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JOURNAL OF HORTICULTDEE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ November 30, 1871. 



stiQ of the grubs upon the shootf, but not a living one to be 

 seen. Again, in a fortnight, they appeared a second time, and 

 disappeared again in the same manner. It was evident that 

 some bird preyed upon them, sucked their juices, and left the 

 hull upon the bush. I watched carefully to see to what bird I 

 \Tas indebted for ridding me of this pest, and after some obser- 

 vation I came to the conclusion that the much-maligned 

 c:!ckoo wag my friend. When the grubs were about there were 

 silways two or three cuckoos in the plantation. I think, too, 

 that the chaftinch and the whitethroat also assisted, and per- 

 haps some other soft-billed birds. The sparrows, loo, some- 

 times visited the bushes early in the season, but as soon as 

 there was anything like Peas or grain to be had they turned to 

 plunder. They probably did not fancy this disgusting grub, 

 and only used it for feeding their young. The cuckoo, the 

 chaffinch, and whitethroat, however, seem to eat it with an 

 appetite. 



i had long been aware that this grub was the ofisprlng of a 

 sawfly, but I never could see the fly itself till this year, when 

 I caught it flagrante delicto. It was a bright hot day early in 

 August, and as I walked up the farm I saw a cloud of clear- 

 Tjinged flies disporting themselves about the bushes. They 

 dropped from time to time, and then rose again ; and suspect- 

 ing that they were the parents of the grub, and after no good, 

 I went up and watched their proceedings. The females, about 

 The size of common house flies, with flat yellow bodies, were 

 on the lower branches of the bushes ; the males, considerably 

 smaller, with thin, black, ichneumon-shaped bodies and trans- 

 parent wings, were hovering in hundreds above. A fortnight 

 later there was no doubt about their business. On examining 

 the bushes I found numberless leaves perforated with little pin- 

 holes, which had been nibbled by the grubs just hatched, and 

 on others there were the eggs not yet hatched, laid in close 

 order along the ribs on the under side of the leaves, and prin- 

 cipally on the lower branches of the bushes. In this arrange- 

 ment one could not help admiring the instinct of the fly ; 

 directly its young are hatched they begin to eat their way up- 

 wards till they reach the end of the shoot. In this case there 

 was evidently no time to be lost. A number of children were 

 straightway set to work to pick ofi the perforated leaves. They 

 did pick them, and six large bucketsful were collected and 

 burnt. I thought I had got the better of my enemies, but on 

 going into the plantation about a week later I found every tree 

 covered with grubs in almost incredible numbers. It was no 

 longer a question of picking perforated leaves — on some 

 bushes scarcely any leaves were left, nor was it a matter for 

 children ; it was a case in which women must be employed. 

 So I set some women to work, some with quicklime, others 

 with fresh-powdered hellebore, to dredge the trees ; both these 

 remedies are recommended, and I wished to see which was the 

 more effectual. In another week's time I was able to see the 

 result. The lime was utterly useless, but the hellebore had 

 saved a certain portion of the leaves. At any rate I have 

 ascertained thus much about this detestable grub of the saw- 

 fly, which I now put down for the benefit of Gooseberry-growers 

 — if you wish to escape this pest, encourage small birds, and 

 especially soft-billed birds, in your plantation — above all, do 

 what you can to protect the cuckoo. If, notwithstanding the 

 exertions of the birds, these grubs infest your bushes, as 

 soon as you detect their presence by the perforated leaves, have 

 them carefully hand-picked, and if this does not stop their 

 ravages dredge them well with fresh hellebore powder, which I 

 believe to be the only thing that has the slightest effect upon 

 them. 



CuBRANTS. — Next to the Gooseberry, the Currant is the fruit 

 which will bring the quickest return to the fruit-farmer. The 

 Red Currant is subject to the ravages of the same abomination 

 as the Gooseberry — the grub of the sawfly, but not to the same 

 extent ; but it suffers infinitely more from the birds. Not only 

 do the blackbird and the missel thrush make their voracious 

 raids upon it — I say nothing of the song thrush, for his appe- 

 tite is not of the same insatiable nature, and he is always wel- 

 come to as much as he can eat in return for his song — but 

 robins and other small birds keep nibbling at it^ so much 

 so, that what with their depredations and those of the wasps, 

 I have never yet been able to get a quarter of a crop from my 

 Red Currant bushes, and I cannot therefore recommend it as a 

 crop for a fruit farm unless it is planted in sufficient quantity 

 to justify the employment of a man to protect it during the 

 season of ripening. Still, if any should wish to try, they will 

 find the Raby Castle the finest of all varieties, and an abun- 

 dant bearer. 



