290 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



[A phil 27, 1912. 



., 



thick paper or card containing particulars of 

 the food plant or host, locality, date, and col- 

 lector's name. Insects should be stored in air- 

 tight corked boxes or cabinets in which has been 

 placed naphthalene, camphor, or a few drops of 

 medical creosote; the latter is especially of 

 value in counteracting the attacks of mould. 

 The larvse- of all insects are best preserved in 

 glass tubes containing alcohol or formalin, 50 

 per cent, to 60 per cent, alcohol or 3 per cent, 

 formalin being the requisite strength. These, 

 again, should be labelled, the notes either 

 being written in ordinary ink and fixed to the 

 outside of the tube, or Indian ink or soft pen- 

 cil, and placed inside. The Insect Hunter's 

 Companion, by Dr. Knaggs, is a useful com- 



. pendium for this work, and a catalogue of 

 entomological requisites may be obtained from 

 Messss. Watkins ai>d Doncaster, 36, Strand, 

 London. 



Chrysanthemums Diseased : S. G. R. and B. S. 

 The leaves are attacked by the Chrysanthemum 



' leaf -miner (see fig. 140). Spray the plants with 

 quassia extract or other distasteful liquid, in 

 order to prevent the female insects from de 

 positing their eggs in the leaves. Remove all 

 badly-affected leaves and burn them. 



Correction. — In our notice of the exhibits 

 before the Fruit and Vegetable Committee of 

 the R.H.S. in the last issue, the name of Mrs. 

 Bischoffsheim's gardeneT should have read Mr. 

 J. W. Funge. 

 Crickets in Cucumber House : Anxious. 

 Crickets may be trapped in jars or bottles 

 partly filled with beer, or some sweet syrup. 

 Basins may also be used, placing a few sticks 

 abound the edges so that the pests may reach 

 the fluid. A quicker method of killing them 

 is by poison, such as phosphor paste, borax 

 powder, or arsenic mixed with some food such 

 as Potato. Steiners' Vermin Paste is also a 

 satisfactory remedy. This should be placed 

 about the house just befoTe nightfall on 

 pieces of paper, and removed again each morn- 

 ing. 

 Fig Tree: F. II. B. Send a portion of the 



decayed branch for examination. 

 Horticultural Instructor : Constant Reader. 

 Experience in Kew Gardens in not an essential 

 qualification for a horticultural instructor, but 

 experience gained there would be useful. A 

 thorough knowledge of practical gardenin 

 and the theory underlying the same wi1 

 ability to teach are the chief requirements. 

 Melon Plant Unhealthy : A. B. The trouble 

 is not due to disease, but is caused through an 

 excess of atmospheric moisture. Ventilate 

 the house more freely. 



Moss on Lawns : Holly Wood. First rake as 

 much of the moss from the lawn as possible, 

 and then apply, to a depth of a quarter to a 

 half-inch, slaked lime or wood ashes mixed 

 with three parts of fresh loam free from weed 

 seeds. April and October are the best times 

 for making the application ; but any time when 

 the weather is showery during the growing 

 season will do. 



Names of Plants : H. C. 1, Dendrobium fim- 

 briatum oculatum ; 2 and 3, D. nobile ; 4, On- 

 cidium ampliatum. — G. I. C. Cerinthe 

 aspera. — F. TF. 1, Amelanchier canadensis ; 



2, Neviusia alabamensis. — S. A. P. Photinia 

 eerrulata. — A. S. Kerria japonica. — M. C. 

 Leucoium aestivum. — C. Longford. Tulip 



' Saf rano.— V. T. 1, Trichopilia laxa ; 2, On- 

 cidium incurvum; 3, 0. altissimum ; 4, 

 Ccelogyne ochracea; 5, Epidendrum virena; 

 6, Oncidium pulchellum. — R. H. 1, Adian- 

 tum hispidulum; 2, A. formosum; 3, Pteris 

 aquilina; 4, P. cretica. — /. B. 1, Adian- 

 tum gracillimum; 2, Polystichum angulare ; 



3, Adiantum cuneatum elegans ; 4, A. Pacotii ; 

