464 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
speckled over and looking rusty from thrips. Where such a 
condition of things unfortunately exists the cure for it is petro- 
leum, or what I presume is the same, paraffin. In clearing a 
collection of plants from the insects named I placed five gallons 
of tepid water in a tub, and mixed with it (the mixing being 
as thorough as possible) about a quarter of a pint of paraftin. 
The small plants were dipped, the larger syringed. One man 
held the plant on its side over the tub and another gave it a 
heavy syringing, and thus the insects were killed and but little 
of the insecticide wasted. I syringed plants—some of them 
in flower—of Fuchsias, Geraniums, Poinsettias, Gardenias, 
Azaleas, Begonias, Gesneras, Hoyas, [xoras, Lapagerias, Rhyn- 
chospermums, Coleuses, and Eucharises, and not one of them 
aeceived the least injury to foliage, young shoots, or flowers, 
I have used the solution also for syringing Vines and Peaches. 
but not qu‘te so strong, and nothing but good resulted, for all 
the insects were killed. —D. L. 
PETROLEUM is recommended to be diluted with water, but 
the “mixing” is more apparent than real. For the purpose 
of a thin sprinkling the recommendation is all right, but the 
oil remains pure oil still; the water runs from the plants 
whilst the pure oil remains. The dose being repeated, in the 
course of time the leaf becomes coated with oil, the pores of 
leaves become clogged, and health disappears in the course of 
time. This was my experience with some Camellias I bought 
infested with scale-—J. WITHERSPOON. 
SAVING A CROP OF GRAPES. 
THE account recently given by Mr. Witherspoon of the 
dangers of using sulphur fumes in a vinery induces me to 
relate my own experience in the same line as a further caution 
to amateurs. 
In the middle of June, 1873, I planted a late vinery with 
Vines struck from eyes the same year. The Vines were planted 
3 feet 6 inches apart, and trained as single rods up the rafters 
about 20 feet. The vinery is a lean-to facing due south, and 
the varieties are Gros Colman, Mrs. Pince, Lady Downe’s, 
Aramon, and White Muscat. The back wall was planted 
with Hamburghs as a catch crop till the Vines on the roof 
came into full bearing. 
Aramon was the first every year to show red spider, and 
this season about midsummer I noticed the first traces on it, 
and at once painted the pipes with lime and sulphur, and 
waited for a few days to see the result. The weather, which 
up to this time had been dull and cold, suddenly setting in 
very hot and bright, increased the red spider, and I therefore 
placed a pan of guano water under the affected Vine; but the 
continued drought favouring the spider, in a few days it began 
to spread to the other Vines, and as the Grapes were now 
stoning I determined to try and stamp out tle pest with 
sulphur fumes. Fearing injury to the foliage I took special 
precautions against igniting any of the sulphur in the house ; 
and on the evening of July 6th, having heated some flat pieces 
of iron in a dark room behind the vinery, I sprinkled them 
with sulphur, and when quite satisfied that it was no longer 
alight I carried them into the vinery. In this manner I suc- 
ceeded in filling the house with a thin blue haze, and produced 
an atmosphere that no human being, and I fondly hoped no 
spider either, could long breathe and live. In about half an 
hour I looked in to see what effect had been produced upon 
the enemy, when I discovered that here and there the tender 
lateral growth was flagging, but as the main leaves were all 
right and the spider as lively as ever, I left it for another half 
hour or so, and then on re-entering I saw to my dismay that 
several of the main leaves were also flagging, and being now 
alarmed I at once opened the ventilators and soon cleared all 
the fumes out of the house. As soon as the air was clear 
enough to make a close examination it became evident that 
the foliage had suffered considerably, and I therefore left a 
little top air on all night, and went to bed hoping that no 
great harm was done. Awaking with the first streak of dawn 
I hurried down to see how much mischief had been done, and 
found every leaf curled up. For four years I had been crop- 
ping lightly to nurse my Vines, and your readers may judge 
for themselves of my disappointment at seeing my first full 
crop in such a sorry plight. What to do I did not know. 
