604 Retrospective Criticism. 



covered the floor of my house, which is laid with tiles, with dry chaiF, about 

 2 in. thick, thinking that it would condense the moisture which arose from the 

 bordei-, or, in other words, would prevent the heated air in the house from 

 attracting moisture out of the colder body, that is, the border. The same 

 takes place in all cases where two bodies are placed in juxtaposition, the one 

 cold and the other hot : no matter whether it be hot iron and cold iron, or 

 hot air and cold earth ; the one assimilates to the other, until they become of 

 one uniform heat. Though the border, in this case, did not become heated to 

 the same degree as the house, yet the expansion of the water contained in the 

 earth, when attracted by heated air, of course supplied the house with (as I 

 thought) too much moisture at a time when the grapes required a dry atmo- 

 sphere. The dry chaff was applied when the grapes commenced colouring ; 

 and the top and fi-ont sashes were left about 4 in. open all night, with a fire in 

 the front flue; and now (Sept. 15.) my grapes are ripe; and, though they are 

 not quite clear of shriveled beri'ies, yet they are fit to be sent to any gentle- 

 man's table. I think that it is not only too much moisture that causes the 

 footstalks of the berries to elongate too much, but too much heat also. This 

 I can always avoid, in my first house, by giving plenty of air ; but, owing to my 

 late vines flowering in warmer weather, I never can give air enough to keep 

 the thermometer below the point I could wish. I intend beginning to force 

 them a month earlier next year; then, I think, I shall be able to keep the house 

 cool enough up to the time of flowering; for the footstalks of the berries 

 never elongate after the anthers have burst. This, I think, will be giving them 

 another fair trial; and, whatever the success may be, I will faithfully record it in 

 your Magazine, so that Mr. Parks and others may see it. I must confess, how- 

 ever, that I do not see my way clearly, as to whether the length of the foot- 

 stalks has anything to do with the shriveling of the grapes, further than this, 

 that the way to prevent insects and disease is to keep everything in robust 

 health, which, when the footstalks are weak, the bunches cannot be considered 

 to be ; for I beg to ask what caused the footstalks of the red and white cur- 

 rants, and those of the Mayduke cherries, to be afifected in the same manner as 

 the footstalks of the grapes, during the past summer? This almost convinces 

 me that such a hypothesis cannot be admitted. — Agronome's Nephetv. Sep- 

 tember 19. 1835. 



Destroying the White Scale on the Pine-Apple, Sfc. — I perceive that a cor- 

 respondent, who signs himself L. O. Z., has, at p. 43.3., pointed out some of 

 the errors in my observations upon the white scale. The first passage to 

 which he objects he has quoted partially and incorrectly ; but, passing over that, 

 as of no importance, I will at once proceed to the disputed point, and then 

 state briefly some of the facts whereon the opinion I hold is founded. I have 

 maintained that the white scale which infests the pine plant cannot be effec- 

 tually destroyed without injury to the plant, unless the insects are displaced. 

 L. O. Z. is convinced (for he has had " ocular proof") that the white scale may 

 be destroyed upon the plants, and that, too, by several different processes. 

 He, in fact, asserts that this most destructive enemy of the pine plant may be 

 annihilated without the slightest difficulty. Among other reasons, I insisted 

 on the necessity of displacement, because I know an instance of more than 

 one published remedy having failed, when fairly tried, with plants which were 

 afterwards cured by the method I recommended (p. 186.). Further, there is 

 a garden a few miles from me in which four different gardeners in succession 

 have, for forty years, vainly endeavoured to extirpate this insect. My inform- 

 ant, the present gardener, used Speechly's nostrum, and it decidedly failed; it, 

 however, perfectly destroyed the mealy bug. I hold, too, that the great num- 

 ber of recipes which from time to time have been made public is a strong 

 proof that most of them are worthless ; for it is evident that a gardener who 

 had dirty plants would try some of the methods lauded by the inventors as 

 " safe and efifectual," in preference to risking his plants by tr3'ing experiments 

 of his own upon them. For example, if Mr. Dall had not failed with Nicol's 

 method, would he have discovered his own ? 



