700 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



[Oct. 19, 







well-being of a tree, and probably are to them what the 

 lungs are to the human system; and every farmer \% 

 aware that plants with large and full leaves do not ex- 

 haust the soil in the same proportion as roots wbu/n have 

 smaller leaves ; but I cannot conceive th*t, any one will 

 deny that the various branches ^.nich Mr. Billington 

 would so carefully preserve, tfl ust appropriate to them- 

 selves a certain portion f sa p which would otherwise go 

 to the nourishroer^ f the parent stem. Why is it re- 

 commended .* fc e ad down a tree that has been trans- 

 planted f out t0 keep down the sap within narrower 

 liD lVcs ? 'for the roots, from their recent removal, do not at 

 once so fullv perform their functions, and thus furnish 

 but a feeble supply ; and if the process of heading has 

 not been adopted, for the first few years the topmost 

 boughs seem dead ; but as the roots begin to feed upon 

 the earth, the vegetation becomes more vigorous, and at 

 length the sap has been driven into the extremities, ex- 

 hibiting in this process a convincing proof or the fallacy 

 of Mr. Billington's theory— that it is by the descending 

 sap that the tree is nourished. Mr. Billington likens 

 the leaves to members, and the branches to families, and 

 therefore the more they are multiplied, the more trie 

 nation, which he supposes to be represented by the trunk, 

 will be enriched. I accept his premises to overthrow 

 his conclusion ; for, who ever thought a nation's welfare 

 was increased by the merely multiplying the popula- 

 tion, without providing means for their support ? There 

 seems something analogous in the human frame ; by 

 amputating a limb, we generally find that the patient 

 becomes stouter. Mr. Billington then asserts that re- 

 moving branches on their first appearance is calculated 

 to make the tree puny, and he would wait till they are 

 of larger growth. I should conceive the very reverse. 

 As well might the practitioner delay the removal of an 

 excrescence from the human bo<ly, until all its parts had 

 become perfect through which it had drawn its nourish- 

 ment. I had reserved a specimen, where the knife had 

 never been applied, where all its natural tendencies had 

 been uncorrected, for the edification of Billingtonian J 

 visitors, but I regret that it had died before Mr. Billing- 

 ton's inspection— I suppose with shame at its own 

 uncouth structure ; for when contrasted with its neigh- 

 bours it exhibited the appearance of a deformed dwarf, 

 beside a company of well set up grenadiers. Another 

 point in which I differ from Mr. Billington in his mode 

 of pruning : — He would foreshorten the branch which 

 he intends to remove, instead of cutting it off close 

 to the trunk, and thus making a second attack 

 two or three years after; by this 1 apprehend he causes 

 a greater wound, in consequence of the enlargement of 

 the member to be removed, and creates a knot in the 

 timber when eventually cut down. I do not think Mr. 

 B\Uing:on is very certain as to his own mode of opera- 

 tion, or the extent to which it should be carried ; lor he 

 speaks of encouraging branches, or removing them when 

 necessary , it would have been more in character with 

 one professing to teach, to have told us when that neces- 

 sity existed. Mr. Billington then takes Mr. J. Scott 

 Russell, an eminent engineer, to task, and questions the 

 fairness of his comparing the trees at Nerquis with those 

 growing in the neighbourhood, but under different treat- 

 ment; but, with singular inconsistency, proceeds to 

 compare them with the woods of other proprietors, 

 planted in totally different localities, and, it may be, in 

 totally different soils. The public, however, will judge 

 which offered the fairest test. The concluding para- 

 graph of Mr. Billington's letter leaves me in some doubt 

 as to what his real views are ; for, having throughout 

 declaimed against pruning, he adds, ** I protest against 

 the non-pruning advocates ; " and winds up by saying, 

 •* It is clear that we may regulate by skill and art the 

 increase of the girth and elongation of the trunk to 

 almost any proportion we please." This is precisely 

 the object! nave in view ; and, to meet the crude and 

 unsupported opinions of Mr. Billington, I would invite 

 any unprejudiced person, capable of judging, to visit 

 the plantations in question ; and in the mean time, 

 having received some very flattering testimonies to their 

 management, from scientific and practical men, I can, 

 with perfect good humour, submit to the condemnatory 

 remarks of Mr. Billington. — W. M. Thackeray, M.D., 

 Chester. 



s'.ies, 



and the sea-shore, where they often lie dead at loff by their dark-green foliage, now that autumu has set 



high-water mark in considerable numbers. 



