588 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



the air by stopping up the mouth* of the vessels, and then 

 plunging them a foot deep in dry sand, in preference to 

 keeping them on open shelves in the fruit-room; but 

 moss is objectionable, as it communicates a musty flavour 

 to the fruit. Sand has been adopted with success in the 

 following manner :— Having procured some air-tight 

 vessels, of any description or size, then put in a layer or 

 sand, and a layer of Apples or Pears alternately, until the 

 vessel is full ; the sand must be well dried before being 

 used, either by exposure to the sun or by fire-heat. After 

 the vessel is full the lid should be perfectly secured to 

 prevent the admission of air, by means of a piece of o. - 

 cloth or leather, made larger than the rim of the vessel, 

 so that it may lap over three or four inches ; then take a 

 piece of strong string and tie it after the manner that 

 housekeepers tie up their pots of jelly. Some prefer sealing 

 the lids, but this is attended with a disadvantage, as the 

 covering is required to be removed every time that fruit 

 is wanted. After the vessels are all properly secured, 

 they should be placed in a cool airy room or cellar, with 

 a temperature varying from 32° to 40°. There should be 

 vessels of different sizes, for the different varieties of fruit, 

 and on no account should more than one sort be put in 

 each vessel, as some kinds ripen sooner than others. 

 Each vessel should be numbered to correspond with a list 

 of the sorts, so that it can be easily got at when wanted. 



If there is not the convenience of a room, the vessels 

 containing the fruit may be plunged in the open ground 

 to the depth of from four to five feet ; there they will be 

 secure from any sudden change in the atmosphere. After 

 the hole is made, put in a layer of charcoal, and then in- 

 sert the vessel, filling up the intervening space with char- 

 coal, pressing it firmly with the foot; the charcoal will be 

 found to keep all cool and clean. 



Amongst the numerous materials employed in preserv- 

 ing and packing Apples and Pears, I am not aware that 

 charcoal has been employed ; but it will be found upon 

 trial to answer as well, if not better, than sand, as it is not 

 so liable to absorb moisture. In the use of charcoal in- 

 stead of sand, I would recommend it to be ground fine 

 and sifted over the Apples as they are laid in, which 

 should, in all cases, be done in the most careful manner, 

 as the least bruise in one will spoil all. 



The late Mr. Knight, in one of his papers in the " Hort. 

 Soc. Trans." says, " The moat successful method of pre- 

 serving Apples and Pears, which I have tried, has been 

 placing them in glazed earthenware vessels, each con- 

 taining about a gallon, and surrounding each fruit with 

 paper ; but it is probable that the chaff of Oats, if free 

 from moisture or any offensive smell, might be used in- 

 stead of paper, and with much less expense or trouble. 

 These vessels being perfect cylinders, about a foot each in 

 height, stand very conveniently on each other, and thus 

 present the means of preserving a large quantity of fruit 

 in a small room. If the spaces between the top of one 

 vessel and the base of another be filled with a cement, 

 composed of two parts of the curd of milk and one of lime, 

 by which the air will be excluded, the later kinds of Ap- 

 ples and Pears will be preserved with little change in their 

 appearance, and without any danger of decay, from Octo- 

 ber till February and March. A dry and cold situation, 

 in which there is little change of temperature, is best 

 for the vessels. I have found most Pears to be 

 greatly improved by their being taken from the vessel 

 about ten days before they are wanted for use, and kept 

 in a warm room ; for warmth at this, as at all other 

 periods, accelerates the maturity of the Pear." Here, then, 

 we have the following important information, viz., the 

 exclusion of air,and a low temperature, as the principle for 

 keeping or retarding the ripening of fruit, and warmth 

 for bringing it to maturity. The latter may be done at 

 any period after the fruit has been gathered, by placing 

 the vessels in a temperature of 60° to 70°. 



I, however, differ from Mr. Knight in the use of Oat- 

 chaff and paper ; in the first case, it is difficult to procure 

 the chaff of Oats free from moisture or an offensive smell, 

 of which the fruit is sure to partake ; and paper, except 

 what is generally termed silk-paper, imparts a disagreeable 

 flavour to the fruit. In fact, paper should not be used 

 at all, for it is apt to damp and destroy the fruit in what- 

 ever situation it may be placed. 



