

THE 



GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



229 



ii l 



, which to dinpli" l' er I"" odu ? t ] . „ 



!" Huit J.e » inimital'I.-. ana I* i> thus 



tb«n 



It i« bere th»t 



■ruduces e 



SrtT which, jonee seen, can never be 



FOKEIGN C.vRDEN GLEANINGS. 



, Ratahic Garden in the Apothecaries 

 U ^ThfaSrd«w" founded in 1714, by Peter 

 liL '-Tt and is now under the joint superintendence 

 MM Fischer and Naunnenbour^. c — "- — 

 ined of the large scale on whicl 



Tiiey are at once distinguished by having the front of 

 the head produced into a horny cylindrical snout, vary- 

 ing in length and thickness in the different genera, 

 with the mouth at its extremity, the antennae being 

 generally short, clubbed at the tip, and often elbowed 

 m the middle. Of the extent of the family some 



i * i • w , • * * 



onaeoupleof the seeds, between winch it was loured, while 

 between the two adjacent seeds I found a pupa, so that 

 it is evident that in this latter case, at least, the insect 

 would not have made its escape from the pod until the 

 following spring, after it had arrived at the perfect state. 

 Our woodcut represents the pod opened (fig. 1.), with the 





i^l « W BW- -m^ _ -.— — w — — — — — 



Some idea may 



t«edueted 



i— *fhr 1846 M Fischer gave a list of no less than 



Igne lor , « — i 



#)0 ptante* wnicc 

 The hothouses, 



^ter a surface of 



cootaimng tne 

 The Camellias 



Amongst them 





— the two largest specimens u A * www ,^~- — ~~ 

 in Europe ; some large specimens of lea plants, 

 Proleads, from New Holland and the Cape, and some 

 enamoos Leguminous plants. 



Another house is full of seeds of Protea, Banksia and 

 TWindra from which some interesting varieties may 

 £aa*te<l. The Cape Heath house is well worthy of 

 ■otefur the great number and beauty of the plants it 

 attains. Another house not less beautiful, .50 yards 

 loot* *nd perfectly heated by a thermosiphon with cop- 

 t tubes, c ontains a magnificent collection of Orchids ; 

 here we find specimens of Cattleya, Dendrobiurn, Onci- 

 finm sanguineum, Stanhopea tigrina, speciosa, and, 

 lastlv of Epidendrum aromaticum (Vanilla planifolia), 

 which fruited in 1847, for the first time, in Russia, since 

 it* import* into Europe ; its pods were, when we saw 

 ftem, from ii to 6 inches in length. The flowers were 

 tet by M. Fischer in the way commonly followed in the 

 gardens of western Europe. 



After the Orchids comes the compartment reserved 

 for tropical Ferns, amongst which are some fine speci- 

 mens. On the same level, and in the same temperature, 

 ire ti South American Cacti, and a good collection of 

 Ajraves, some of which are very rare. 



The tropical plants of Java, Madagascar, the Indies, 

 China, Japan, and Nepaul, occupy numerous large 

 houses, and are remarkable for their height, vegetation, 

 and abundance of flowers. The botanic garden con- 

 tains a collection of Conifers, richer and more beautiful 

 tban that at Paris, although at St. Petersburgh many 

 which we cultivate in the open air are there of necessity 



under cover. 



It may be as well to state here that there is always 

 io Russia adjoining every hothouse a dark well closed 

 wooden gallery, called the cold house. This gallery 

 serves to shelter many plants with deciduous leaves, 

 such as Italian Poplars, Horse Chestnuts, several species 

 of Oak, Walnuts, Locust trees, Brooms, Jasmines, 

 Maples, some species of Cytisus, and especially Roses 

 ■and Honeysuckles. 



But we must now turn to the finest house in the 

 whole garden. This house or rather glass palace was 

 agon in 1845, and finished in 1847 ; it is supported by 

 a strong frame-work, which abuts towards the north 

 <si an immense wall destined to shelter it from the 

 wind; its interior is supported by 18 columns; its 

 length is 125 yards, its height 25, and its breadth 33. 