Having deposited about a hundred eggs in the earth, 

 the female dies, and the larva? hatch and commence their 

 attacks upon the roots of the Grass. Bouche says they 

 live also on the roots of different flowers in pots, as Saxi- 

 fragas, Troliius, &c, which they gnaw off to the stem. 

 It is, however, on lawns and pastures that these larvae 

 commit the greatest ravages ; by consuming the roots 

 the Grass dies, the dead turf becomes rotten, and sinks 

 irregularly under the feet, owing to .the burrows which 

 the maggots had made in the earth ; and the rooks and 

 starlings add to the disorder by pulling up the turf to 

 feed upon them. These maggots were in vast bodies in 

 Sept. 1839 and 1840 in Hants and Gloucestershire ; and 

 I received many letters with specimens this autumn, com- 

 plaining of their devastations. It is stated that they are 

 feeding three years, and they reside about an inch be- 

 neath the turf ; but as winter approaches, they retire 

 deeper into the earth ; and even in November, when 

 frost has set in, they have buried themselves a spade 

 deep. From their large and uniform size at this season, 

 I expect they are generally full grown and prepared to 

 enter the pupa state, for which purpose they form cells 

 in the earth, and in all probability remain in that 

 quiescent state until the following spring, when the 

 beetles emerge about the time the Roses flower. 



<« 



I 



/ ENTOMOLOGY. 



Anisoplia horticola — (called the May-bug and 

 Bracken-clock.) — This insect is so great a plague in two 

 of its stages, and has been so very troublesome this year, 

 that its history will be well worthy the attention of the 

 cultivator. When the Roses are in full bloom in May, 

 these beetles sometimes do very extensive mischief to the 

 flowers, by eating out the anthers and consuming the 

 petals. 1 have also observed them feeding upon the 

 leaves of the Bramble and Eglantine, and remember that 

 some years since a host of them passed over a friend's 

 garden at Thetford, and completely destroyed all the 

 Roses, " leaving only the fibres of the leaves ;*and on the 

 flowers of those varieties that were in bloom, they hung 

 like small swarms of bees ; the previous year the crops 

 of Apples and Nectarines were destroyed by them in the 

 same neighbourhood,"* and the young Apple-trees are 

 occasionally defoliated by them. At another time they 

 were so abundant on the Acacias near Peterafield, as to 

 consume the foliage, and when the trees were shaken, 

 they fell down like a shower of hail. In the month of 

 June they frequent Corn-fields and the surrounding 

 hedges, about which they fly during the day, and enjoy 



Limueus named this beetle Scarabasus horticola ; Fabri- 



cius included it in his genus Melolontha, and it now forms, 



with some others, a group called Anisoplia.f In Norfolk 



it bears the name of May-bug amongst the farmers, and 



with the trout-fishers in the Lakes of Cumberland it is 



designated the Bracken-clock. A. horticola (fig. 2), is a 



pretty shining beetle clothed with longish hairs, dark on 



the upper, and yellowish on the under side ; the head, 



thorax, and scutel, are of a bright green, often with a 



violet tint; the head is thickly and roughly, and the 



thorax finely and more sparingly punctured ; the 



9 -jointed antennee (fig. 3), are ferruginous; the club and 



palpi are piceous ; the elytra are bright fulvous, with 



seven distinct and several obscure irregularly punctured 



striae ; wings ample ; the underside and legs are black, 



with a green shade, the anterior being the stoutest, the 



hinder the longest. The first pair of tibiae are notched 



externally, forming two distinct teeth in the male ; the 



others are spurred at the apex ; the tarsi are o-jointed ; 



the claws are unequal, the internal one being broad and 



bifid in the two anterior pair. Fig. 4, a fore leg of the 



male ; the line shows the natural length of the beetle. 



