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JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUKE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



[ Angnst 17, 1871. 



trace the quatrefoil in the circle it is necessary to form a sgnare, 

 as shown at centre a, the side of which is 3 feet 6 inches, and 

 insert a peg at each angle of the square, as shown at point 1. 

 From the peg at point 1, with a string 2 feet long, trace arc 2. 

 Trace corresponciing lobes or arcs from the other three angles. 

 Find beds 6, 8, 10, and 12 in the same manner. The lines 

 ate of Box ; the dotted compartment stone kerb ; w, walks ; 

 B, beds; c, coloured materials. — M. O'Doknell, Gardener to 

 E. Leeming, Esq., Spring Grove, Bichmond. 



SOME PREDATORY INSECTS OP OUR 

 GARDENS.— No. 15. 



_ The genus Gracillaria contains a good many species, though 

 pigmies in their dimensions. The moths, when resting in 

 the day on palings or trees, may be unmistakeably identified 

 by the posture in which they place themselves. " The head 

 and the anterior part of the body is elevated, the first pair and 

 the middle pair of legs stretched out a little sideways, and the 

 third pair of legs are placed against the side of the abdomen." 

 The antennje, also, are generally laid back, and partially hidden 

 by the wings. As long ago as 1736 Beaumur had observed 

 with much interest the habits of two at least of the species of 

 this genus. If the reader wishes to introduce himself to one 

 of these, he has only to walk now to a spot where grow some 

 Lilac bushes. On the leaves, or reposing close by in some 

 nook screened from the wind, will be found small moths, owning 

 to the name of G. Syricgella, and showing to the unassisted eye 

 a not very distinct tracing of yellow and brown. About London 

 we find the species also haunts the Privet. 



Mr. Stainton has given the life history of G. Syringella with 

 great accuracy, commencing with the eggs, which he states are 

 deposited in little clnster?. The young caterpillars begin their 

 proceedings by forming small mines in the leaves, which have 

 the appearance of blotches, within one of these are found from 

 four to a dozen feeding in company. As they grow they journey 

 in company, making a new blotch in another part of" the leaf, 

 or passing to another leaf, when the colony, perhaps, may 

 divide into two parties. At last they come out, and feed out- 

 side, rolling up the leaves in a seemingly clumsy manner to 

 afford themselves concealment. The leaves are roiled laterally, 

 and fastened sometimes, though not always, by cords of silk 

 fixed outside as well as within. After a time the foliage begins 

 to turn brown, and, gradually, should the caterpillars be nu- 

 merous, many of the leaves fade and fall off. Cone-like struc- 

 tures, which are much neater than those made by G. Syringella, 

 are manufactured by other caterpillars of the genus, as, by the 

 rather singular G. phasianipennella, the caterpillar of which cuts 

 strips from the sides of the leaf, and duly fastens them together, 

 tailor-like. The young caterpillars of our Lilac-feeder are 

 remarkable for the very transparent appearance they have ; 

 afterwards they become tinged with greenish brown, the dorsal 

 vessel showing distinctly. When of their due size they spin 

 cocoons, which are tolerably thick, and hide the small chrysalis 

 from view. There are two successions of this insect annually, 

 the caterpillars being found feeding in June, and again in 

 Augustand September; and owing to the early fall of leaves in 

 the vicinity of London, the second brood will be sometimes 

 deprived of food ere they have completed their growth. One 

 reads with some interest the statement that in Switzerland 

 G. Syringella has been noticed to extend for some distance up 

 the Alps, occurring there, I presume, upon the Ash. 



Another Gracillaria, scientifically named stigmafella, occurs 

 in gardens and shrubberies, and the moth is one of the visitants 

 to the Sallow bloom in spring, mingling there with the crowd 

 of bees and flies, and its moth brethren of a larger growth. 

 The_ caterpillar begins its career rather late in the season, 

 mining for a short time the leaves of Willow or Poplar, and 

 then constructing cones on the top or edge of the leaf. It 

 moves freely from place to place, so that when we are looking 

 at a tree which has been attacked by it, we are sure to find a 

 large proportion of empty cones. This caterpillar is of a 

 greenish-white colour, with two brown spots on the sides. 

 The moth has derived its name from a whitish, rather con- 

 spicuous triangular mark on the upper wings. 



