September 19, 1872. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



wings are of a reddish grey, and across the fore-wings there 

 extends a broadish band of white, chequered with grey spots. 

 The markings in different specimens vary considerably. In. 

 size the species is small, the expansion of the wings being less 

 than an inch ; it is not frequently observed with the wings ex- 

 tended, but closes them compactly in the fashion of its 

 brethren, and sits on the trunk or branches of the trees, not 

 often flying in the day, being easily alarmed. Cold or wet 

 weather, however, dislodges it. The eggs are laid during June 

 either on the fruit or leaf -buds. Wherever they may be placed 

 they are usually concealed from view, and they remain un- 

 hatched for the long period of eight or nine months. "When 

 the sap begins to stir in the tree, and the vernal season is call- 

 ing it into activity, this tiresome little pest is prepared at 

 once to begin an onslaught upon the buds while they are 

 tender and sensitive. Mcintosh observes that after one of 

 these caterpillars has commenced to gnaw a bud, " a drop of 

 honey (?) is not unfrequently seen on it, which, issuing from 

 the wound, serves as a sign to tell us that the fate of the bud 

 is decided. The bud is prevented from growing by this drop, 

 the points of the calyx thus becoming so closely glued together 

 that its unfolding is prevented." The caterpillar, however, 

 does not become a life-long prisoner in the closed-up flower- 

 bud ; but when it has satiated its appetite on one it migrates 

 to another, and so on, until it arrives at its mature size, being 

 even then but small, though the worker of a good deal of 

 mischief. 



The larva? are greenish or brownish in colour, the head 

 being darker, and there are a few short hairs on the body. If 

 alarmed they drop by a silken thread, by which they can wind 

 themselves up again very dexterously. Much as I advocate 

 nipping evils in the bud (or in the egg), I must confess that 

 hunting the eggs of the species before us is tedious and rather 

 hopeless work. Burning weeds and refuse under the trees in 

 early spring has been found to be of service, and a great dimi- 

 nution of their numbers has been effected by dusting the 

 branches and shoots of the Pear and Apple with powdered 

 lime, which is almost, if not quite, innocuous to the tree, 

 while it decidedly "settles" the juvenile caterpillars. — J.R.S. C. 



GREEN ROSES. 

 As your correspondents seem interested on the subject of 

 green Roses, I may mention that I obtained a small one from 

 Baltimore, U.S.A., in 1854. It is now a large bush, perfectly 

 hardy, and flowering profusely all through the summer and 

 autumn. At this moment it must have thirty or forty blos- 

 soms and buds upon it. It is clearly a monstrosity, as the 

 green flowers are not petals, but rather the expansion of the 

 green centres sometimes seen in Roses. It has a very faint 

 scent. — B., Liverpool. 



NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 



We may hope that we and the public have now heard the 

 last of the unfortunate Hooker and Ayrton dispute. We 

 learn that Mr. Ayrton has expressed himself satisfied with Dr. 

 Hooker's explanation of the "offensive" matter in his letter 

 to Mr. West, and here the matter will probably rest. It would 

 be more satisfactory to know that all probability of similar un- 

 pleasantness for the future had been removed, and that the 

 Government recognises the principle that a servant selected to 

 control a great scientific establishment must necessarily be 

 entrusted with all the details of its management. The rejec- 

 tion, by the Committee of Recommendations of the British 

 Association, of the resolution of Section D respecting the 

 treatment of Dr. Hooker as Director of Kew Gardens, resulted 

 in the sending-up to a subsequent meeting of the Committee 

 of a more strongly worded resolution to the same effect, which 

 was then passed, not only by the Committee of Recommenda- 

 tions, but by the General Committee. — (Nature.) 



In the Argeriture Republic the culture of The Sun- 

 flower is strongly recommended, because the flowers are 

 believed to afford bees the best material for wax, and the best 

 honey ; the petals of the flowers to yield a valuable dye ; the 

 seeds to give fifty per cent, of oil excellent for cooking and 

 illu min ating purposes, while they are also a superior food for 

 poultry and for cows, increasing the flow of milk ; the bottom 

 of the calyx may be used for food in the same way as the Arti- 

 choke, which it closely resembles ; the wood will yield one per 

 cent, of potash, while common hardwood only yields one-tenth 

 as much ; the leaves may be used as food for animals, or made 



into a good smoking tobacco ; while the bark, properly pre- 

 pared, affords material for the manufacture of paper. 



