December 19, 1872. ] 



JOUENAL OF HOBTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GABDENEE. 



493 



in the -winged or wingless form, although long diligently sought 

 after. 



The principal changes which these insects undergo are the 

 following : They hibernate upon the roots of the Vine as 

 wingless insects, and never in the egg condition. So long as 

 the weather is severe they remain sunt in a state of perfect 

 torpor ; but as soon as the warmth begins to make itself felt, 

 all those individuals which the cold and the damp of the winter 

 has spared begin to waken to renewed life. They feed with 

 great avidity, and immediately begin to lay eggs. The increase 

 of them soon becomes terrific, and never stops until October. 

 It is during this time, which extends to seven or eight months 

 in the south, that the Phylloxera works the greatest havoc. 



The Phylloxera is essentially subterranean in its wingless 

 state, and in all probability makes its way along the roots of 

 the Vine, following the numerous gaps which it finds upon 

 their surface. But it does not remain in this state. During 

 the hot season some insects can here and there be seen with 

 small appendages upon their corselet which are destined to 

 become wings. These are the real nyrnpha, which soon throw- 

 off then' covering, and appear as perfect insects provided, with 

 wings, and having the eyes characteristic of their species. It 

 is in all likelihood after it has taken this form that the Phyl- 

 loxera is borne-up and carried away by the wind to often very 

 great distances, though it cannot be affirmed that even the 

 wingless ones, in certain conditions, are incapable of being 

 thus distributed. 



We have said the winged Phylloxera is very rare. The 

 number of these which have hitherto been observed bear no 

 proportion to the myriads of wingless insects that can be seen 

 on every part of the affected roots. Can this be natural ? or 

 is it a difference owing to the errors of observation made in 

 ascertaining the fact which we now state ? All the winged 

 Phylloxeras which have been seen were females, who lay eggs 

 and thus give birth to the wingless lice. 



There is a fact of very great importance connected with the 

 existence of the insect in the winged state. In the valley of 

 the Ehone, and still more so in the department of Bordelais, a 

 very few Vines were noticed during the summer, the leaves of 

 which were covered with galls of a peculiar form, the warty 

 protuberance being on the under and the opening upon the 

 upper side of the leaf. This fixed character establishes a 

 radical difference between the galls in question and all the 

 other kinds of galls or excrescences which are found upon 

 the leaves of the Vine. These galls are nests filled with 

 winged lice, very much like those which are discovered upon 

 the roots. These galls and the insects they contain are thought 

 to be due to the agency of those coming from the eggs laid by 

 the winged Phylloxera. 



As we have seen, the Phylloxera has two different phases of 

 life. It nearly always remains below the earth, though now 

 and then a few individuals are liberated to the enjoyment of 

 an existence in the open ah'. The underground life of the in- 

 sect is well known, but not so that of the other form. It would, 

 however, be very interesting and very useful if we could only 

 ascertain precisely at what time of the year the transformation 

 of the winged insect takes place, how long it remains alive, 

 and upon what part of the Vine or of the soil it has its abode. 

 The various ways of propagation in the Phylloxera, its origin, 

 and the conditions most favourable for its development, should 

 also be better known than they are. We might express a 

 similar opinion with regard to the existence of the males and 

 the period of fecundation. Let us hope that, systematically 

 and diligently prosecuted biological studies will soon enlighten 

 us upon these strange and momentous questions. It will 

 perhaps be possible to destroy this insect, which is so very 

 troublesome to get at during the time it lives underground, if 

 we could only obtain a favourable chance of catching it on its 

 excursions in the open air. 



It is under these conditions, then, that the new Vine disease 

 manifests itself, and although from the time of its discovery a 

 host of remedies have been suggested for it, as yet not one of 

 them has proved thoroughly efficacious. Are we going to find 

 some more successful ones yet ? Shall we — and it is not un- 

 likely—derive some more valuable hints from those means 

 which have been already tried ? We dare hope so. It is, how- 

 ever, very certain that the effectiveness of the remedy is not 

 merely dependant upon the nature and virulency of the matter 

 used, but the manner of its application and the time at which 

 this is performed will also always be of very great importance. 

