during their 

 early stages, and effecting then" destruction. 



Two means of prevention and remedy may be adopted. 

 During May and June, as soon as the presence of cater- 

 pillars can be detected by the nagging and withering of 

 the shoots, the latter should be broken or cut off with 

 a knife and dropped in a pail of strong soap-suds to 

 prevent the escape of the caterpillars during the process. 

 These shoots must forthwith be burned in a furnace or 

 on a burning heap of prunings or other rubbish, because, 

 if merely thrown down, many of the caterpillars might 

 be full grown, ready to enter the pupa stage, and would 

 thus reach the perfect stage to renew their depredations 

 during the summer. As soon as the crop is gathered, 

 the old canes should be cut clean away, and immediately 

 burned to destroy any young caterpillars, which may be 

 upon them. All other stumps, and even the unnecessary 

 young canes, should also be destroyed in the same way, 

 and many of the caterpillars will be prevented from 

 hibernating, to renew their depredations in spring. 



RATTLESNAKE FERN. Botry'chium virgi'nicum. 



RAUWO'LFIA. (Named after L. Raurvolf, M.D., a 

 botanical traveller. Nat. ord. Dogbanes [Apocynaceae]. 

 Linn. $-Pentandria, i-Monogynia. Allied to Carissa.) 



Stove evergreen shrubs. Cuttings of the points of 

 shoots, or stubby side-shoots, in sand, under a bell-glass, 

 in the beginning of summer, and in bottom-heat ; sandy, 

 fibrous loam, fibrous peat, a little dried leaf-mould, and 

 pieces of charcoal. W T tnter temp., 50 to 60 ; summer, 

 60 to 88. 



R. cane'scens (hoary). 7. Pink. Jamaica. 1759. 

 ,, ,, tomento'sa (woolly). 3. \Vhite. July. W. Ind. 



1823. 

 densiflo'ra (dense-flowered). 4-6. White. July. 



E. Ind. 1824. 



,, ma'jor (larger). 3-4. White. May. Java. 1850. 

 ,, ni'tida (shining). 12. White. August. W. Ind. 1752. 

 ,, pleioscia? dia (many-umbelled). See R. VOMITORIA. 

 serpenti'na (serpent-like). 2. White to pink. May. 



India and J ava. 1690. 



,, spino'sa, (thorny). Yellow. June. Peru. 1827. 

 ternifo'lia (three-leaved). 3. White. May. W. Ind. 



1823. 



,, tomento'sa (woolly). See R. CANESCENS TOMENTOSA. 

 ,, vomito'ria (vomiting). 10-20. White. Trop. Africa. 

 1902. 



RAVENA'LA. (The native name in Madagascar. 

 Nat. ord. Scitaminaceae.) 



Noble stove plants resembling a banana, but having 

 long stalks to the leaves. Seeds and suckers. Fibrous 

 loam, leaf-mould, and sand, but old cow-manure may be 

 used, if strong growth is desired. 

 R. guiane'nsis (Guianan). 1015. White. Seeds with 



red aril. S. Amer. 1848. 



madagascarie'nsis (Madagascar). 10-15. White. 

 Seeds with blue aril. Madagascar. " Traveller's 

 Tree." 



RAVENE'A. (Commemorative of Louis Ravenc, a 

 patron of gardening at Berlin. Nat. ord. Palmacea?.) 



Stove palm, with the habit of a Chamaedorea. Seeds. 

 Loam, peat, and sand. 



R. Hildebra'ndtii (Hildebrandt's). 10-12. Comoro 

 Islands. 1878. 



RAVE'NIA. (Possibly a commemorative name. Nat. 

 ord. Rutaceae. Allied to Ruta.) 



Evergreen stove shrubs. Cuttings of young wood, 

 getting firm, in sand, placed in a close case, with bottom- 

 heat. Fibrous loam, peat, and sand. 

 R. ro'sea (rosy). i|-2. Rose-red. July to September. 



Brazil. 1880. 



specta'bilis (showy). 2. Rich rose. July to Sep- 

 tember. S. Amer. 1839. 



RAVENSA'RA. (Derived from the native names, 

 raven, a leaf, and sara, savoury ; the leaves are scented 

 like the clove. Nat. ord. Lauracese. Allied to Cinna- 

 rnomum.) 



Evergreen, stove tree. Cuttings in sand, in a close 

 case, with bottom-heat. 



R. aroma' tica (aromatic). 10-30. White. Madagascar. 

 1823. 



