404 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



yet it is a mere trifle, a thing of very little account, J plagues we have to deal with ; they will do a great deal fissures or wounds 



.1 «^..^,,..*A,I *i.;»K *k« Vv.^llr ^f 4^a nrhnla of mischief in a few nicrhtc if thpv arft tia*. smio-hf iri*ootl«r ^ v *^«,i i 



-when contrasted with the bulk of the whole 

 atmosphere. 



If, for example, we assume, for the mere purpose 

 of comparison, that on an average each human 

 being on the surface of the earth gives out, in the 

 course of twenty-four hours, twenty-four ounces of 

 carbonic acid ga*, a proportion probably not very 

 far from the truth, the volume of the gas thus ex- 

 pired would be about twelve and a half cubic feet ; 

 and the entire quantity given out during a whole 

 year at this rate, would be 4744 cubic feet of car- 

 bonic acid gas ; having a weight of about 547 lbs., 

 very nearly a quarter of a* ton! If then we go 

 a little further, and calculate what would be the 

 bulk and weight of the quantity of carbonic acid 

 ih.it would be given out by the entire popula- 

 tion of the globe, during a whole year, assuming 

 its number to be 600 millions, and supposing that 

 every individual required the same quantity of car- 

 bonic acid, we should then arrive at the result of 

 very nearly three million of millions of cubic feet, 

 or 316,266 million cubic yards of carbonic acid. 

 This quantity is so large that it is difficult to con- 

 ceive any just idea of its real volume, and the con- 

 sideration is not lendered much simpler, if we 

 reduce it into cubic miles ; we then find that it 

 would amount to about 58 cubic miles. On the 

 other hand, if we calculate the weight of such a 



arly as much 



quantity of carbonic acid, we are __ 



bewildered with high numbers, for we find that it 

 amounts to 326,200 million pounds, or 145 million 

 tons ! and this, be it remembered, is but a very 



small portion of the carbonic acid which plants must 

 absorb every year. 



ORCHIDS FOR THE MlLLIOxN.-No. VI. 



(By F. S. Williams, *r. to C. B. Warner, Esq., ilo.liesdon.) 



Treatment during the timk op Rest. — Rest is of 

 groat importance to Orchids, as well as other things. No 

 plant will continue long in good health without it. My 

 practice is to give them a long season of rest, generally 

 from November to the middle of February. During 

 this time the temperature of the East India house should 

 be regulated so as to keep it as near as possible at 60° 

 by night, and 65° by day; but by sun heat the tempera- 

 ture will rise a few degrees higher. Air must then be 

 given so as to keep it about 65° ; but a few degrees of 

 solar warmth above this point will do no harm. A 

 little air should be given on every fine day, in order 

 to dry up damp ; but the air must be ad- 

 mitted close to the hot-water pipes, so that it 

 may become warm on entering the house. As to 

 those plants that come from the hotter parts of India, 

 the temperature should not be allowed to go below 60°. 

 Tin? Mexican house should range from 50° to 55° by 

 night, and from 55° to 60° by day ; this should not be 

 allowed to go below 50° at night. 



Rest is induced by lowering the temperature and 



withholding water from the plants ; during this season 



tl v should only receive sufficient water to keep them 



from shrivelling. There are, however, some plants that 



will grow during the winter months, as many of the 



Aendes, Vandas, Saccolabiums, Phalsenopsis, Zvgope- 



talums and similar kinds. These will require water 



at the roots to keep them increasing, but be careful not 



to wet the young roots, for if they get wet they are 



very apt to rot at this season of the year. Those that 



are growing should be placed at the warmest end of the 

 house. 



of mischief in a few nights, if they are not sought 

 after, on every opportunity. The food they like best 

 is the young tender roots and flower stems. I have 

 seen a the roots of a plant completely eaten off in one 

 night. The only way to keep these insects under, 

 is constantly looking after them, both by night and 

 day. I search for them every evening by candle- 

 light, and in the daytime by moving the pots 

 and baskets under which they harbour. They leave 

 their hiding places in the evening, and seek after food, 

 and it is then that they are most easily caught. It is 

 also a good plan to lay some damp Moss in the hottest 

 part of the house; I have killed many in this way, 

 looking the Moss over every two or three days. I have 

 also destroyed them with a mixture of honey, lard, and 

 arsenic, the latter in very small quantity. I place some 

 of this in oyster J shells in different parts of the house. 