 Its roof is curved so as to admit as much solar heat as 

 possible, and all the iron beams are enclosed in wood, 

 in order that they may be protected from moisture. In 

 the inside is first seen the ground crossed by a winding 



idea may be obtained when it "is stated" that M. position of the larva indicated by a*, and that of the pupa 

 Schonherr, the Swedish entomologist recently de- by a f. The larva itself is magnified in figure 2, and the 

 ceased, published a work of upwards 7000 octavo 

 pages, containing descriptions of the various species 

 European and exotic, and that additional species are 

 constantly being added to our collections. When it is 

 further added that all these insects are plant feeders, it 

 must be evident that they possess much interest for the 



botanist and horticulturist. 



The history of several obnoxious British species of 

 weevils have already been given in our pages ; amongst 

 which we may mention the Pea weevils (Gard. Chron., 

 1844, p. 388) ; the Spruce- Fir weevil, Hylobius abietis 

 (Gard. Chron., 1845, p. 456) ; the red-legged garden 

 weevil, Otiorhynchus tenebricosus (Gard. Chron., 1843, 

 p. 316) ; and the Vine weevils, Otiorhynchus sulcatus 

 and picipes (Gard. Chron., 1841, p. 292), all of which 

 belong to the short-snouted section. And also the nut 

 weevil, Balaninus nucum (Gard. Chron., 1842, p. 108) ; 

 the Apple-blossom weevil, Anthonomus pomorum (Gard. 

 Chron., 1844, p. 556) ; and the corn weevil, or the weevil, 

 par excellence, Calandra granaria (Gard. Chron., 1843, 

 p. 907) : all of which have an elongated snout. 



pupa in figure 3. And although 1 have not succeeded 

 in rearing the perfect insect, and am consequently 

 unable to decide as to which of the three species above- 

 named, these are the preparatory stages, I have given 

 in figure 4 a representation of the Apion Lathyri, in 

 order to afford a general idea of the appearance of the 

 perfect insects of the genus, and which indeed may pos- 

 sibly be the insect which had attacked these plants. 



The perfect insect is one-eighth of an inch long (fig. 

 4 *), of a black colour, slightly clothed with short whitish 

 hairs ; the snout is rather short, the antennae are entirely 

 of a pale reddish colour ; the thorax has an impressed 

 dot behind in the male, and a longitudinal impressed 

 line down the back in the female, and the elytra are 

 rather subglobose in form, with punctured furrows. 

 /. 0. W. 



s 



w- 



Home Corresponde 



.4 



There is one genus of these insects which contains as 

 many as 70 British species, distinguished by their very 

 small size, the Pear-shaped form of their bodies, caused 

 by the gradual nar r o w i ng of the thorax and snout (which 

 is stretched forwards and slightly curved), and by the 

 antennae not being elbowed in the middle. From their 

 resembance to a Pear in miniature, they have been 

 generically termed Apion ; and amongst the species of 

 which the genus is composed are several which are ob- 

 noxious to the horticulturist, the larvee or grubs feeding 

 upon the flowers or seeds, and the weevils themselves 

 upon the leaves of different plants. 











Urge exotics, including magi 

 potads, tropical fruit trees, D 



Ctryota, Astrapsea, Eugenia, Pandanus, Strelitzia 

 augusta, Musa, Carol inea, and Cycas. A wall five 

 jards in height supports a terrace seven yards 

 broad, partly open, and on which are placed the 

 tropical plants of middling height. Two staircases 

 lead from this terrace to a gallery supported by the 

 18 columns, and 10 yards above the floor of the house. 