The larvae are rather active, and can walk tolerably 

 well, dragging their bodies after them ; they lie, however, 

 generally curved up in the shape of a horse-shoe ; the 

 head is deep ochreous and destitute of eyes ; the antennae 

 are very distinct, slender, and 5-jointed ; the mandibles 

 are somewhat rust-coloured, black at their tips ; the body 

 is ochreous-white, with a few brown hairi, the apex of a 

 lead colour when the larva is feeding, but like the rest 

 when the stomach is empty. It has 6 longish legs on 

 the breast, clothed with bristly hairs ; they are Particu- 

 late, the third joint short ; the claws are small and acu- 

 minated, with one or two bristles on the sides (fig. 1). 



To kill these larva?, water the Grass in the autumn 

 with l-10th gas liquor to 2-10tbs water; it will do no 

 mischief to the Grass, but will extirpate these miners. 

 Where the gas-liquor cannot be obtained employ strong 

 salt water. We should take advantage of mild weather 

 in the spring to break up affected land, as at that time 

 the larvae are near the surface, and become an acceptable 

 treat to the rooks, starlings, thrushes, blackbirds, robins, 

 &c. ; and even sparrows have been known to gorge 

 themselves with these larvte so that they were unable to 

 fly. In the absence of such useful birds, pigs will be of 

 service in reducing the brood of maggots; and where the 

 Grass is only partially spotted, it is very beneficial to 

 strew potash, unslaked lime, or other alkalies over the 

 infested land before or after the winter season, which 

 will restore the Grass to vigour, and, it is presumed, will 

 destroy the grubs. Heavy rolling has also been success- 

 fully resorted to with a view of settling the undermined 

 turf. If it be necessary to destroy the beetles, a cloth 

 should be spread under the clustered branches previously 

 to shaking them ; and as this species flies in the day, 

 this operation must be performed early in the morning, 

 or in the evening. — Ruricola. 



its seal on many of Nature's earlier productions ? I atQ 

 an ardent admirer of the Rose, and my enthusiasm has 

 ere now, carried me to the Continent in the sultry month 

 of June, in search of new varieties. Having this year 

 caught the autumnal mania, I resolved to delay my visit 

 till September, in expectation of finding the perpetual, 

 flowering Roses blooming in greater perfection. In thi3 

 I was not disappointed, and would here advise connois. 

 seurs of Roses, who are accustomed to visit the ground* 

 of the large growers in England, to do so twice in the 

 year — in June for summer varieties, and in September 

 for the autumnal sorts. I feel assured they would be 

 well recompensed by, and highly delighted with a Sep. 

 tember visit. The Rose gardens then assume altogether 

 a new feature ; the summer Roses are gone, and the au- 

 tumnal kinds appear in all their richness and beauty. 

 True, the autumnal Roses bloom in June, but they seem 

 to require the long dewy nights to bring out their flowers 

 in trueness of character, and the difference is oftentimes 

 bo great, that the well-known Rose of June would 

 scarcely be recognised when blooming in September. 

 Thinking, however, that many lovers of Roses might not 

 have leisure or inclination to travel so far in search of 

 one object, which, among a multiplicity of affairs, becomes 

 of small importance, I will endeavour to give an account 

 of what struck me as most remarkable during my late 

 trip. After having visited the grounds of the Hertford- 

 shire growers, and collected the choicest of Rosa's train 

 there, I departed well pleased with what 1 had seen, and 

 resolving to make further additions from foreign cultiva- 

 tors. Having reached the French capital, the first cul- 

 tivator to whom I paid a visit was M. Laffay, the 

 raiser of Madame LafTay, William Jesse, La Reine, 

 and many other of our most beautiful Roses. I 

 there saw Hybrid Perpetual La Reine in great beauty, 

 and should pronounce it one of the gems of the season : 

 the colour is pink, with a lilac hue, very glossy ; the 

 flowers are globular in shape, large, and very sweet. 

 Another of his seedlings, Comtesse Duchatei, is a Hy- 

 brid Perpetual of a superior kind. The flowers are of a 

 rose-colour, with thick petals, closely set ; Perpetuelle 

 Indigo is a distinct variety, of a peculiar colour, to which 

 its name relates ; Hybrid Perpetual, Mrs. Crippi, a 

 pale Rose, appears likely to become a profuse autumnal 

 bio omer ; Perpetuelle ponctue'e, a bright Rose with 

 white spots, is a very pretty .variety. Of the four last 

 mentioned, M. LafTay has, I believe, the entire stock at 

 present, but intends selling plants of them this autumn. 