The fruit- room should be fitted up exactly like a pair 

 of bed-room drawers, of some hard wood. Fir, being apt to 

 spoil the flavour of the fruit, should never be employed. 

 These drawers must be made to fit as tight as possible, in 

 order to exclude air, and should be numbered in regular 

 order, to correspond with a list which should always be 

 "kept in the fruit-room. When all is ready for the recep- 

 tion of the fruit, place in each drawer a quantity of fine 

 dry sand or charcoal, then a layer of Apples, until the 

 whole is full ; then shut up the drawers and let them 

 remain until the fruit is required for use ; if any are 

 wanted let them "be taken out some days previously and 

 placed in a warm room, or hothouse, until they are fit for 

 the table. The advantage of such a fruit-room must be 

 obvious to every practical gardener. First, we have the 

 entire prevention of air, which is allowed by all to be 

 injurious to their preservation ; second, the" sand or 

 charcoal checks the evaporation of the fruit, thus pre- 

 serving their flavour, and at the same time any moisture 

 yielded by the Apples is absorbed by these materials, so 

 that the Apples are kept dry and mustiness is prevented. 

 The fruit preserved in this manner will be found as fresh 

 in May and June as when first put in. — J, Mcintosh. 



* ENTOMOLOGY^" 



The Seven-spotted Lady-bird, named Coccinella 

 septem- punctata, — No one connected with the country, 

 or who takes the slightest interest in the cultivation of a 

 flower, can be ignorant of the services rendered to him 



by the pretty lady-birds, which have even escaped tht 

 sad prejudices of our nation as regards insects, so that 

 children caress these handsome and most useful creatures 

 in England, and in France they seem to be equally es- 

 teemed, being called Vache a Dieu, and Betes de la 

 Vicrge, cows of God, and insects of the Virgin. It 

 seems, however, that many persons are unacquainted 

 with the early stages of their existence ; and as this has 

 led to the fatal error of destroying the larva, which are 

 amongst the most valuable aids the cultivator has, in 

 keeping under the aphides, it becomes very important 

 that the farmer, as well as the gardener, should be at 

 once enabled to distinguish his friends from his enemies. 

 If we examine the underside of the leaves of Turnips, 

 Hops, or any plants, where they are greatly infested 

 with plant-lice, we shall be sure to find little clusters of 

 orange or buff-coloured eggs (fig. 1) deposited close to- 

 gether on their ends, and considerably resembling those 

 of the White Cabbage butterflies at the first glance, but 

 they are very different when magnified ; ttey are more 

 elliptical, fleshy,and smooth, not being sculptured as those 

 of the papilios are. The first brood hatches in May, when 

 the pearly empty shells alone remain, and the little black 

 animals issuing from them run over the leaves in search of 

 food; at this time they are rough with hairs, and have six 

 short strong legs ; as they grow they change their skins, 

 and eventually those of the largest species (C. 7-punctata) 

 attain the length of five or six lines (fig. 2) ; the larva 

 now has a slate-coloured skin, smooth but dull ; the body 

 is attenuated towards the apex, and extends far beyond 

 the six black sprawling legs, so that it looks like a little 

 gay alligator, which it likewise resembles in its voracious 

 and carnivorous habits. The head is rather small, tri- 

 gonate, and of an orange- colour, but black at the base, 

 the little black eyes and antennae being scarcely visible, 

 but the mouth is well developed ; the black palpi are 

 comparatively large, and the two rust-coloured jaws 

 sharp ; the 1st thoracic segment is broad, of an orange- 

 colour, with a black spot on the centre and one on each 

 side ; these are covered with rough tubercles terminated 

 by bristles; the two following thoracic segments are 

 broad, with spined black tubercles, and the nine ab- 

 dominal ones are shorter, each having six spiny tuber- 

 cles forming as many lines down the back and sides ; 

 they are very black, excepting the lateral ones on the 4th 

 and 7tii segments, which are bright-orange ; the six legs 

 are shining black, tapering, bristly, and terminated by 

 a single claw. When these larva? are full fed, they attach 

 their tails to the leaf on which they lived, or seek some 

 more sheltered situation in the bark of trees or under 

 paling, especially those which are to rest through the 

 winter, and pass into pupae (fig. 3), which are somewhat 

 oval and convex, black, variegated with yellow and 

 orange ; in this state in spring and summer they remain 

 only 12 or 14 days — probably less in fine weather — when 

 the skin bursts down the thorax, and the perfect lady-bird 

 issues forth, of a pale yellow or ochreous colour, gra- 

 dually assuming its natural tints of red and black, as it is 

 exposed to the light and air. 