 A few yards higher still is another gallery, in which are 

 placed those plants which require most heat, and from 

 which the tops of the lower plants can be got at and 

 taken care of. From this spot the coup d'ttil is charm- 

 ing, for below are the finest specimens of the whole 

 vegetable kingdom, and the climbers which seem to flee 

 from the feet of the spectator, descend in every variety 

 of zona, and enrich with their gorgeous foliage every 

 part of the vast space below. Above this gallery there 

 15 yet a third, used for repairing the roof, and from 

 w »ich a fine view of St. Petersburgh can be obtained. 

 Such is a slight account of this lovely garden, which 



& USed both fnr aturlv anrl «nrl nmn«dmpnt pnntfunincr 



as it does 

 please the 



captivate 



Report. 



- ENTOMOLOGY. 



■ The PEAR-gH4PED Weevils— No. I. 



There is probably no family of insects more nume- 

 ^ous, not only in species but in individuals of par- 

 ticular species, or more widely dispersed, than the 

 ^out-bearing beetles, to which L nnseus gave the 

 S^neric name of Curculio, but which now 1 constitute a 

 T^tinct section, Rhynchophora, or as it is rather con- 

 quered by some authors a great family, Curculionidse. 



Apion malvse, malvarum, rufirostre, radiolum, 

 oxurum, and seneum, are found in the perfect state 

 upon the different kinds of Mallows, the leaves of 

 which they riddle into holes. One of these species, 

 A. radiolum, is very common in my garden at Ham- 

 mersmith, where it attacks the Hollyhock (thus 

 proving the natural relationship of the Mallows and 

 Hollyhocks), although a field close at hand is covered 

 with the common Malva sylvestris. Here, therefore, 

 we have an indigenous insect preferring an exotic 

 plant, a circumstance of some interest, as several 

 of our British insects have been regarded as exotic 

 introduced species, because they have been found upon 

 exotic introduced plants. A. radiolum, however, not 

 only eats the leaves of the Hollyhock, but undergoes its 

 transformations in considerable numbers in its stem, 

 arriving at the perfect state in October. Of course the 

 burrows formed within the pithy stem of the plant by 

 the larvce must be injurious to the plant, and prevent it 

 from producing such fine flowers as it would do if not 



thus attacki d. 



Apion melanopum, Spartii and immune, attack the 



Broom ; Apion violaceum, hydrolapathi and rumicis, 

 frequent various species of Rumex ; Apion sulcifrons 

 and subsulcatum are found on the Vicia sepium ; and 

 Apion vicise and A. craccse in the flowers and seeds 

 of Vicia cracca. De Geer (Memoires vol. v., p. 368, 

 pi. 6, figs. 31 — 36) has given a short account of the 

 transformations of A. craccse, the larvte of which he 

 found feeding upon the seeds within the pods of the last- 

 mentioned plant in July. In the following May he 

 found a dead Apion in one of the pods. 



The genus, indeed, appears to possess a decided 

 partiality for Papilionaceous plants ; thus Apion vici- 

 num and Loti frequent the Lotus corniculatus ; Apion 

 Astragali, the Astragalus glycyphyllus ; whilst Lathyrus 

 pratensis is attacked by Apion ervi, lathyri, and subula- 

 tum. In the month of August last we received from a 

 correspondent, ■* Chirurgicus," some pods of the last- 

 named plant, almost every one of which contained one 

 i or more small white transparent-skinned, thick, fleshy 

 larvte, having the body curved, with a small dark brown 

 head. Our correspondent observes, that the depredator 

 had eaten a large hole through the testa, to form a snug 

 cavern for itself. In the seeds of this plant he had 

 failed to discover the perfect insect, the larva apparently 

 escaping from the pod previously to its change, as he 

 had opened many pods and found the seeds eaten, and 

 a considerable hole in the ripe shell. On opening one of 



Garden of Bulbs. — How universally everybodyf 

 even persons comparatively indifferent to gardens, 

 admire the flowers of all bulbous-rooted plants ; yet 

 how few gardens among those in the highest keeping 

 make them form anything like a conspicuous feature in 

 the general arrangement. How this happens I know 

 not, nor can I imagine, because the temptation is great ; 