 He has also a Moss Rose, Pnncesae Adelaide, of a pale 

 rose-colour, blooming in corymbs, and said to be very 

 handsome. The habits of the plants were certainly re- 

 markable, having a degree of vigour quite foreign to the 

 Moss tribe. Their season of flowering was past, but he 

 said that the flowers were like those of Ornament de 

 Parade, a well-known Gallica Rose; and other growers 

 spoke well of it. Among others noticed here were Lady 

 Alice Peel, Duchess of Sutherland, De Marx, Coquette 

 de Bellevue, and Coquette de Montmorency— all Hybrm 

 Perpetuals of recent introduction : the last-mentioned is 

 in every respect a beautiful flower. M. Laftay is an 

 thusiastic cultivator of Roses, but a lover of fruits also- 

 To enumerate the various grounds visited would, l 

 find, become tedious, and occupy too much space, har 

 ing often looked through several in the course of a day. 

 I must, therefore, arrange the var.et.es noted down as 

 most remarkable, in their respective families. 



Among the Perpetuals and Hybrid /"V™**'^ 



en 



Laurence de Montmorency, a free-flowering variety ot 

 a purplish rose-colour ; Lady Elphinstone, rosy crimson. 



.,rr^d m a^««nn bloomer ;" Baronne Prevo.t pale 

 rose, sweet, and of an immense size; Come d Eu, a 

 mos beautiful carmine, but scarcely double enough, 

 rhough apparently superior to Gloire de Rosamenes 

 La Bedoydre, a variety, of the character of Comte d [En, 

 LR ° e l:Lx a \ n A nnite equal in colour ; Marquisa Boc- 



class 



TRIP TO PARIS IN SEARCH OF AUTUMNAL 



ROSES. 



Of the various floral improvements of modern times, 

 nothing has probably produced such a beautiful change 

 in the appearance of our gardens in autumn, or has been 

 introduced witb more striking effects, than the perpetual- 



What can be more cheering at this 



flowering Roses. 

 season of the year than to behold the vivid colours of 



the Sunshine ; they are seen also in Grass-fields, by road- I man 7 of the Bourbon and Hybrid Perpetual Roses, con- 



1 trasted with the more delirate tints of the Tea-sc ented set 



T S'e ffi°a decided acquisition among a e»» 

 Rose, failing colours o> which are purple and 

 crimson ; Prince de Galles, purplish crimson, a free 



of a very elegant shape, blooming »cor,^,^ £ 



cieuse, reddish enmson, a •"oJingfrom *™° d crims on, fa 

 and an estimable variety ; Le Grenadier, ™'° w £ 



frequently tinged with violet ; M^^ftU i ^ 

 and blush marbled, a de >f e a ndbeaut, ? Prince.se 

 Princesse Clementine, violet cr.mson, 

 de Modena, flesh ; Suchet bright p 

 rerv fine ; Souvenir d'Anselume, a lively cberrj ■ w 

 Souvenir de Dumont d'UrviUe, enmson chw g* J 

 violet after expanding, and Souvenir de la Malm J 



magnificent flesh-coloured rose. ■ the »ay ^ 



Among the Noisettes were-Mrs. Siddons, in J. 



of Le Pactole, but in its then state not superior , » jnd ,,; 

 a yellowish buff, but in appearance a «^> 

 Cbromatella, or Cloth of Gold, a Rose , f y e »°" cb does , 

 cast, of a paler yellow than I expected and wn ^ 

 „ot appear to open too freely. It fi",.however , 

 unfa-rahle season ,here_ for _it. , flowery J^jl > 



good 



,lemenune, v.uac- •».»«• — , „rinisoo> 



, flesh ; Suchet, _Wgtpn : p^ S; J 



* Curtis's Brit. Ent., fol. 526. 



t Curtis's Brit. Ent., fol. and pi. 026. 



Tery plentiful, it may yet prove better than 



Among the Tea-scented, I noticed Ad 



flowers were bold and large, but not very a 



bundantly P*°" 



