NOTES AND ABSTRACTS, 



151 



Hyacinths, The Grape. By W. T. {Garden, No. 1801, p. 283; 

 fig. ; May 26, 1906). — Many names have been applied to the various 

 members of this charming family of early spring-flowering bulbs, but the 

 greater number possess so great a resemblance that it is somewhat difficult 

 to distinguish them from one another. Some of the more distinct kinds, 

 however, are exceedingly useful for planting in groups on the borders 

 of shrubberies and in open places in the wild garden. Seen in a mass 

 on grassy banks nothing can exceed the beautiful effect produced by the 

 numbers of racemes of bright violet-blue flowers of M. contemn. The 

 large, handsome flower-heads stand up well above the green grassy 

 foliage, and they last in perfection for a considerable period. Among the 

 easiest of bulbs to grow, they increase very freely, and large masses may 

 soon be obtained by lifting the bulbs every two or three years and 

 dividing the clumps. They make excellent pot plants, and for the cold 

 house they come in very useful during the month of April. Almost any 

 soil suits the Grape Hyacinths, although the most suitable is a deeply 

 worked and well-drained sandy loam. — E. T. C. 



Insects, New or Unusual, in Michigan. By R. H. Pettit 

 (U.S.A. E.rp. Stn. Michigan, Bull. 214; 28 figs.; December 1906).— 

 Records, with notes of the occurrence of the strawberry louse (Apliis 

 Forbesi), cut-worms in beet, little grain moth (Tinea graneUa),fiouv moth 

 (Ephestia kuehniclla), greenhouse leaf-tier (Phlyctaenia rubigalis). wheat 

 midge (Diplosis tritici), raspberry by turns (By turns uni color), straw- 

 berry root-worm (Scelodonta ncbulosus), bean weevil (Bruchus quadri- 

 maculatus), powder-post beetles (Lyctus sp.), strawberry crown girdler 

 (Otiorhynchus oratus), strawberry weevil (Anthonomus signatus), cabbage 

 curculio (Ccutorhynchus rapae), and the wheat joint-worm (Isosovia 

 tritici).— F. J, C. 



Insects of Orchard and other Fruits. By C. F. Adams (U.S.A. 

 Exp. Stn. Arkansas, Bull. 92 ; 21 figs. ; 1907).— Several common insect 

 pests are dealt with briefly in this bulletin.— F. J. C. 



Ipomoea purpurea, Fertilisation of. By A. Vigier (Bev. 

 Hort. June 1, 1906, pp. 254-5). — An interesting note on the function of 

 the corolla of flowers generally, and description of the manner in which 

 in this case it is the inrolling of the edges of the fading flower which, 

 coupled with its subsequent fall, brings the pollen into contact with the 

 stigma mechanically and independently of insect aid. — C. T. D. 



Iris bucharica. By W. Irving (Garden, No. 1798, p. 243; fig.; 

 May 5, 1906).— One of the new plants of the year 1902, this handsome 

 species was awarded a first-class certificate at a meeting of the Royal 

 Horticultural Society on April 8 of that year. Since then it has become 

 an inmate of many gardens, and has fully justified the distinction con- 

 ferred on it, proving to be a plant of robust habit and very free flowering. 

 A member of the J uno section of the genus Iris, it is closely allied to the 

 well-known and beautiful yellow-flowered I. orchioides, from which it differs 

 in having almost sessile flowers of a lighter colour. It was introduced 