 Some growers mix the arsenic with tallow put on a stick 

 which is stuck iu the pots ; care however] must be taken 

 that the mixture does not touch the leaves or bulbs of 

 the plants. 



The woodlouse and the small shell snail are also 

 very destructive. These, like the cockroach, are very 

 fond of the young roots ; they may be trapped by 

 cutting some Potatoes in two, scooping out the inside, 

 and placing them on the pots and baskets, looking over 

 them every night and morning till you clear your house 

 of these visitors. Turnips cut in slices will answer the 

 same end. Toads are very useful in catching insects ; 

 I always keep a stock of them in the house. 



The best way of getting rid of red spider and thrips is 

 constantly washing the leaves with clean water, and by 

 fumigating the house with tobacco. My method is to 

 fill the house with tobacco smoke three or four times; 

 this should be done every two or three days till the 

 insects are quite destroyed. Evening is the best time to 

 do this. It is also a good plan to mix some lime and 

 sulphur together, and rub it on the pipes in different 

 parts of the house, but be careful not to use too much, 

 and it should be used only when the pipes are warm. 

 There should be a good supply of moisture at the same 

 time, but not too much heat. The green fly, which 

 makes its appearance in spring on the young flower 

 buds, may also be destroyed by tobacco smoke. 



The brown and white scale and mealy bug I keep 

 under by constantly sponging the leaves and bulbs 

 with water ; the white scale is very troublesome if not 

 looked after. ^ Cattleyas are very subject to this ; the 

 following recipe for destroying these insects was given 

 me by Mr. Veitch of Exeter, who is a very successful 

 grower of Orchids, viz., to one gallon of rain water, add 

 8 ozs. of soft soap, one oz. of tobacco, and three table- 

 spoonfuls of turpentine; stir well together, and leave 

 the mixture for 48 hours ; then strain it through a 

 cloth ; what you have to spare must be bottled off? It 

 is necessary to rub the plants over two or three times, 

 if they are much infested, but once will be sufficient in 

 most cases. 



■ :°;4vtr^ 



«*■ 



years 



upon 



greatly extended 



of the larvae. Fabriclus' says Zf^'^^l'kJk 



of the wood that the' catTpin^ £j ** «£ fc 

 a very little depth in the old woo?, and^T* « 

 a web as a covering in its burrow »h; T^'*** 

 excrement and bits of gnawS w'^ ? «^5 

 especially numerous under the bark of Pi i * Te f «^i 

 as under the bark of old Currants !^** 

 times burrows to such an extent « J " 

 branches of the tree, by eating al vt h° - d 

 round the stem, whereby the current T? *** « 

 entirely destroyed. I . JreceivS^ i** ** 

 of this larva, from " Este," at the H r ' €Tl( '«fc 

 which he found burrowing'beneath thl k! . ^'^ 

 ton Pippin. The caterpillar is ra her W ° f * *2 

 a dirty yellowish grey colour, and lie TL"* **« 

 Chestnut coloured, the fiW «««-„: . e{ ~ «nge « 



S 



streak running down the back ; the secnnH D ^*" 