 5, A. cuneatum; 6, Asplenium Nidus (Bird- 

 nest Fern) ; 7, Adiantum cuneatum grandi- 

 ceps ; 8, Blechnum corcovadense ; 9, Pteris 

 longifolia; 10, Adiantum O'Brienianum ; 11, 

 A. formosum; 12, Nephrolepsis todaeoides. — 

 W. B., Boarshead. A variety of Bignoma 

 capreolata. — T. J. Prunus Padua (Bird 

 Cherry )*— Foreman. A form of Cypripedium 

 Calypso, of no special value. — R. G. 1, Per- 

 nettya mucronata; 2, Juniperus recurva; 3, 

 Cedrus Deodara; 5, Arenaria balearica; 11, 

 Abies nobilis; 12, probably Hakea saligna. 

 Why not number the specimens consecutively? 



— C. /. Dombeya Buettneri. 



Nettles in Grass Land : Co. Longford. The 

 best way to eradicate Nettles in grass is to 

 keep them mown short with a scythe, then 

 apply nitrogenous manures which will cause 

 the grass to grow so freely as to crowd out the 

 weed. 



Parti-coloured Tultp : E. T. It is not un- 

 usual for Tulips, in coiamon with other flowers, 

 to exhibit two distinct colours in well-defined 

 zones. At the last meeting of the R.H.S. a 

 spike of Hyacinth was shown, in which the 

 bells on one side were blue and on the other 

 red, the stem showing the same differences in 

 colour. Next year the spike may be normal. 



Peach Shoots Diseased : H. F. The tree is 

 attacked with Peach-leaf curl (Exoascus 

 deformans). Any diseased or fallen leaves 

 should be removed and burnt as soon as de- 

 tected, and branches bearing diseased leaves 

 should be pruned back beyond the point of 

 infection. Spray the plants with a dilute 

 ammoniacal solution of copper carbonate when 

 the leaf-buds are beginning to expand, and 





i -.-- 



Fig. 140. — chrysanthemum leaf-miner. 



again after an interval of three weeks. This 

 will be a safeguard against inoculation from 

 wind-borne spores. 



Planting Potatos : T. H. If you plant tubers 

 of an average weight of 3 ounces each, you 

 would require the quantity given. But you 

 may employ from 20 to 24 bushels only if you 

 select smaller tubers or cut larger ones into two 

 or more portions, leaving only two eyes to 



sprout. As regards the distance between the ' 

 rows and tubers, the point must be deter- 

 mined by circumstances. If the soil is some- 

 what poor and shallow, 15 to 18 inches be- 

 tween the rows will be ample space for early 

 varieties, allowing from 24 to 30 inches for • 

 main-crop and stronger-growing varieties and 

 from 9 to 12 inches between the sets. But in 

 deep, well-conditioned soils, from 6 to 12 inches 

 more space should be allowed between the diills 

 and 3 inches more between the sets. At 24 . 



■ 



bushels to the acre, the seven-eighths of an 

 acre (140 rods), 21£ bushel sets would be i.eces- 

 sary, and at 20 bushels to the acre, 17^ bushels 

 would be required to plant the same aiea 

 (140 rods). * ( 



Polyanthus Leaves : H. F. No disease is 

 present in the plants ; the damage has been 

 caused by insects. 



Primula : R. A. The most recent monograph of 

 the genus Primula is by Pax and Knuth, in 

 Engler's Planzenreich, published by W. Engel- 



mann, Leipzig. A conference on the genu* 

 Primulaceae was held by the Koyal Uorticul- 

 tural Society in 1886, when papers were read 

 by Mr. Baker and Mr. Dewar. A report ap. 

 pears in the R.H.S. Journal, vol. vii., No. 2 

 of that year. Since then many articles on the 

 genus have appeared in the gardening Press at 

 various times. 