[Aug. 31. 



leaf by leaf, the plant is freed from this disagreeable" tnJ 

 destructive blight. I was astonished to see how rapidl 

 one of these little creatures picked up and ate the %^J\ 

 apterous aphides on a Pelargonium, at the rate, I ihoS 

 say, of three or four in a minute ; and a pair which! 

 placed upon two Pelargoniums, cleared off all the plant 

 lice, with which they were greatly infested, in the cour* 

 of 24 hours, so completely, that I could not find a liri* 

 specimen. On the Continent their valuable services an 

 so well understood, that the lady-birds are collected 

 and placed upon Rose bushes, &c. to extirpate U* 

 aphides. — Ruricola. 



Home Correspondence. 



The Hyssop of Scripture. — At p. 556 appears 

 interesting article on the Hyssop of Scripture. Its 

 ject .is to prove that the Caper- plant is that Hyssop. 

 Professor Royle has argued very ingeniously, and it u 



to have found most difficulty in explaining how the 

 Caper-plant would yield a stick long enough for a m»n 

 to lift a sponge upon it to our Blessed Saviour's lips. 

 Now, I am of opinion that there is no necessity for sup- 

 posing that the stick was of Hyssop ; indeed, it appears 

 plain to me that it was not. St. Matthew and St. Mark 

 both say that the sponge was put upon a reed ; St. John 

 alone mentions that they put it upon Hyssop. Butt 

 very obvious way of reconciling both, is to suppose that 

 the sponge was placed among the small twigs of a bunch 

 of Hyssop previously tied to a reed, and so lifted up to 

 our Blessed Saviour's mouth. The bunch of Hyssop 

 would not only safely support the sponge, but its twigs 

 and leaves would receive the vinegar which might drop 

 from the sponge, and prevent its running down the reed, 

 and annoying the soldier who held it. St. Augustin ii 

 clearly of this opinion ; for, having previously said that 

 the sponge was put upon some Hyssop, he writes thus 

 — " Nor need we wonder how the sponge could be pot 

 up to his mouth, .... for, as we read in the other 

 Evangelists, which this one (St. John) omits, it was done 

 by means of a reed *. The very learned and acute coir- 

 mentator Estuis f inclines to what he considers a very 

 probable opinion, that the Greek word in St. John, 

 vo-acZirca (Ilyssopo), is an erroneous reading, and should 

 be vao-cp (Ilysso), which means a spear-handle or a long 

 stick, and which corresponds with the word reed, used 

 by the other Evangelists. This would do away with 

 the Hyssop altogether. But we may also very probably 

 conjecture, with another very useful expositor whom I 

 have examined, that a soldier very naturally used his 

 lance, which was ready in his hand, on this occasion, 

 and that this was meant by the word KaKafxos, used by 

 St. Matthew and St. Mark. For, though this word is 

 translated a reed, it was very commonly used for a lance 

 or spear ; and it is very fair to suppose that the soldier 

 would fix the bunch of Hyssop on the point of his lance, 

 and so raise the sponge to the lips of our crucified 

 Redeemer.-F. C. Husenbeth, Cossey, near ^ i\onr ich. 

 Valerian Root.— Your correspondent. A.H., nas 



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There are upwards of 30 different species,* besides 

 endless varieties of these useful and beautiful little ani- 

 mals inhabiting this country, one of the largest and most 

 abundant being the lady-bird with seven spots, called by 

 Linnaeus Coccinella septem-punctata. It is oval, con- 

 vex above, flat beneath, shining, and black ; the antennae 

 are short, clavate, and 11-jointed; the jaws are strong 

 and sharp, and the palpi large ;t upon the head are two 

 white dots, and there are two larger ones on the anterior 

 angles of the thorax ; the elytra are bright brick-red, 

 with seven black spots, the 1st upon the base of the 

 suture, the others forming two triangles ; wings two and 

 ample ; the tarsi are 4-jointed and terminated by two 

 claws (fig. 4). 



