570 



FRUIT GARDEN. 



yellow ; the under wings have a purple shade ; 

 the wings measure 8 lines from tip to tip, and 

 the length of the body is 3 lines. There is a 

 palish-yellow transverse band near the base of 

 the upper wings, which tapers towards the mar- 

 gin, forming a somewhat lengthened triangle. 

 There are two spots of the same colour, one on 

 the costa, and the other opposite and near the 

 lower angle. 



The currant sphynx-moth (JEgeria tipuli- 

 formis, Sphinx tipuliformis, Trochilum tipuli- 

 formis), fig. 238, is very destructive to these 



Fig. 238. 



THE CURRANT SPHYNX-MOTH. 



trees, particularly to the black currant, which 

 soon indicates the presence of the insect by the 

 withering of the foliage and branches. Towards 

 the end of May, and in June, the female lays her 

 eggs, choosing the crevices of the twigs, and as 

 soon as the larva is produced, it penetrates to 

 the centre to feed upon the pith, eating its way 

 downwards until it has attained its full size. It 

 then changes to its pupa state, and becomes fur- 

 nished with serrated short spines, which enable 

 it to ascend to an opening in the side of the 

 shoot previously prepared by the larva. From 

 this opening the moth escapes. The caterpillar 

 is fleshy, of a dirty-white colour, with a scarcely 

 traceable dorsal line ; it has sixteen feet, two 

 anal, six pectoral, and eight abdominal; the head 

 and four horny spots are bright brown. The 

 moth is brilliant black, inclining to purplish, 

 which contrasts well with the yellow lines en- 

 circling the body, one of which forms a collar 

 to the neck ; and two longitudinal "strips run 

 across the thorax, while there are three similar 

 strips upon the abdomen of the female, and four 

 on the male. The wings are transparent, with 

 dark nervures, and surrounded with a purple 

 margin, sprinkled with golden scales ; the supe- 



rior wings toward their apex are of a golden 

 colour, uniting with a dark, lunate spot on the 

 disc, enclosing a transparent ovate spot, across 

 which four dark nervures are visible. The only 

 remedy appears to be the removal of the af- 

 fected shoots, and burning them to prevent the 

 further spread of so annoying an enemy. 



The Aphis ribes also sometimes attacks the cur- 

 rant ; fumigation or syringing with tobacco liquor, 

 or dusting the shoots with Scotch snuff after well 

 wetting them with the syringe, or after a copious 

 shower of rain, is the only effectual remedy, ex- 

 cepting cutting off the parts affected, which can 

 readily be done, and without injury to the trees, 

 as the aphis attacks the points of the shoots only. 



A species of coccus very much resembling 

 Coccus vites, which attacks the vine, is said, on 

 the authority of Mr Kirby, to attack the cur- 

 rant also. This insect we have never observed. 

 That eminent entomologist is not likely to have 

 been mistaken. He describes its eggs as of a 

 beautiful pink colour, concealed in a mass of 

 cotton-like web. Removing the loose bark, and 

 rubbing the branches with a hard brush, will 

 displace both eggs and full-grown coccuses, 

 unless they take refuge amongst the spurs, in 

 which case they will not easily be dislodged. 

 Earwigs sometimes also attack them, but these 

 are easily captured if perseverance be exercised 

 by the means indicated at page 514. 



The European names of the red, white, and 

 black currants are all the same — viz., Grosseiller 

 commun, French — J ohannisbeere, German — 

 Aalbezie, Dutch — Ribes rosso, Italian — Ribes 

 rojo, Spanish — Groselheira vermelha, Portu- 

 guese — Smorodina Krasnaja, Russian. 



§ 2. — THE RASPBERRY. 



The Raspberry, in its indigenous state, is the 

 Rubus idceus of botanists, and is found often in 

 great abundance in shady woods and moist situa- 

 tions in various parts of Bx-itain, and over most of 

 the north of Europe. The Dutch, who reclaimed 

 the currant, most likely transferred the wild 

 raspberry also to their gardens. All the fine 

 varieties of which our gardens now boast appear 

 to have originated from the long-cultivated 

 Rubus idceus, or Mount Ida bramble ; and this is 

 asserted to have been first introduced into the 

 gardens of the south of Europe from Mount 

 Ida: the name raspberry (Raspo, Italian) is 

 supposed to be derived from the rasping rough- 

 ness of its wood ; and the Scotch designation 

 (raspis) is evidently from the same root. From 

 the circumstance of the red and yellow An- 

 twerp varieties being the first recorded as culti- 

 vated in Britain, we are inclined to believe that 

 these two excellent sorts were imported from 

 the Netherlands. Although these two sorts 

 still maintain a good position with fruit-growers, 

 some of the newer sorts originated from seed 

 fully equal them in flavour, and excel them in 

 size. From a quotation already made from 

 Tusser's " Five Hundred Points of Good Hus- 

 bandry," it is evident that the plant was culti- 

 vated in his time. Langley in " Pomona," 1729, 

 says, "We' have only three, raspberries in Eng- 

 land, the red, the white, and the purple. The 



