506 



JOUBNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ December 23, 1S71. 



The best compost to grow tliem in is one of two paitB tnrfy 

 oam, one of leaf mould, and one of decomposed manure with a 

 l.beral proportion of silver sand, as the Fuchsia delights in an 

 open porous compost. Daring the whole period of their growth 

 the plants should be kept near the glass, and syringed daily 

 to prevent red spider from appearing on the leaves. Any 

 sadden chect such as an arid atmosphere, dryness at the roots, 

 or an attack of red spider will cause the leaves to fall ofi in 

 great numbers and sadly disfigure the plants. 



Then as to training, which is a matter of taste, some prefer 

 the pyramid, others the bush form ; both systems if the plants 

 are well managed will obtain admirers. The pyramid form 

 does not require so much work as the other ; a stout stick 

 should be placed to the leading shoot, and a system of timely 

 pinching is all that is required. Some of the varieties are 

 naturally of a short-jointed, compact, sturdy growth, others are 

 of a more straggling habit, and will require more attention as 

 to stopping. Where this loose-growing habit is apparent, the 

 leading shoot must be stopped three or four times, which will 

 cause the plants to break more regularly. Where the plant is 

 of a bushy habit, the leading shoot will not require to be stopped 

 until it has grown to the required height. The side shoots 

 must be repeatedly stopped until the plant is of the desired 

 size, when it may be allowed to flower. 



Plants to be grown in the bush form should have the leading 

 shoot stopped when the plant is 6 inches. A high number of 

 lateral shoots will form, which should be stopped at the third 

 oint. The shoots will require two more stoppings, and they 

 should receive their final one about six or seven weeks before 

 the plants are required to be in flower. Under this system a 

 large number of sticks are required for each plant : a well- 

 brown specimen will take a hundred, as one is required for each 

 shoot. The sticks should be slender, painted green, and hidden 

 by the foliage as much as possible. 



If the plants are intended for exhibition they must be large, 

 but for general decorative purposes plants grown in 7 and 9-inch 

 pots are the most useful. Fuchsias are grown and flowered in 

 all sorts of houses, and sometimes in very unfavourable cir- 

 cumstances ; but a light airy span-roofed house running north 

 and south is the best both to grow and flower them in. A very 

 thin shading should be used to break the force of the sun's 

 rays in hot weather. The plants also delight in a rather moist 

 atmosphere : even when in flower a dry atmosphere should be 

 avoided, especially if combined with draughts, as this wUl cause 

 the yet unexpanded flower drops to fall off. 



The varieties of this plant are so well known that to give 

 lists of them would only occupy a valuable space. Good-habited 

 free-flowering sorts should be grown, and the single-coroUaed 

 sorts are to be preferred to the double, some of which are only 

 so many monstrosities. — J. DoUGLis. 



DRAUGHT OF FLUE TOO PO"V\"ERFUL. 



Havino been placed in a similar position to your corre- 

 spondent, " TiRiDis," with the fire of my little greenhouse, 

 till my patience had given up to despair, I consulted your 

 experience, and I have ever since bad reason to be thankful for 

 your advice. If "Vieidis" do but follow your instructions and 

 pay the same attention to the ashpit-door as he seems to have 

 done to the damper, I am quite certain he will not require the 

 services of the latter at all. 



Being only an amateur I required much guiding, and al- 

 though I could build my greenhouse and construct the flue 

 and fire-box, I was brought to a standstill. When my fire is 

 bumt-up I place, in the absence of an ashpit-door, a sheet of 

 iron with two slits near the bottom li inch long, and half an 

 inch wide, by which I can regulate the combustion to a nicety. 

 It will burn from eight at night till ten the next morning. It 

 burns tan and cinders from the house. One thing I consider 

 very essential — I keep all dust and small ashes from under 

 the furnace as directed by Mr. K^ane some time back. — 

 T. Sedolet. 



SOME PREDATORY INSECTS OF OUR 

 GARDENS.— No. 24. 