But the Black Currant is my favourite fruit — not for its in- 

 trinsic excellence, for anything more nasty I cannot imagine ; 

 but because, first, no grub that I know will prey upon its leaves ; 

 and second, no bird will touch it as long as any other possible 

 kind of food is to be had. Thirdly, it always btars freely ; and 

 fourthly, it is always in great demand. 



Here are four undeniable excellencies, and it you add to this 

 that it is easily propagated and will produce as large a profit 

 per square yard as any fruit I know, I recommend it to the 

 particular notice of all fruit-farmers whose soil is suitable for 

 it. The bush, also, if planted in the manner suggested above, 

 leaving all the eyes in the cuttings, will continue to bear for 

 many years if properly managed, though the fruit diminishes 

 in size as the plants grow older. 



As a proof of the profitable nature of the Black Currant I 

 may mention that in one small plantation I have for two years 

 carefully calculated the produce, and I find that it has varied 

 from 3d. to id. the sqra'e yard, or, if taken at the higher price, 

 about £80 per acre. The bushes should be planted like the 

 Gooseberry, 6 feet from each other ; and in pruning, it should 

 be remembered tha' a plan the very opposite to that which 

 succeeds with the Red Currant must be adopted. In the Red 

 Currant you must cut out all the new wood to a single eye 

 and leave the old, whtreas in the Black Currant you must cut 

 out old wood and leave the new — this at any rate when the 

 bushes are fairly established. Till this is the case the young 

 wood should be shortened to three or four eyes, or the branches 

 will not grow with sufficient vigour to support the fruit. 



I do not recommend the Raspberry for the same reason as 

 the Red Currant. The birds will take the greater portion of 

 the crop unless it be constantly watched, and unless the planta- 

 tion is large it will not justify the employment of a special 

 watcher while the fruit is ripe ; and I am now advocating 

 the cause of small fruit farms, on which one family only 

 is employed. 



PROLONGING THE STRAWBERRY SEASON. 



I HOPE in this attempt to give some directions for prolong- 

 ing the Strawberry season, I shall be sufficiently plain to be 

 understood, and to any question asked through the Journal I 

 will try to give a prompt reply. I must remark that it is not 

 by any skill of mine that I have produced crops of Strawberries 

 late in the season, and indeed in a commercial point of view 

 it would not be worth my while, as I find they are little cared 

 for. There appears to be a sort of prejudice against them, an 

 impression that they are without flavour, and persons do not 

 care to purchase them. I think, however, that the reverse is 

 rather the case. The Strawberries are very distinct from the 

 same variety at the ordinary season, so much so that I would 

 defy the greatest epicure to say what variety he was eating ; 

 for appearance, colour, shape, flesh, and flavour are all different, 

 at least it is so with me, as indeed Dr. Hogg and others to 

 whom I have sent fruit can testify. 



Perhaps there is no fruit grown so capricious as the Straw- 

 berry ; for in the same soil where one variety will not even 

 live, another quite luxuriates, and this is even the case with kinds 

 nearlyrelated to each other, such as British Qaeen and Carolina 

 Superba. Most persons grow such late varieties as Elton, Filbert 

 Pine, Frogmore Late Pine, and Myatt's Eleanor, in order to ob- 

 tain a late supply. With these and a little careful management 

 — or perhaps I ought to say experienced rather than caretul, for 

 whatisvery easy to the experienced is far otherwise to themerely 

 informed — yon may obtain Strawberries late in summer and in 

 autumn with very little, if any, intermission, except, perhaps, 

 a week or two — the last week of July and first or second week 

 of August — but even then the gap may be filled up by May 

 Queen, to be succeeded by Sir Walter Scott, Black Prince, and 

 a sort of which I will try to obtain the name. I had it eight or 

 nine years ago from Mr. Nicholson, of Eaglesclift, with about 

 forty other varieties, and lost its name. It is a very distinct 

 variety, and no doubt well known in the trade. For late 

 summer and autumn-fruiting it is very superior, continuing to 

 bear from about the second or third week of August till the 

 second or third week of October. Next in succession and the 

 best of all, taking every point into consideration, is Patrick's 

 Seedling. Those which were shown by Mr. Fulford, Clifton, 

 at the Bristol and Clifton Chrysanthemum and Fruit Show on 

 the 8th and 9th inst. were the same variety; many of them 

 were about two or three to the ounce. With careful manage- 

 ment these will carry you till the end of November. President 

 bears a few good berries from the end of Ootober till the end of 