 segments of the body are furnished aD ov e "J ^ 



«N 





s 



mall 



On 



Some Orchids are deciduous, losing their leaves after 

 thty have finished their growth. To this class 

 belong Cyrtopodiums, Barkerias, Cycnoches, Phaius 

 aluus,some of the Dendrohiums, Ccelogjne maculata, 

 C. Walhchiana, and many others. I always place 

 these so that they may have as much light and sun 

 during their season of rest as possible. This 

 s the only way to ripen their bulbs, which causes 

 tliem to grow stronger and flower more freely. These 

 plants require but very little water when at rest But 

 when such plants as Vandas, Angraecums, Aerides, 

 Saccolabiums, and Phalsenopsis are at rest, they should 



HZ' be ^ allowed to 8* too dry at the roots, always 

 keeping the moss a little damp ; for the bulbs and 

 leaves are very apt to shrivel if kept too dry, and this 

 often causes them to lose their bottom leaves. ^The stems 

 and leaves of such plants should be kept plunged and 

 they requ.ro but a short season of rest ; those Xch are 

 growing on blocks will require more water than hose 

 winch are m pots or baskets, and they should be 

 watered about twice or three times a week if the wet 



uZ b f! D % b u Ut iU du " Weather the y wil1 »o* requiro 

 it so often. The water should be poured over the paths 



and walks every fine morning, with a view to create a 

 moist atmosphere, but the moisture in the house mus* 

 be regulated according to the weather outeide-thTs 

 an mportont point to be attended to ; if the weather s 

 dull oute.de the house inside, must be kept dry. The 

 glass and roof should always be perfectly M Mn 1« rt.«I 

 the plants can have plenty" of ng^d'su ; It Ts my 

 practice, as soon as the season of rest commences to 



5&3P P160e ° f ^ ° n the h0US *> ^ ^ the° 

 iNSECrs—The plants are liable to be injured by many 



22? u°i br °T n S £ le ' WOodlice ' ^kroaVhes, and £ 

 small shell snail. The cockroach is one of the greatest 







ENTOMOLOGY. 



The Yellow Umder winged Bark Moth. 



of the prettiest of our small British moths is to 

 be met with rather abundantly in gardens in the end 

 of May and beginning of June, flitting about with 

 an unsteady kind of flight, and often to be seen on the 

 wing during the day-time. It is the Tinea (CEcophora) 

 sulphurella of Fabricius (by whom the female was con- 

 sidered as a separate species, under the name of Tinea 

 flavella and cornutella), and is figured by Hubner in his 

 great work upon the European Lepidoptera/under the 

 name of orbonella, in allusion to its being a' miniature 

 resemblance to the Noctua (Triphcena) orbona. It mea- 

 sures about two-thirds of an inch in the expansion of its 

 fore wings, which, as well as the body, are of a purplish 

 black colour. The sides of the head and the palpi are ochre- 

 coloured, the antennae black, with a band of white along 

 the middle, the thorax blue-black, with an ochre 

 stripe on each side. The fore wings (which, in the 

 female, are tinged with deep dull blue) are marked with 

 two longitudinal streaks of fulvous scales, extending 

 from the base to about the middle of the wing (which are 

 less distinct in the male than in the female). There is 

 also a large triangular fulvous patch on the inner mar<n n 

 near the extremity, nearly opposite to which, on the costal 

 margin, is another fulvous patch, which is scarcely distinct 



1D *i! fu S - , The under - w ings are fulvous yellow, 

 with the costal margin, the extremity, and the fringe 

 blackish. 1 he accompanying figure represents a female 

 moth magnified, the cross lines indicating the natural 



l Z ,i '' -W^J Wlth the cater P»l"r of the natural size, 

 and with the fore segments of the body magnified ; the 



chrysalis magnified, and a piece of Currant stem show! 

 tug the wound formed by the caterpillar. 