There is a smaller species, named C. dispar, or C. bi- 

 punctata, often with two black spots on the red elytra, 

 but sometimes black with red spots, which is equally 

 abundant. The lady-birds are probably to be found 

 during the whole year, as they winter under bark, in 

 chinks of posts, paling, &c, and are seen in the earliest 

 days of spring, if the weather be fine, and late in the au- 

 tumn also. I have met on the sea coast in September 

 with immense numbers, which I imagine had deserted 

 the Hop-grounds and were about to offer their good ser- 

 vices to the farmer in his Turnip-fields. 



The vast quantities of aphides which the larvae of the 

 lady-birds destroy cannot be calculated, for they seem 

 never to cease from feeding, except when they are moult- 

 ing, and consequently increase very rapidly in size ; and 

 the ladybirds themselves are equally active. One sees 

 these pretty scarlet animals running over the plants until 

 they meet with an aphis, which they immediately seize 

 with their broad feelers, and keep squeezing out the sac- 

 charine contents, until the crumpled skin alone remains ; 

 they then attack another, and will thus pro ceed until, 



* Vide Curtis's Guide, Genus 438. 

 t Curtis's Brit. Ent. pi. 208. 



V (iterant, J.ivv«. — *~— — r u„u»^«,«^o 



been singularly unfortunate in the experiments he has made, 

 with the view to ascertain if cats are enamoured of \ a- 

 lerian. This fact, I beg to observe, is "*>»"«£ J 

 verified it myself about three months since, and it stand 

 thus entered in my Note-Book.-" May 21st .Pur-, 

 chased at Covent-garden market a root of \ alerun. 

 ante fresh. Conveyed it home mysteriously in an on, ■»•■ 

 brs much to the horror of the passengers, who eyed tl. 

 bag in which it was contained as if it would breed a P - 

 ileVce. Several parties quitted .he .omnibus abruptly 

 sniffing, and casting a look behind them not readily W | 

 be forgotten. I sat by, unmoved as a stoic, 01 coura 

 disclaiming all connection with the bag. Anivea » 

 my ^rney's end, 1 basti.y dU mounte id, draggmg o. 



ufpS te obonf 18 inches from the .round an- 

 te nng it round the root of a tree. In th morn . 



und'the paper very much torn and scrat hed U «£ 

 bited, too, distinct traces of the «"«"«» £ ni ht . 

 bad been engaged on its e . st 7 '"" ^CwatcVtbe 

 Early net morning I contrived, "n""'^"' ^ kiBif en- 

 passing scene. There sat seven .leek g™ 1 ^,,, . 

 dently in high enjoyment ; w hile an eighth (no a ^ 

 tom-cat), was rolling himself over »d • ««^, ,„, 



from my concealment, and liberally reward the 

 formers with the handle of a long | rake By Uu **V 

 I effected the ' lay of the last Minstrel ! 

 KM, New Road, Hammersmith. u 



Growth of Trees.— In the Chronicle, p. 5*1, . " T 

 a short article headed "Growth of Foresttre e 1 

 meit is not satisfactory. We a. know that if a t^ 



fastened to a wall, -<> »e™ "» s 'em o "hen * 

 upwards by the elongation of to stem or ^ 



stem gets to the coping of the wall, I never kne $ 



coping being moved by the Pressure We see P ^ 



strong shoots issuing from the old wood, but i „ 



believe .hat the old wood ever elongates.--- £ ■>• 

 Subscriber, Ireland," states on thu^ert. ttaUh^ 

 of his experience causes him to doubt w g d 



m0 ured opinion that wood lengthen, .to ben g - 

 In opposition to this, I will mention a_fact«. th ^ Jo 



under my own observation 



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de Cap. 19 



_ Tract cxix. ue \^*V' 



* S. Augustinus in Evang. Joann. 1 race ^ 



t Estuis in loca difficiliora S. Scnptorie, m 