There was no gardener in the neighbourhood that I could 
consult, and as the sun would soon be up it was necessary to 
take prompt measures to save the Vines; the crop I had no 
idea of saying, and indeed intended removing all the bunches 
{ December 19, 1878. 
to ease the Vines. As there was no time to lose I at once 
proceeded to prepare some whiting and water, and syringed 
the roof till not a single spot of glass remained uncovered, so 
as to secure complete shade before the sun was up, and having 
shut up the house set to work to drench the borders and paths ; 
and as soon as my man came I gave him orders to sprinkle 
water about every half hour or so, and on no account to open 
any of the ventilators. My idea being to keep the house as 
close and moist as possible, to force the lateral buds to break 
before the roots felt the loss of the foliage, and at the same 
time keep the leayes from drying up and falling off all at 
once. 
In the course of the day I had time to examine the bunches, 
and found the Hamburghs on the back wall blackened in the 
berry stalks as if shanked, and apparently hopelessly gone. 
The late varieties on the roof were also blackened in the same 
way, bat not so badly, excepting Aramon, the cause of all 
the mischief, and on second thoughts I resolved to leave the 
bunches on in the hope of saving a few. 
As soon as the sun was fairly up the temperature rose to 
120°; we sprinkled assiduously all day long, and fortunately 
the next day the weather turned cloudy and we were able to 
keep the temperature down to 90°. The leaves became browner 
and browner, but did not dry up. In three days the topmost 
lateral buds began to break, and in about a week three or four 
young leaves were formed. I then pinched out the points of 
these shoots to make the lower laterals break. After eight or 
nine days I noticed mould or mildew forming on the berry 
stalks at the point of junction with the berry, and gave a little 
air, besides dusting the bunches over with dry sulphur. The 
sun had not troubled me much during this period, but now 
shone out hotter than ever, and red spider soon re-appeared 
on the new foliage; but by the free use of the syringe and 
clear rain water I have managed to keep it fairly under. In 
a day or two after giving air the injured leaves dried up and 
fell off till not a score were left In the whole house, and these 
in every case were the first small leaf next the old wood. 
In about a month the roof was covered with new foliage 
from the laterals, and the Grapes have since ripened remark- 
ably well, in fact altogether beyond my most sanguine ex- 
pectations. The Hamburghs oa the back wall suffered most, 
and Lady Downe’s lost a great many berries from scalding 
till the new foliage was sufficiently grown to shade them. 
Lady Downe’s and Gros Colman when colouring cracked many 
of the berries at the point (which they have never done with 
me before, though Gros Colman sometimes cracks a little round 
the stalk), as I suppose owing to the elasticity of the skin 
being injured. Mrs. Pince and the White Muscat are almost 
uninjured. Whether the keeping qualities will be affected I 
cannot yet say, but they seem to hang all right at present, and 
I send you a few berries to show what they are like. 
I have now lost all faith in the power of sulphur to cure red 
spider, and shall certainly not try it again. Judicious syring- 
ing with pure rain water is the safest remedy, and if carefully 
done will not injure the bloom—at least for all ordinary pur- 
poses, and for prize bunches the leaves can be sponged by 
hand. 
Some varieties seem more liable than others to take red 
spider. and for this reason I shall not grow Aramon again ; 
but the site and soil of a vinery are, I think, of more im- 
portance, as in some situations with careful management red 
spider can be easily kept under, while in others it is a constant 
source of trouble. As prevention is always better than cure 
special attention should be given, whenever a spell of cloudy 
dull weather is succeeded by a burst of sunshine, to keeping 
the atmosphere of a house sufficiently moist and the borders 
thoroughly watered. Sprinkling the surface is no good, as the 
entire borders should be soaked right through, and with good 
drainage it is simply impossible to overdo it.—HssEx. 
[The Grapes received are excellent ; the Muscats clear, Mrs. 
Pince’s good, and Gros Colman fine, one berry exceeding 
1} inch in diameter—a worthy reward for the remedial treat- 
ment that was so intelligently and promptly applied under the 
circumstances.—EDs. ] 
SCHIZOSTYLIS COCCINEA. 
I UsED to flower this useful winter-flowering plant in pots, 
but latterly it has been found to succeed better left in the open 
ground, protection being afforded as called for by the state of 
the weather. This was provided by mats thrown over a tempo- 
rary framework. Last winter the crop of flowers proved so 
