COMMONPLACE NOTES. 



599 



the juices out of the bark, rendering it quite dry and brittle, so much so 

 that it cracks and at last peels off, and then the death of the tree is at 

 hand. The insect itself may be readily perceived with a small magnifying 

 glass if you first strip oft' the white woolly substance under which it 

 clusters. It is of a dingy semi-transparent appearance and almost 

 globular. The white woolly stuff' is said to be of the nature of wax, and 

 is thrown oft' from the insect simply as a shelter from the cold in winter 

 and from the heat in summer. We have recently had specimens sent for 

 identification from Sussex, Surrey, Kent, and Essex, in which counties at 

 least we should strongly advise landowners not to plant any Beech, for the 

 pest attacks trees of all ages, young as well as old, and we fear there is no 

 battling with it, as it is so incredibly abundant. If anyone thinks he 

 has not got it in his own immediate neighbourhood, let him carefully 

 examine all the trees about, and then, if he find none, he may indeed 

 rejoice. The insect is described by Mr. Newstead in the Society's 

 Journal, vol. xxiii. p. 249, and the only remedy he can suggest is to 

 scrub the trees hard with soft soap and water and a hard scrubbing- 

 brush — a method possible, perhaps, for one or two trees or so on a lawn, 

 but quite impracticable in park or wood land. 



Peach-leaf-curl Fungus. 



A Fellow, referring to the note on p. 163, vol. xxv., asks, " How 

 much lime should be put to how much water?" The Countess of 

 Selkirk has been kind enough to send us her gardener's (Mr. W. 

 McGuftay) reply : — Take 2 lb. of unslaked lime and put it in 2 gallons of 

 soft water (rainwater is best), cover it up and let it stand for twelve 

 hours. Strain the liquid oft' through a fine cloth. Take a gallon of 

 this liquid and add to it a lump of soft soap about the size of a walnut 

 which has been well dissolved in half a gallon of warm water. Mix 

 them together and spray the trees thoroughly with a fine spray. Mr. 

 McGuft'ay has found this very effective. The spraying should, of course, 

 be done early in the day, so as to be dry before night, and should on no 

 account be used when the flowers are in bloom. See also p. 569. 