 There are many species of moths which enter houses of 

 their own free-will, and none more frequently, perhaps, than 

 the Large TellowUnderwing (Tryphasna pronuba). This species 

 is also now and then to be seen resting during the day on 

 palings or the sides of windows, where it draws itself up closely, 

 and eo frequently harmonises in colour with the object on 



which it reposes that the unobservant pass it by. Pronuba 

 has also a partiality for places of public assembly, drawn 

 hither by the fascination of the lights, or, perhaps (shaU we 

 say?), from some liking for the society of the human kind. I 

 have seen one of these occasion quite a commotion in a church 

 by its wild gyrations from pew to pew, all the while carefully 

 avoiding a catastrophe which would soon have befallen other 

 moths of feebler frame and less rapid wing — viz., destruction 

 by the flames of the gas-jets. Like other moths of the genus, 

 too, Tryphfena pronuba has strong legs, and will sometimes 

 run with great rapidity, which renders its chase rather difficult, 

 for you have marked its settling, as you think in one particular 

 spot, and you keep your eye on that spot, yet shortly after you 

 see the moth taking an aerial excursion from quite a different 



Trypliffina pronuba. 

 point. Tliis moth comes to sugar, when spread upon trees as 

 a bait, though not so eagerly as do some of its brethren, and it 

 often haunts grassy meadows, being, probably, attracted thither 

 by the scent of certain flowers, or it may have been nurtured 

 to maturity on some weedy bank in the vicinity. 



The fore wings of this handsome, though common, moth 

 (which is usually on the wing during July and August), very 

 much vary in colour and markings, the general hue being some 

 shade of brown ; in almost all specimens what are called the 

 disoordal spots are clearly defined ; there are also several trans- 

 verse lines of differing intensity in colour. The hind wings, 

 however, show scarcely any variation, being of an orange-yellow 

 colour, with a narrow black border. 



With the caterpillar producing this moth some persons make 

 acquaintance in rather a singular way — that is to say, they eat 

 it ; for owing to its mode of life it is occasionally boiled with 

 some Cabbage, in the heart of which it had been feeding, and 

 being brought to table it is mashed up and eaten as " greens " 

 without being remarked. This caterpillar, however, is an ex- 

 ternal feeder also at times, taking as its right not only the 

 Brassioaceous plants in the kitchen garden, but many others 

 with succulent leaves. It does not seem to discontinue feeding 

 during the winter, and is not uncommonly disinterred by the 

 gardener at this season. For, as Mr. Newman observes, " it 

 conceals itself almost entirely during the day beneath the sur- 

 face of the ground, emerging at night ;" and he also adds con- 

 cerning it, "I have frequently found it hidden at the roots of 

 Lettuces, and it is brought to light when they are pulled up for 

 the table ; when thus exposed it rolls tself into a very compact 

 ring." 



A decided family likeness is observable amongst the cater- 

 pillars belonging to that section of the Noctnte in which T. pro- 

 nuba is included. There are nnmerous lines and stripes of 

 dark brown, some of which are occasionally wanting, but when 

 present they are arranged according to a regular pattern ; the 

 ground colour is often an unpleasant shade of green, at other 

 times a brown, which renders the markings scarcely distinguish- 

 able. The body of the caterpillar is stout and velvety both to 

 the eye and the touch. Comparing the head with the body, it 

 seems small in proportion ; it is shining and reddish brown. 

 The eggs of this species hatch towards the end of the summer, 

 and the caterpillars do not attain their fall proportions until 

 the following spring or the early summer. They form a cell 

 to undergo pupation beneath the surface of the earth. I know 

 no way of dealing with this species except by the destruction 

 of the moth, pupa, or caterpillar whenever either is seen. 



A closely-allied species, the Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow 

 Underwing — a rather long name, which leads us to take refuge 

 gladly in the much briefer Latin, Tryphseaa ianthina. This, 

 though not particularly common, does occasionally a little mis- 

 chief in the flower garden. It is stated to be partial to the 

 Polyanthus, sometimes feeding on the roots beneath, sometimes 

 eating into the crown of the plant, and at other times devour- 

 ing the leaves. It will also attack a variety of other plants, 

 but keeps itself carefully out of view in the daytime. This 



