44 



THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 



Peach continued. 



especially a dark lozenge-shaped mark on the front mar- 

 gin. All the wings are narrow, and long-fringed. This 

 insect is found both in Europe and in North America. 



A Weevil, Otiorhynchus ligustici (see Otiorhyncus) , 

 gnaws the leaves of the Peach, as well as of many other 

 trees. The larvae of several of the larger moths and 

 butterflies also eat the leaves; but the harm done by them 

 is seldom serious. A Sawfly (Lyda nemoralis), in the 

 larval state, lives on several trees of the group of stone- 

 fruits, and among these is the Peach; the larva live in 

 colonies, but each in a separate tube, protected in the 

 common web (see Lyda). The webs, with the inclosed 

 larvae, are easily removed and destroyed. 



The worst insect enemies of the Peach-tree are Aphides, 

 of which several species are found on it in Britain. 

 The most hurtful is Aphis Persicce, B. de Fonsc. (A. Amyg- 

 dali, Buckton), since it causes the young leaves near the 

 tips of the branches to assume a blistered appearance, 

 to become thickened and red, and to curl up, so as to 

 form retreats below them, in which the insects live pro- 

 tected. The leaves become useless to the tree, and drop 

 off prematurely. The insects are of an ochreous or 

 rusty-yellow colour, with dark brown or black markings 

 covering a great part of the upper surface. Myzus 

 Persicce and Hyalopterus Pruni are both common on 

 Peach-trees; but they do not give rise to the distortion 

 of the leaves, though hurtful by covering the leaves with 

 their skins and excretions, and weakening the trees by 

 the food they draw from the tissues. The former species 

 has the wingless female rosy or rusty-red, the winged 

 female brown or almost black, and the male citron-yellow. 

 The latter has the wingless female pale green, and the 

 winged female yellowish - green. When Aphis Persicce 

 appears, the twigs most affected should be cut off and 

 destroyed, with their inhabitants. For all the species, 

 washes may be used, such as soapsuds, or a solution of 

 lib. of soft soap in five gallons of water, or a solution 

 of soft soap with tobacco. These liquids may be pumped 

 on from a garden engine, or the infested twigs may be 

 dipped into them; but special care must be taken to 

 reach the insects on the under surface of the leaves. 



The Peach Scale insect (Lecanium Persicos) lives on the 

 buds and branches of Peach, Plum, and various other 

 trees. As in the allied species (see Scale Insects), the 

 female is covered with a slightly convex, oval shield. 

 This is brown, with a yellowish dorsal line, and two 

 darker spots at the sides. As the eggs become matured, 

 the shield becomes nearly hemispherical, and the legs 



FIG. 43. LECANIUM PERSIC-E, showing (a) Leaf, with Male on it, 

 slightly enlarged ; (6) Male flying, much enlarged. 



disappear from the lower surface. The males (see Fig. 

 43) are smaller than the females, have two wings, and 

 bear two slender filaments, like tails ; they are dark red- 

 brown, with black head, and yellowish antennae and legs. 



Peach conh'nued. 



For this, as for the other Scale insects, the best treat- 

 ment is the use of a stiff brush, with similar solutions 

 to those employed against Aphides (which see), or with 

 paraffin, to remove them from the branches. 



Lastly, 'the fruit of the Peach is, in common with the 

 other stone-fruits, inhabited occasionally by the larva of 

 a beetle (Anthonomus druparum), which feeds in the 

 seed, but usually does not greatly check the growth of 

 the edible part of the fruit. This beetle is nearly related 

 to the Apple Blossom Weevil (which see for methods 

 of prevention and remedies). 



PEACH BLISTER. A blistered and curled state 

 of the leaves, which become somewhat fleshy, and fall 

 prematurely. It may be caused by a Fungus, Exoascus 

 deformans (see Peach. Fungi), or by Green Fly, of which 

 the worst species is Aphis Persicce (see Peach 

 Insects). 



PEACH MYRTLE. A common name for Hypo- 

 calymma robustum. 



PEACOCK FLOWER. A common name of Pom- 

 ciana regia. 



PEACOCK FLOWER FENCE. A common name 

 for Adenanthera pavonina. 



PEA, EARTH. See Lathyrns amphicarpus. 



PEA, EVERLASTING. See Lathyrus syl- 

 vestris platyphyllus. 



PEA, FLAT. See Platylobium. 



FEAGLE. An old name for Primula veris. 



PEA, GLORY. See Clianthns Dampieri, 



PEA MOTH (Grapholitha pisana). In the larval 

 state, the Pea Moth is one of the most hurtful insects 

 to the vegetable which it infests, and is, at the same 

 time, very common. It is also known as Endopisa proxi- 

 mana. For a full description of this Moth, methods of 

 extermination, &c., see the remarks on INSECTS under 

 Pea. 



PEA NUT. See Arachis hypogsea. 

 PEA, PARTRIDGE. See Heisteria. 

 PEA, PIGEON. See Cajanus indicns. 



FEAR (Pyrus communis). The Pear-tree has been 

 known, and has been under cultivation, from a period of 

 remote antiquity. It is found wild in some parts of 

 England, is a native of most temperate parts of Europe 

 and Western Asia, and is also found in the Himalayan 

 region ; other wild types, besides P. communis, have 

 had more or less to do with the origin of many cul- 

 tivated Pears. In a wild state, its branches are 

 thorny ; but, under cultivation, the thorns disappear, and 

 are replaced by fruit-buds, which are formed on shoots 

 of about the same length, technically termed spurs. The 

 tree is naturally more inclined to grow in a pyramidal 

 form than the Apple-tree (Pyrus Malus). It differs 

 also from the Apple in being longer as a seedling plant 

 in coming into bearing ; while, on the other hand, under 

 favourable conditions, it is very much longer-lived. The 

 Pear can, however, scarcely be considered so hardy as 

 the Apple, as it is not found so far north, in either a 

 wild or cultivated state. In old orchards, where Pear 

 and Apple-trees have been growing under similar con- 

 ditions, it has been noted that the former were in full 

 vigour, and bearing abundantly, long after the latter 

 had disappeared, or had been removed in consequence of 

 natural decay. The Pear does not produce fruit on the 

 former year's wood, but on spurs which grow out of 

 wood not less than a year old. On the points of these, 

 buds are formed, and the flowers are produced from each, 

 in corymbs of from five to nine (see Fig. 44, which shows 

 two corymbs of flowers). A large proportion of these 