R.H.S. Examinations : Constant Reader. The 

 regulations concerning the R.H.S. examination 

 state that the examination will be held simul- 

 taneously in as many different places in Great 

 Britain and Ireland, and abroad, as circum- 

 stances may demand, even if only one candi- 

 date is sitting at any particular place. The 

 time allowed for the examination is 3$ hours, 

 the hours fixed being generally from 6 to 

 9.30 p.m. Gardeners and students wishing to 

 sit for the examination, who have not attended 

 any particular series of lectures, must send in 

 their names and addresses, and the name 

 and adctoe 



■ 



of some responsible person willing 

 to conduct the examination, to the Secretary, 

 R.H.S., Vincent Square, Westminster, at least 

 three weeks before the date of examination. 

 The society is willing to hold the general ex- 

 amination and school teachers' examination 

 wherever a magistrate, clergyman, school- 

 master, or other responsible person accustomed 

 . to examinations will consent to supervise one 

 on the Society's behalf, and in accordance with 

 the rules laid down for its conduct. 



Spraying Fruit Trees in Summer : E. C. The 

 * present time is just too late for the first 

 spraying (unless you have still some Apple 

 trees not in bloom), which should be per- 

 formed before the blossoms have expanded. 

 The purposes of that spraying a>e to kill the 

 Apple sucker and aphides, if any, by a con- 

 tact wash, also to poison the food of leaf and 

 blossom-eating caterpillars, kill aphis and 

 caterpillars on Plums, &c. One of the best 

 specifics for these purposes consists of 4 lbs. 

 soft soap dissolved in boiling water, 1£ pint 

 of strong Quassia extract, or 4 lbs. of Quii.-sia 

 chips boiled for an hour, and 2 lbs. 10 ounces 

 of arsenate of lead paste dissolved in hot 

 water, to 40 gallons of water. The same wash 

 may be used after the blossom has fallen if 

 any aphides or Apple suckers can be found by 

 examination with a lens, as almost certainlv 

 there will be if spraying was not done well 

 before the biossoms opened. Caterpillars ther 

 will be without doubt. For varieties of Apples 

 or Pears liable to attacks of scab, 3 lbs. ot 

 Woburn Bordeaux paste should be added 

 when spraying after the fall of the blossom. 

 The wash should never be used when there 

 is any open blossom on the trees, as it mignt 

 poison bees and other fertilising insects. 

 Lime-sulphur is now coming into common use 

 as a fungicide in place of Bordeaux mixture ; 

 but it should not be mixed with a soft-soap 

 wash, as it coagulates the soap. It ma\ oe 

 used separately for varieties liable to Beau, 

 1 gallon of factory-made solution to 40 gauom 



of water. It may be used again three weeks 

 after the first application, as a f^her pre- 

 caution against scab, and if any f***^" 

 are present, the arsenate of lead m the proper 

 tion named above should be added, in* 

 washes may be applied by one of *e Jiumerous 

 spraying machines on the market, uniesb _ 

 orchard extends to scores of acres, a W sa 

 machine will do. A Bamboo h nc £ . V/ e of 

 long, will allow of spraying to a heignt 

 12 feet or more. We cannot P™^ an 

 opinion on the merits of the several propr 



tary washes. . , j„ e 



Vine Leaves : Anxious. The trouble is not a^ 



to either fungous or insect . pe sts - lv 



damaged appearance of the foliage strong j 



suggests scorching. xeo( \ 



Weed Killers : E. C. There are mam ^ 

 destroyers advertised, and any one ^ 



will probably be found effective- a ^ 

 sprinkling of agricultural salt kills g^j 

 weeds on garden paths, and ma> oe f 

 at a trifling cost. , w *.— H- H * 



Communications Received. -^' f ?;^ t ' Be id ^T. S. 



-~Darnhall_H. B._E. and Co.-Constant ^_j.V.S.^ 



H. J. C_W. G. K„E. M.-H. M. T.-W. A ^ g^ 

 ~R. P. B._H. J. E._F. W, C.-F. K.--P- ^ s A P- 

 H. C. L._A. W. A _W. W.-H. and D._-* • f ^den- 

 C. J._Wessex_R. G.— Amateur— C »•• fl t0 s ni 

 Constant Reader : Contributors are reqnir ■* pub j ica . 

 their names and addresses, not necessaru/ 

 tion, but as a guarantee of good f aitu 



