November 9, 1876. 1 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



399 



WEEKLY CALENDAR. 



Day | Day 





Average 













Clock 



Day 



ol of 



NOVEMBEE 9—15, 1876. 



Temperature near 













before 



ot 



Month Week. 





London. 













Sun. 



Year. 









Day. 



Night. 



Mean. 



h. m. 



h. m. 



h. m. 



h. m. 



Days. 



m. e. 





9 



la 



PfliNCE of Wales bobn, 1811. 



50.5 



S3.8 



42 2 



7 11 



4 17 



morn. 



1 57 



23 



16 



314 



10 



F 





50.4 



84.0 



42 2 



7 12 



4 16 



16 



2 11 



24 



15 54 



815 



11 



S 





50 2 



84.2 



422 



7 14 



4 14 



1 88 



2 23 



25 



15 47 



316 



18 



Sun 



22 SCND^T AFTER TRINITY. 



50.2 



83.8 



4i.O 



7 16 



4 13 



2 68 



2 34 



26 



15 89 



817 



13 



M 



South Bermondeey Chrysanthemum Show. 



49 9 



852 



42 6 



7 18 



4 11 



4 18 



2 46 



27 



15 80 



818 



14 



To 



Northampton Chrysanthemum Show. 



48.5 



83.8 



412 



7 19 



4 10 



6 38 



3 



28 



15 21 



819 



15 



W 



Wimbledon Chrvsinthemum Show. 



49.0 



84.8 



41.9 



7 21 



4 8 



6 58 



3 17 



29 



15 10 



820 



From observations taken near London daring forty-three years, 



the average day temperature 



of the week is 49.8''; and its night temperature 



312°. 















VINE PESTS. 



EEY little can be done towards thoroughly 

 eradicating the various insects which affect 

 the Vine until the leaves have fallen and the 

 Vices are at rest. Of coarse the insects 

 may be checked to a certain extent during 

 the growing season, but winter is the time 

 for their complete banishment. It is through- 

 out the winter when every part of the Vine, 

 wood and house, can be readily reached that 

 the only opportunity occurs of making a 

 thorough cleansing. As this periods extends from Novem- 

 ber until March, a few remarks on the best means of 

 destroying the mjBt virulent of Vine pests may be of use 

 to some readers. 



Bed Spider.— This is well known to be one of the very 

 worst enemies the Vine-grower has to contend with. It 

 is a very sm*U insect, and it often becomes established 

 before its presence is discovered. It never settles on the 

 whole of the leaves at one time, but starts on one or two 

 and spreads' to the others. The only chance of keeping 

 it down when the Vines are in leaf is to deal with it when 

 it is on the first leaf or two. It may be detected by the 

 . leaves which it attacks assuming a slight brown tint ; 

 but those who know its habits best do not wait until it 

 shows itself in that advanced form, but examine the back 

 of the leaves from their earliest development, sponging 

 them with Boft soap and water immediately a spider is 

 detected. It is rather a tedious operation sponging each 

 leaf, but this when carefully done in time very often pre- 

 vents further injury, and is very much better than any 

 other subsequent attempt at a cure. 



A dry atmosphere always fosters red spider, and when 

 much fire heat is used to keep up the temperature the 

 spider is always found first on the leaves nearest the pipes ; 

 these are the leaves which should be looked over and 

 sponged. Daily syringing when the fruit is green does 

 much to stay the progress of red spider, but this opera- 

 tion cannot be carried on with advantage when the fruit 

 is ripening ; and as it is generally in the midst of the hot 

 summer weather when syringing must cease the spider 

 then spreads with great rapidity. Mildew has been un- 

 usually prevalent this season, rendering, in many in- 

 stances, a dry atmosphere necessary, in order to check its 

 spread — a condition precisely suitable for the increase of 

 red spider, so that I am inclined to think the pest will be 

 in great force this autumn. When moisture cannot be 

 applied, such as when the fruit is ripening or hanging 

 ripe, sulphur is frequently used with the intention o 

 killing red spider. It is made into a paint-like mixture, 

 and brushed on to the hot-water pipes or flues. The 

 ventilators are closed in the evening, and the pipes are 

 heated until the temperature of the house rises to 85° or 

 90°. The sulphur through being heated emits strong 

 fumes, and these are said to kill the spider ; but although 

 I have carried out sulphuring thoroughly I must confess 

 that I have never found it effectual. 

 As soon as the fruit is cut from infested Vines they 



No. 816.— Vol XXXI., New Series. 



should have a complete and thorough syringing from the 

 garden engine ; this will dislodge a great many of the 

 insects, which is very necessary, as they often interfere 

 with the ripening of the wood. Than this drenching no 

 other remedy need be applied until the Vines are pruned. 

 In pruning, the whole of the shoots which are cut off 

 should be taken outside and burned. All the loose bark 

 should be peeled from the canes, but in doing this a very 

 blunt knife should be used, and care must be taken not 

 to cut into the wood. The spurs must be particularly 

 well scraped without touching the buds for next year's 

 wood, and the rodB should be made quite smooth and 

 clean from top to bottom. After this has been done all 

 the glass and woodwork mu6t be washed with soft soap 

 and warm water, also the trellis to which the Vines have 

 been attached ; every inch of brick or stone work above 

 .and underneath the surface of the border for 3 inches 

 should be limewashed. The rods must then be washed. 

 For this purpose I cannot recommend anything better 

 than a mixture of soft soap and water, which should be 

 strong enough to colour the water so as the finger can- 

 not be seen more than 1 inch below the surface. If this; 

 solution is properly used the Vines require no dressing 

 with any mixture after they are washed. 



I have known instances where the rods have been 

 covered with a dirty mixture of soot, lime, &c, without 

 previously washing or cleaning the canes. Instead of 

 this "painting" killing the insects under the bark or 

 destroying the larva it only keeps them comfortable, and 

 they come out as fresh as ever when the Vines are started 

 into growth. If a Vine is well cleaned of the loose bark 

 and thoroughly washed it is quite impossible that any 

 description of insect can escape, the whole of them will 

 be washed down to the ground; and to complete the 

 cleansing the surface soil of the border to the depth of 

 3 inches must be removed and replaced with a mixture of 

 fresh soil and decayed manure. No matter to what ex- 

 tent a vinery may have been infested, if the above in- 

 structions are carried out not a spider need be seen next 

 year. 



Theips. — This insect, although not bo destructive as 

 the red spider, is nevertheless capable of doing much 

 injury to Vines. In a young state it is white in colour, 

 but as it becomes older it turns black. It is much easier 

 seen than the spider. It has not much influence on the 

 old leaves, indeed it seldom attacks them, but it is very 

 partial to the young tender leaves and points of the shoots, 

 and frequently stops the growth of these altogether. The 

 leaves which it has been eating may be distinguished by 

 small transparent spots which appear on them. Syring- 

 ing is a good means of keeping the thrips from spreading, 

 but this does not exterminate them. Fumigation with 

 tobacco smoke accomplishes this more perfectly than any- 

 thing I know. The vinery must be filled with Bmoko 

 three nights in succession, and this generally has to be 

 repeated two or three times during the season. 



Mealy Bug. — Where plants are grown in vineries, 

 which is very often the case, this insect is almost sure to 

 find its way on to the Vines. It does less haim than 



No. 1167.— Vol. LVI., Olo Skeei". 



