Gardening for Amateurs 



999 



soil immediately below the bush or below 

 the surface, and in these they shelter during 

 winter. About the month of July there 

 emerges from the cocoon a fly, the Goose- 

 berry and Currant sawfly, which spends a 

 merry time laying eggs on the leaves of 

 the bushes ; in a week these eggs become 

 caterpillars, and so the destructive round 

 goes on. 



The Magpie Caterpillar. Equally destruc- 

 tive is the caterpillar of a moth known 

 as the Magpie Moth. In July these moths 

 will be noticed on the wing every evening, 

 and casual observers might mistake them 

 for an ordinary white butterfly. They are 

 the same size as the ordinary butterfly, but 

 the greyish - white wings are more or less 

 regularly spotted with black, and other 

 points of difference may be noticed after 

 a careful examination of them. Numerous 

 eggs are deposited about Red or White 

 Currant and Gooseberry bushes ; these 

 will, by the end of August, be small spotted 

 caterpillars with large appetites, Taut when 

 winter's cold comes along they will he 

 dormant about the branches or in the soil 

 below. Spring finds them with an appetite 

 whetted by the winter's fast, and as soon 

 as the buds open the foliage is devoured 

 wholesale, scarcely a vestige of green being 

 left on the bush. In May they become pupae 

 and dormant ; the pupae are easily noticed 

 hanging from the branches black, banded 

 with orange, and almost wasplike. The 

 moths emerge in June and July, the round 

 of insect life having been completed. 



Neither pest touches the fruit, but the 

 foliage is attacked wholesale, and we have 

 actually seen bushes where the Magpie 

 caterpillars ate all the leaves in spring, and 

 the maggots of the sawflies entirely removed 

 the second crop of leaves in August. Now, 

 to live and be prolific a bush must have a 

 healthy crop of leaves, so that gardeners need 

 not rejoice because the fruits are not attacked. 

 After the first year of attack the berries get 

 smaller, and if there is nothing done to 

 eradicate the pests there speedily comes a 

 time when the fruit is of infinitesimal 

 quantity. 



Eradication is an impossible ideal unless 

 every gardener in a district sets about the 

 work systematically, but there is no doubt 



that much can be done to retain Goose- 

 berries and Currants at their high state 

 of excellence by timely and proper action 

 being taken. Since the caterpillars eat the 

 leaves, poison their food supplies, and so 

 get rid of the pests, but at the same time 

 use the poison judiciously in case more than 

 the caterpillars are poisoned. Get a quantity 

 of arsenate of lead, or Paris green, and 

 dissolve 1 ounce in 3 or 4 gallons of water 

 (preferably lime water), then syringe the 

 bushes with this twice in early spring, 

 beginning with the opening of the buds. 

 In May hand-pick the pests as far as time 

 permits (always provided that there are any 

 left over after the syringing), and use soapy 

 water or any other insecticide which is not 

 poisonous. 



In June remove any of the wasplike pupae 

 or the earlier green caterpillars, but in the 

 month of July, when the bushes are cleared 

 of fruit, continue the arsenic sprays once 

 or twice. If road sweepings containing tar 

 are available, spread a thin layer over the 

 surface of the soil about this time, or sprinkle 

 a little soil fumigant over the surface of the 

 ground. Winter treatment may consist of 

 a good syringing with caustic alkali or 

 paraffin wash, and if total eradication is 

 aimed at the surface soil can be peeled off 

 to a depth of 3 inches, and new stuff added. 

 Gas-lime may be worked into the upper spit 

 if that renovation is not carried out, and 

 even ground lime or kainit helps to kill off 

 such of the pests as are in the soil. 



Now, all that work is not necessary, but it 

 serves to show what can be done at the 

 different times of the year. One real good 

 effort is often sufficient to secure comparative 

 freedom for a year, but a watchful eye is at 

 all times necessary, in order to repeat the 

 work whenever it should be required. Eradi- 

 cation, as we said, is impossible, but if any 

 one of the above methods is adopted and 

 carried out thoroughly every year the bushes 

 will remain prolific and vigorous, and the 

 damage done by caterpillars be reduced to 

 a minimum. 



Grapes for Out of Doors. When 

 planted against south walls or even sheds 

 facing south in warm counties some varieties 

 of Grapes will ripen satisfactorily. Out-of- 

 door vines are best grown as single cordons, 



