64 GOOSEBEKRY. 



Mr. Nixon made some remarks, which are well worth attention, on 

 the importance of taking the spring appearance of Red Spiders in 

 time, so as to destroy them before their season of egg-laying had 

 arrived, and mentioned that if " once egg-laying commences, the 

 Spiders continue to hatch throughout the season, and the infestation 

 is indefinitely maintained, therefore it is absolutely necessary and 

 most important that an early application should be given before egg- 

 laying begins. I am persuaded the great secret of the whole thing 

 lies in this one point. Once the eggs are there, I do not believe it 

 possible to be rid of the pest for that season. You may kill the 

 Spiders by thousands, as I did last year, but still there remain some 

 eggs to hatch and continue the infestation. 



" I intend to give my bushes a dressing of ' Anti-pest ' as soon as 

 possible, and I have found a much more economical way of doing it 

 than last year, by which, I believe, three-fourths of the stuff will be 

 saved. I shall use two Eclair sprayers on a specially constructed 

 garden-engine made long and narrow, so that it will easily pass up the 

 rows of bushes. The sprayers will both be in use at the same time, 

 doing bushes on each side." 



During the season of attack in 1893, Mr. Nixon devoted great care 

 and attention to getting the Red Spider under on his own Gooseberry- 

 grounds at Great Eversden, and the good results of this treatment are 

 showing now as well as then, for he concluded the long letter, of 

 which I have given some part, with the remark, " I may say that in a 

 large proportion of my bushes no Spider has as yet appeared. I find 

 some of my neighbours have it badly." — (F. Nixon.) 



With regard to locality of the " Red Spiders " at different times of 

 the day on various parts of the Goosebeiry-bushes (which is important 

 relatively to bringing sprays or washes to bear on them), Messrs. 

 Skinner, of Covent Garden, who had previously written to me (see 

 p. 63), remarked on March 19th: — -"We notice the Spider congregates 

 in the crevices of the bark, and when the sun is out seems to get on 

 the leaves ; towards nightfall, again going back to the wood. Some 

 pieces of the wood are literally painted with tliem. This is on a plot 

 of about fifteen acres, which has been heavily manured every year. 

 The curious point is that on another piece of about forty acres a very 

 short distance away one of our neighbours has none." 



On tlie 23rd of March, Sir J. Stewart Richardson, who had had 

 great attention bestowed on destruction of Red Spider during 1893, 

 wrote me : — "I have not heard of any reappearance of ' Red Spider ' 

 on my Gooseberry-bushes, but shall have a thorough investigation 

 this afternoon." 



Sir J. Stewart Richardson then added with regard to the mixture 

 which he had used beneficially for spraying with: — " It is indeed most 