 The substances whioh are capable of killing these insects are 

 very numerous ; but in order to produce benefioial results care 



must be taken that they are not of an injurious nature to the 

 plant, and that they can sink easily to the depth of about 

 2 inches or more, so as to reach the vermin beneath. And here 

 comes the real difficulty. Applications capable of destroying 

 the insect without hurting the Vine, are what those persons 

 who are seeking a remedy for the evil must endeavour especi- 

 ally to discover. Whilst awaiting that time when science 

 shall have devised some means of averting this evil, the Com- 

 mission advises cultivators and corporations to follow the 

 example given in l'Herault and la Gironde, where the dis- 

 eased Vines have been torn up and the soil disinfected by the 

 clearing-off and burning of the surface. The gall-bearing 

 leaves should also be laid in a heap and burnt. 



These remedial measures, which are analogous to those used 

 in the case of the cattle plague, have the advantage of destroy- 

 ing a great number of insects, which would otherwise increase 

 and communicate the disease to the surrounding Vines. The 

 tearing-up of the diseased Vines and their employment with 

 other combustibles for burning the infected soil, the collecting 

 and consumption of the leaves bearing the galls, will restrict 

 the onward progress of the evil and hasten the time indicating 

 a diminution of it. August is the month in which the Phyl- 

 loxera is propagated in the greatest numbers. 



In instituting a prize of 20,000 francs for the discovery of a 

 means for curing the Vines, the Minister of Agriculture and 

 Commerce has shown a deep anxiety for the interests of Vine 

 culture. Those persons who devote themselves to attaining 

 this object will do well to remember that there is no scope for 

 fancifulness in the involved questions of agriculture. 



[The" above is from papers communicated to the British 

 Government, from which we purpose giving further extracts 

 next week. — Ens.] 



POTATO EXPEEIENCES. 



I beg to send you my experience of Suttons' Bed-skinned 

 Flourball Potato. I procured direct from Messrs. Sutton, in 

 1871 , some sets ; they produced a fair crop and some large tubers . 

 We failed in our endeavour to boil or steam them ; they were 

 neither good in flavour nor mealy. I gave the crop, about two 

 bushels, to a neighbour. He planted them on different parts 

 of his farm, and dug them this autumn. He failed also to 

 dress them fit for table. They were shown to one of the 

 largest salesmen in Spitalfields market, who pronounced them 

 as only fit for pigs. The soil on which they were grown is 

 light, with chalk subsoil. The gentleman to whom I gave 

 them has grown this year two hundred acres of Eegents and 

 other Potatoes, so that he is not wanting in experience. — W. B. 



[We have grown this Potato and found it excellent, both 

 good in flavour and meally, and but slightly affected by the 

 disease. — Eds. J. of H.l 



MONOTONY IN PLANTING. 



Moke than one correspondent has applied to us to explain 

 why plantations which they detail are unsatisfactory so far as 

 not to be ornamental. One correspondent has appreciated the 

 usual cause, though he employs an incorrect term ; he says, 

 " The large plantations at , notwithstanding the alterna- 

 tions of hill and vale, are so unpleasingly uniform." We 

 know the plantations, and then- defect arises from then' mono- 

 tony. Uniformity is only another term for a just balancing of 

 the parts. Monotony is sameness, and the more extensive_ the 

 sameness the greater the dissatisfaction. The plantations 

 referred to are all of Conifers, and planted in masses all of 

 one form in some places, and all of one hue in other places. 

 They should have been more varied in their combination — 

 conical forms separated by lateral spreading forms, light- 

 foliaged relieved bydark-foliaged, and the latter always planted 

 at the innermost points of recesses to give the effect of depth. 



We happen to have a view copied from nature in South 

 America, and we publish it, not because it can be copied by- 

 planters in this country, but to illustrate the lesson we would 

 inculcate. There Nature has grouped in admirable contrast 

 the tall with the dwarf, the broad-leaved with the narrow- 

 leaved, the dark-foliaged with foliage of paler hue ; and where 

 the work of man alone is apparent, a rustic bridge tells how 

 such a structure harmonises with its surroundings, whereas a 

 bridge of masonry would have been offensively misplaced. 

 One -odio knew the truth of what he describes writes thus:— 

 " To see the full beauty of an equinoctial forest, it is neces- 