The genus to which this species belongs is distin 

 gu shed from the other Yponomeutidie by having the 

 palpi longer than the head, and recurved, w Ulf * 

 terminal joint very slender and naked, the antenna- of 

 moderate length, with the base " antennae ot 



shining dots, and the fourth and follow™ 

 segments have two pairs of similar dots, besides latent 

 ones— all these little dots emitting slender, bristle-lite 

 hairs ; the jaws are powerful, but not porrected ; each rf 

 the three anterior segments of the body is furnisW 

 with a pair of jointed legs, the sixth and three follow* 

 segments have a pair of fleshy prolegs attached to eack 

 and there is a pair of similar legs at the extremity d 

 the body, the upper side of the last segment being dart- 

 coloured and rounded. The larva moves very quickly, 

 and, when alarmed, wriggles itself about, backward*, 

 sideways, and in all directions, with great agility, throw- 

 ing itself down from the stem, taking care, however, it 

 secure its reascent by a thread from its mouth, so tha 

 falls with its body in a perpendicular direction, the head 

 being upwards. Its situation beneath the bark is gene- 

 rally to be perceived, owing to the mass of small black 

 pellets of excrement with which the wound in the tree 

 is thickly covered. In the month of January, I fool 

 these caterpillars of very different sizes ; the smaller 

 specimens were nearly white, whilst others had already 

 assumed the chrysalis state, each being enclosed in a 

 slender silken cocoon, the outside of which was covered 

 with little pellets of excrement, and particles of rotten 

 wood. 



The chrysalis is rather more than a quarter of an inch 

 in length. It is of a chesnut colour, and of an elonpte 

 oval form, with the extremity of the body conical. 

 Unlike most subcortical chrysalids, it is not furnished 

 with transverse rows of refiexed booklets, across the 

 segments of its abdomen, enabling it to move about in ib 

 case ; the only analogous appendage which this uwrt 

 possesses being a curved slender horny point at the 

 extremity of the body. From its position, it is doubtJe* 

 of much service, from the flexibility of the abdominal 

 segments, in retaining itself in such position as may « 

 necessary for its development. J. 0. W. 









BRITISH SONG BIRDS 





(Cage Birds, No. 19.)» 

 When I first commenced dilating (» 



trary to mv original intention) on the habits of » 



No. XXXV. 



> 



short, very pilose 



beneath as far as the middle, bey^d* wh ch £y ^ Z 

 ittSS-tel!*-*" «* «• nmch deflS 



1114*1 Ull^ilLlUU/ VI* — -~ 



nigtitingale,"l was fearful lest my extended ol ^™JJ 

 from week to week might prove tedious. Each sU ^ ce ?V. 

 day ^however, brings with it such pleasing, such abun fJ 

 proof to the contrary, that I have thrown all my 

 energies into the subject. It is indeed, as most oi^ 

 correspondents remark, no less singular than true^ 

 there is really no valuable practical work on 

 Song Birds existing ; and I can well under-** 

 under such circumstances, I am urged to be . • # 

 Let me hope that my intimate acquaintance (s 



v * ., J , A .t_ ...:,i .*■ lost urnis" w 





can well understand^ 



exp 





years) with the feathered tribe, will at last fe 

 Thus much, parenthetical 



at the sides of the body wh en at rest be \ a 



BSttL7ZT; Th V e T ~ m P~ "^ d^tl / ^^^> 0* autumn they J^ 

 British specu a, namely, the (Eccphoia " 



Oliviella, which 



i8 not uncommon on palings and in hedges in June and 



JU & * y l ag » b0 ? t I ,n * e Sunshine ^ tl e morning 



fa 7h„ P T SuI P hurel]a P° sses *es con i lerable interest 



Sll« I % T*-' ° n u-T Ut of its h * bits in ^e cater 



hl!t^?!!' .i ing , Wh, , Ch P eriodit ***<*<* beneath the 

 bark ot trees, the female depositing her eggs in slight 



required desideratum, thus mucn, F «— ^ 

 ever your nightingales droop, or show an ullUSU . ^ 



diness, which in the autumn they T^TfSrf, 

 change their food a little. They are particui^^ 





ants r eggs, and liver gentles. Give them ^gf^ 

 few of each ; and never pass them without w^»5 ^ 

 notice of them. They cannot bear * »»g ^ 

 every occasion of kindness sh^ n^ou^}^ e ^ 



• A number ut '• auxiou* enqui^ 77 *^ ^of Lifltr^' QCjd 

 that their favourite bird, " The HlaCKCaP, Win- 



in Cage Birds No. 22, to appear July 19. 



_ 



