302 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 493. 



From motives of filial affection his only surviving children, 

 Ann and Mary, have placed this memorial." 



Dr. Mellichamp, of Bluffton, South Carolina, now calls 

 our attention to Professor Frederick A. Porcher's History 

 and Social Sketch of Craven County, South Carolina, pub- 

 lished in the April number of the Southern Quarterly Review 

 for 1854, from which we extract the following paragraph 

 relating to Thomas Walter : 



One citizen of this parish has earned for himself a name in 

 the world of letters, and it is strange that Ramsay, who ap- 

 pears eagerly to have sought afterCarolinian celebrities, should 

 have entirely ignored his existence. Thomas Walter, an 

 English gentleman whose devotion to the cause of science 

 led him to the wilds of Carolina, was attracted by the charms 

 of Miss Peyre, of St. Stephens, married her and settled there. 

 He devoted himself particularly to the pursuit of botany, and 

 the curious are still occasionally rewarded by a visit to his 

 garden, the ruins of which may still be seen near the banks of 

 the Santee Canal. He is the ancestor of one branch ot the 

 Porcher family, and of the Charlton family of Georgia. His 

 book, the Flora Caroliniana, which was printed in London in 

 1789, is dated ad Ripas Fluvii Santee, 30 Dec, 1787. 



Dr. Francis Peyre Porcher, the well-known author of the 

 Resources of Southern Fields and Forests, Medical, Eco- 

 nomical and Agricultural, who died only a few months 

 ago at a great age, was a grandson of Walter. 



' In this same article in the Southern Quarterly Review is 

 the following note concerning Dr. James McBride, best 

 remembered as a botanist for the assistance he gave Elliott 

 in the preparation of his Sketch 0/ the Botany of South 

 Carolina and Georgia. 



Science and humanity mourned in 1817 the untimely death 

 of Dr. James McBride. He was a native of Sumter District, 

 South Carolina, and was educated at Yale College, where he 

 was a contemporary of Mr. Calhoun and of our late revered 

 Bishop (Xtopher Gadsden). He engaged in the pursuit of medi- 

 cine and, settling in Pineville, married Miss Eleanor Gourdin, 

 daughter of The Honorable Theodore Gourdin of that village. 



As a physician he was eminently successful, and he was dis- 

 tinguished for sound judgment and a thorough knowledge of 

 his profession. He removed to Charleston to enter upon a 

 wider field of practice, but before he had time to reap any 

 of the promised fruit fell a victim to yellow fever. The 

 opinions of Dr. McBride are treasured to this day and quoted 

 with respect. He had an intuitive perception of truth in mat- 

 ters which were the subjects merely of conjecture, and 

 subsequent researches have proved the accuracy of his judg- 

 ment. His recreation was botany. He was the friend and 

 correspondent of Elliott and assisted largely in the preparation 

 of the Botany of South Carolina and Georgia. Mr. Elliott 

 acknowledged the obligation, and in the preface of his work 

 has paid a touching and affectionate tribute to one who richly 

 deserved his regard, and could fully appreciate his own genius. 



Notes on the Codling Moth. 



NOTWITHSTANDING the fact that the codling moth 

 is one of the oldest and best known of the apple 

 enemies, and one which it has been supposed that we long 

 ago knew how to control, it quietly goes on its way from 

 year to year destroying more fruit than any other one 

 enemy, and perhaps more than all other enemies together. 

 It became evident a year or two ago that something was 

 wrong in the generally accepted doctrines in regard to this 

 insect. At the experiment station here and among growers 

 in the state it gave much trouble, in spite of spraying as 

 commonly advised and practiced. Accordingly, in the 

 spring of 1896, observations were begun in the horticultural 

 department to determine, if possible, what was the matter. 

 Much time was spent on the subject and a good deal 

 learned concerning the habits of the larva.', but not all of 

 the life-history was settled. We looked in vain for the 

 eggs, notwithstanding the fact that large numbers of them 

 were doubtless right before our eyes and passed by unno- 

 ticed or as having no connection with the subject in hand. 