 for be it known, that from February to July, aye, even 

 to September, there may be kept up a continual succes- 

 sion of the most neat and lovely, as well as the most 

 gorgeous bloom, according to the taste of the gardener ; 

 not that I would recommend an entire reliance on bulbs, 

 for there are many perennials of quite another class, 

 that would wonderfully aid the general effect, and they 

 might be so contrived as to supply those colours which 

 may be most efficient at particular seasons. 1 am an 

 advocate for bulbs upon the same principle that I am 

 for perennials, apart from their great beauty ; that is, 

 for the little trouble they give one. For the most part 

 they need only be disturbed once in three years, and 

 then only because the increase is so great that they want 

 thinning, so also does a perennial ; indeed so do most 

 perennials, for they spread their roots in three years 

 into large patches, and require to be parted, or they 

 become uncouth. I have a bulb border ; I cannot call 

 it a bulb garden, but it completely eclipsed all the rest 

 of my garden, until, with the increase in the third year, 

 I was enabled to make bulbs a very important feature 

 in the general arrangement, but I will confine my re- 

 marks to the bulb border ; and although I write from 

 memory and far from home, I will endeavour to convey 

 an idea of its plan, arrangement, and effect. In 

 February and March, the principal subjects are the 

 Snowdrop, the early Daffodils, the brilliant Scilia 

 sibirica, and the Crocus, of which there are several 

 varieties ; then I have the white of the Snowdrop, the 

 yellow of the Daffodils, the bright blue of the Scilia, and 

 among the Crocuses the dark purple, the white, the 

 striped, and the golden yellow. Here, then, is but one 

 leading colour deficient ; but there are dwarf trees of 

 the Pyrus japonica upon the wall, and they, from Christ- 

 mas to the end of spring, furnish a great abundance 

 of red. But before my favourite bulbs already nien 

 1 ' ed decline, I have early Tulips of many colours— 

 c a ~c _u:<»ii oi>rkwr fWir rnlours before the Crocuses 



depart, and Hyacinths of many shades in blue, red, and 

 an apology for yellow, and after this the late varieties of the 

 so calleofearly Tulips and the later Hyacinths and the 

 Narcissus tribe assisting them, keep up a complete 

 gallery of beauty all the month of April and part of 

 May. The Iris family, which is immensely extensive, 

 begin to help me, and the late Tulips take their full 

 share of decoration until the Iris become numerous and 

 various, when the Lilies render great service, and con- 

 tinue, with some of these species, to enliven the borders 

 to about the end of summer. Now, during all these 

 months very little aid is required to keep up a full bloom, 

 and I have not once contemplated disturbing the ground, 

 except by hoeing carefully, to destroy weeds, nor do 

 bulbs require watering. I do not conceal the fact that 

 I was a considerable time before I could please myself 

 with the arrangement to keep something like a uniform 

 quantity of flowers always on the border, for it was only 

 4 feet wide, but I derived infinite pleasure from the 

 changes I made from year to year, and I will also con- 

 fess that now that I have distributed bulbs moderately 

 in the general borders, I am better pleased with the 

 other part of the garden than with the border dependent 

 on bulbs, except so far as it interests me as an 

 ment ; for they are brilliant additions in early spring, 

 and greatly assist the general effect all the year. At 

 times the bulb border is almost too dazzling, yet I am 

 convinced that I shall in time so regulate it as to 

 secure a good bloom nearly the whole year ; at the fall, 

 1 now have, to succeed everything, the autumnal Cro- 

 cuses in variety, and the (so called for many years) 

 Amaryllis lutea, so that there is a fair struggle to keep 

 up the flowers up to winter. My greatest trouble * 

 in keeping the border neat as the various bulbs go oat ck 

 bloom : but as fast as the stems or leaves turn yeU<r* i 

 shorten them to the part that is a good colour, £**■« 

 manage pretty well. I would not go so far ^"JJJJJ 



larva feeding leisurely mend everybody to try a border ot Duids, 



