76 



CULmAEY OE KITCHEN GAEDEN. 



excellent haricot verts ; when nearly full-sized, 

 they are still tender and fleshy, and may be 

 used in this state, either fresh, being broken in 

 small pieces ; or, in winter, after being out into 

 narrow strips and preserved with salt." These 

 were tried in the gardens of the London Horti- 

 cultural Society, and, notwithstanding the cold 

 state of the ground and unfavourable season, some 

 of the pods attained the length of 10 inches, and 

 nearly 1 inch in breadth. The expectation was 

 that they would attain their full size in a good 

 season. Mr K. Thompson thinks them, however, 

 the same as the haricot sabre d'AUemagne of 

 Noisette's " Manual du Jardinier," and the sabre 

 of the " Bon Jardinier." They attain a consi- 

 derable height, requiring stakes. The pods are 

 large and crooked, and tender while the seeds 

 are imder half their growth ; it is not so abun- 

 dant a bearer, nor does it continue so long in 

 use, as the haricot solitaire. It is, however, on 

 account of the size of its pods, worth cultivation. 



There are a number of French varieties now 

 in the seed-shops, many of which, although 

 very excellent in a better climate, would be 

 unprofitable in such a climate as ours. 



The following selection from the above may 

 be considered sufficient for an ordinary garden : 

 No. 1, 3, 4, S, 9, 11, and 13 for particular 

 purposes. 



Shilhng's new French bean, a very prolific 

 sort ; pods large, and remaining long tender. 

 Wihuot's true forcing, excellent for that pur- 

 pose. Black Belgian, negro, cream-coloured, and 

 early Dutch. The last five are the sorts we 

 usually grow. 



Insects and diseases. — The most destructive 

 of these, always in the forcing-houses, and 

 often during dry warm weather in the open air, 

 are the thrip and red-spider, both pretty nume- 

 rous in species, and, as individuals, as incalcul- 

 able as the sand on the sea-shore, while their 

 minuteness renders them almost invisible to the 

 naked eye. Indeed, they may be set down as 

 among the worst enemies the cultivator has to 

 contend with. Fortunately, however, our hot- 

 houses are infested with only two species of the 

 former, both of which are considered of exotic 

 origin. In the open air many of the species 

 attack plants. The same means employed to 

 destroy one species are fatal to the others also. 

 The genus is thus described by the writer of the 

 excellent articles on entomology in " The Gar- 

 deners' Chronicle," 1841 (p. 228) :— " They vary 

 very considerably in colour, some species being 

 black, others have the wings branded with 

 white, but the general tint of the larvae and 

 pupae is yellow-ochre. Their bodies are much 

 depressed, and much broader than any other 

 part in the female ; the mouth is placed under, 

 and at the hinder part of the face, and forms a 

 short conical rostrum, lying when at rest close 

 to the base of the fore-legs. The eyes are rather 

 large and coarsely granulated, and there are 

 generally three ocelU or simple eyes on the 

 crown of the head ; the horns are eight or nine 

 jointed, but the three last joints often appear 

 to be united, when they look as if only six or 

 seven jointed, especially in the larvae state; 

 they are either wingless, or they have four wings, 



which are narrow, and lie down the centre of 

 the back, the edges being ciUated with long 

 hairs ; the legs are short, the feet being formed 

 of two joints with a vesicle or little bladder at 

 the apex, but not any claws. The larvse re- 

 semble the perfect insect in form, but are often 

 of a totally different colour; their bodies are 

 soft, and they have no ocelli. The pupa is also 

 similar, but the wings are sheathed, and the 

 horns are generally thrown over the head. 

 Some of the species are very active when they 

 have arrived at their perfect state, running 

 fast, skipping and flying well; and they are able 

 to walk about in their previous stages. The 

 two sorts most injurious to the gardener are 

 a little ochreous species, which does not appear 

 to be described, and the Thrips adonidwm, 

 fig. 21. The first I shall name T. ochraceus; 



Fig. 21. 



THB THRIP. 



it is narrow and linear ; of a bright and deep 

 ochreous colour ; the eyes are black ; the horns 

 appear to be only six-jointed, and brownish at 

 the tips ; it has three oceUi on the crown ; the 

 body is hairy ; the tip pointed and bristly ; the 

 wings are shorter than the body in the male, 

 lying parallel on the back when at rest ; nar- 

 row, especially the under ones, and fringed; 

 the hairs longest beneath and at the points ; 

 tips of feet dusky. There is so great variety in 

 the form and structure of this family that it has 

 been divided into several genera, to one of 

 which belongs the other species called by Mr 

 Halliday Beliothrips adonidum. The larvse and 

 pupce are yellowish white, and the perfect insect 

 is of a dull deep black, with the point and 

 sometimes the whole abdomen of a rust colour; 

 the wings are dirty white, the horns and legs 

 yellowish, the extremity of the former black ; 

 it is a little larger than T. ochraceus, and is 

 very troublesome in hothouses, attacking tropi- 

 cal plants by piercing the under side of the 

 leaves; and one often sees at the top of the tail 

 a globule of blackish fiuid, which it soon depo- 

 sits, and by innumerable spots of this glutinous 

 matter the pores of the leaves are stopped 

 up, and large portions of the surface become 

 blotched. I have found specimens m October, 

 but during March the full-grown larva; and 

 pupae, which are as large as the perfect insect, 

 are found in groups feeding on the under side 