 This year we have been more fortunate. Through the 

 assistance of William Nutter, of Gibbon, Nebraska, a large 

 apple grower who has suffered great loss through the 

 ravages of this insect, and who determined to go to the 



bottom of the subject, we have been able to get large 

 numbers of moths and eggs in profusion. Few ento- 

 mologists, apparently, have detected the egg of this in- 

 sect, and the old statement that it was laid in the calyx 

 has been handed down from generation to generation of 

 horticultural literature until Professor Washburn, of Oregon, 

 described and figured it as found on the surface of the apple. 



Instead of being laid in the calyx, we find that the eggs 

 are laid almost exclusively on the upper surface of the 

 leaves. Only rarely is one found on the apple or on the 

 under side of the leaves, in the orchard, though in confine- 

 ment they may be laid anywhere. At least, this has been 

 true up to this time. It may be, however, that the later 

 eggs, when the apples are large, may be oftener found on the 

 apple itself. They are usually found on leaves of a cluster 

 associated with an apple. The egg is about the size of a 

 pin-head and looks not unlike a small drop of milk. Ap- 

 parently many sterile ones are laid, or the ovule perishes 

 for some cause. These are whiter and more shining than 

 the fertile ones. Just before hatching, a black spot develops 

 in the centre, which is the head of the young larva. When 

 first hatched he is a tiny fellow about an eighth of an inch 

 long, but as spry as a cricket. His head is then the most 

 prominent part of him. He immediately begins to hunt 

 for a hiding-place, and the most convenient one is often 

 that formed by the closed calyx cup into which he enters 

 to begin his work. About eighty per cent, of the larva; 

 hatched in the orchard during the early part of the season 

 have entered by that means. If two apples hang together 

 or if a leaf hangs over one and close against it that appears 

 to suit them just about as well. 



So much for the general habits of the insect, but how to 

 catch it is quite another matter. The orchard on the 

 experimental farm was in full bloom and many petals 

 beginning to fall this year on May 6th, except the 

 Janet, which blooms later than other varieties. Two or 

 three days later the bloom had fallen. About May 10th, 

 then, would have been the time to do the first spraying as 

 ordinarily recommended. The calyx cups were watched 

 in order to determine how long this spraying might be 

 delayed, and still be done before they closed. The first 

 spraying was done May 1 8th, but had been delayed a little 

 too long, for many of the calyx cups were then nearly 

 closed. Apparently the best time would have been about 

 a week after the blossoms fell, or ten days after the time 

 when the trees were in full bloom. This would have been 

 about May 15th this year, our season having been later 

 than usual. By following the sprayer I found that ordi- 

 narily we do not get the calyx thoroughly drenched. For 

 this reason the spray was made coarser than heretofore, 

 and this seemed to work better, particularly when applied 

 with considerable force. It appeared to be easier to get 

 the poison into the cavity when the lobes were wide open 

 than when they had begun to close, making a vase-formed 

 receptacle. The leaves increase in size very rapidly after 

 the blossoms fall, so that on this account the sooner the 

 spraying is done the more thorough is it likely to be. 

 Were there no danger that the poison would be washed out 

 by rains, the best time to apply it would be immediately 

 after the blossoms fall. On some varieties the cup never 

 closes, but on most kinds it was practically closed by 

 May 20th. 



But where is the codling moth ? At this time, which it 

 will be observed is about the time ordinarily recommended 

 for spraying, there are no worms, and no eggs even. The 

 first eggs were found in the orchard this year on June 3d, 

 though some may have been laid a few days before that. 

 The first larva was found June 12th, large numbers of 

 them appearing from the 12th to the 15th, nearly a month, 

 be it observed, after it was necessary to spray in order to 

 get poison into the calyx cup. Very plainly, then, the suc- 

 cess of spraying at that date depends upon getting poison 

 into the calyx cup and having that close over it and holding 

 it there until the larva comes. Therefore, the later the 

 poison is applied while the calyx is still open the better. 