It is very seldom that we see any species amongst our larger 

 beetles occurring on the wing in any quantity, except the com- 

 mon Cockchafer. Such species for instance, as the well-known 

 Dor, the Stag, the Mask Beetle, the various Carabi, are seen 

 singly, or, perhaps, two or three together, and this is also gene- 

 rally the case with the Bose Beetle (Cetonia aurata). Once, 

 however, I witnessed a flight of these insects, which was truly 1 



astonishing. The date was some day about the middle of 

 June, 1837, and the scene of it a winding narrow lane which 

 intersected some market gardens at Fcdham. The sun shone 

 brightly at the time, and the attraction which had drawn them 

 together was the P.dvet bloom. I should say, without exagge- 

 ration, that hundreds might easily have been secured, and the 

 sight was a pleasing one, for their elytra reflected the sun's 

 rays, while the air resounded with the sonorous hum they 

 made. Doubtless they had recently emerged from the pupa, 

 having bred close at hand in the fields. LatreiUe asserted thai; 

 this beetle does scarcely any injury to vegetation, because it 

 seeks the flowers for the honey they contain. On the contrary, 

 the Bose Beetle does actually nibble the petals, especially those 

 of the Bose, though it is in no respect scrupulous, and if these 

 are not to be had, contents itself with other species. One 

 gentleman reports that in 1870, where he had an opportunity 

 of observing it, as early as May it had begun to attack the 

 blossoms of the Weigela and Syringa; also, he says "it is 

 particularly fond of the early white Pink, tearing the petals 

 with its curved mandibles and hooked feet." 



The Bose Beetle, or Kose Chafer, has also been called the 

 Copper Beetle from the hue of the elytra or wing oases, and, 

 without very good authority, it has been supposed to be the 

 Golden Melolontha of Aristotle. A popular writer upon 

 natural history comments upon the species in the following 

 ludicrous manner. He believes that it has its name " because 

 it is an insect of refined habits, and chiefly dwells in the bosoni 

 of white Eoses. Yet it loves earth, too, and in pursuance of 

 its mission falls from its Eose to earth, and there digs a re- 

 ceptacle for its future progeny. But though in earth, it is not 

 of earth, and, burrow as it may, it returns to its Eose without 

 a stain upon its burnished wings." Why the Eose Chafer 

 should be supposed to affect white Eoses in particular I cannot 

 say, and as to its " dwelhng in the bosom " of a Eose I feel 

 rather incredulous. However, this much is true in the account^ 

 that whether it " digs a receptacle " or not, the eggs are usually 

 laid on or near the earth. That the laiva is sometimes found 

 in decaying wood, as stated by some authors, or even in ants' 

 nests, I would not deny, but it also, if not invariably, feeds on 

 the roots of various plants. I regard this as proved to E 

 demonstration by the occurrence of the imago in spots where 

 neither rotten wood nor ants' nests aiJord a nidus for the larva. 

 This I hope to confirm by a discovery of the larva engaged in 

 its destructive work upon roots, in which, as yet, I have been 

 disappointed, nor have others been more fortunate — at least, I 

 have heard of instances where a larva, thought to be that of 

 the Bose Chafer, has been unearthed, but not reared to ma- 

 turity so that it might be identified with certainty. Like that 

 of the Cockchafer, it probably passes two or three years in its 

 earlier stages of life, and burrows at times to a considerable 

 depth. We may assume, therefore, that the species is injurious 

 to the gardener, both as larva and imago, and really the only 

 satisfactory mode of keeping it in check seems to loe the de- 

 struction of the beetle. — J. E. S. C. 



LocAi Names of British Plants. — It is detired to collect 

 as many of these as possible, and the assistance is requested of- 

 all who take an interest in the subject, or who may have the 

 opportunity of ascertaining and recording them. Any lists 

 sent to Mr. James Britten, the Eoyal Herbarium, Kew, or to 

 Mr. Eobert Holland, Mobberley, Knutsford, will be thankfully 

 received and acknowledged. 



A NEGLECTED PRETTY FLOWER— LINARIA 

 VULGARIS. 



In the following notes I wish to call attention to a very chaste' 

 and pretty Toadflax of our neighbouring hedgerows, Linaris 

 vulgaris. Are we not so very apt to be led off by the many 

 and very beautiful exotics of our gardens that we are naturally 

 inclined to pass by all our native plants — some of them most 

 beautiful, and of many and pleasing associations — as unworthy ? 

 This pretty Linaria has several features of interest that may 

 demand and are worthy of the cultivator's attention. It has 

 slender-looking yet wiry stems, with smooth, narrow, light 

 green leaves. Bat more particularly I wish to remark its pretty 

 erect head, about 3 inches in length, of beautiful orange and 

 lemon spurred flowers, reminding one of some of the forms in 

 the flowers of the much-prized Orchid family. 



Many gardeners have to tend off by rail large quantities oj 

 cut flowers to great distances several times a-week, and in so 

 doing sometimes there is a difficulty in finding enough of those 