A very good " Flora of Liverpool " has been pub- 

 lished by the Liverpool Naturalists' Field Club. The area in- 

 cluded is within fifteen miles of Liverpool and two of South- 

 port, and embraces some very interesting districts. The work 

 has been performed by a Committee of the Society appointed 

 for the purpose, with the assistance of amateurs and previously 

 published records, which have all, when possible, been verified. 

 It appears to have been carried out with great care, and some 

 valuable notes are appended to the records of some of the 

 species. — (Nature.) 



Brandy from Mosses and Lichens. — In Russia alcohol 



and brandy are now largely manufactured from Mosses ; the 

 quality is said to be exceedingly good, and many distilleries 

 are making profits of 100 per cent, by this novel industry. — 

 (Mechanics' Magazine.) 



The trade in Phormium tenax, or New Zealand Flax, 



is again reviving, owing to the improved processes of prepara- 

 tion adopted by Dr. Hector, who discovered that by keeping 

 the Flax constantly wet with the oil of the weka, or wood-hen, 

 when being woven into rope, greater suppleness is obtained, 

 and the rope does not rot from exposure to rain. Some trials 

 have been recently made by him with Phormium, Manilla, and 

 oiled Phormium, and the following results obtained : The ropes 

 having weights attached to them were placed over a revolving 

 shaft and wetted from time to time ; it was found the common 

 Phormium ran twenty- two days, the Manilla forty-five, and the 

 oiled Phormium ninety-five. Further experiments are being 

 made as to the best oil to be used and most effectual prepara- 

 tion of the fibre. — (Mechanics' Magazine.) 



Among the most recently-published foreign floras we 



may note Dr. J. A. Knapp's " Plants of Galicia and the Buko- 

 wina," just published by Braumiiller, of Vienna, in one thick 

 volume. — (Nature.) 



VANESSA ANTIOPA. 

 Mr. Frank Fowler, Ravensdale Park Gardens, Co. Louth, 

 Ireland, writes — " We have seen this beautiful butterfly here 

 on two occasions this season, though not able to capture it. 

 I think, like Mr. W. Robins, it has a taste for fruit, having 

 been seen near the Peach house." 1 



It may interest some of your readers to know that I 

 caught a fine specimen of the Vanessa Antiopa, or Camber- 

 well Beauty, in this neighbourhood (Exeter). It was resting 

 on a Willow at the time I captured it. — W. K. Batchelor. 



The Camberwell Beauty butterfly appears to be unusually 

 numerous this season. A fine specimen was caught here 

 (Buxted) a fortnight ago. Subsequently another rare butter- 

 fly, the Bath White (Pieris Daplidice), was caught while hover- 

 ing over some Lavender flowers. — Edward Luckhtjrst. 



A good specimen of the rare butterfly, Vanessa Antiopa, or 

 Camberwell Beauty, was taken yesterday, September loth, 

 hovering around some bee hives at Bramtingham Thorpe, near 

 Hull. Since 1845 few entomologists have seen or captured a 

 specimen. In 1858 a specimen was seen on the wing in the 

 same locality. — R. C. K. 



A GOOD WHITE ROSE. 

 If your correspondents desire a most reliable and beautiful 

 white Rose I can name one unsurpassed — Madame de Som- 

 breuil. The foliage continues throughout the winter of a rich 

 myrtle green. I pick off the first buds, or it would bloom in 

 May. I do so because the weather at that season rarely admits 

 of uninjured blooms, and from then till November it blooms 

 incessantly, by careful cutting-back. On a piece between 

 windows 2 feet by 10 feet I counted last night fifty-seven open 

 blooms starred all over the tree, each one perfect, and beau- 

 tiful exceedingly — seen as I see it, with clump of scarlet 

 Gladiolus in the border in front, too beautiful for words. — 

 Harriett Asten. 



WORK FOR THE WEEK. 

 kitchen garden. . 

 Should the fine weather continue, the opportunity may still 

 be employed in advancing work which can be proceeded with 



