626 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



partly welded to the stock, and on examination a number of small 

 bright-red maggots are found underneath the bud or under the bark 

 of the stock, where the incision was made. The pest has been 

 provisionally identified as Clinodiplosis oculiperda Ruebs., a fly 

 belonging to the Cecidomyidae or Gall Midge family. As a preventive 

 of attack it is suggested that the usual rafha tie should be replaced 

 by woollen thread which has previously been dipped in turpentine 

 mixed with a little linseed oil and naphthalene, the threads to be 

 thoroughly dried before using. — A. S. 



Ipomoea grandiflora. By S. Mottet [Rev. Hort. Apr. i, 1914, 

 pp. 150-152 ; I ill.). — A description of this species, of robust growth 

 under glass and long-continued florescence, bearing very large pure 

 white flowers, opening suddenly, 10 to 12 centimetres diameter, towards 

 evening. Culture easy. — C. T. D. 



Larch Killed by a Longieorn Beetle. By B. B. Osmaston {Quart. 

 Jour, of Forestry, No. 4, vol. viii. pp. 277-279 ; October 1914). — 

 A species of longieorn beetle {Tetropmm gabrieli var. crawshayi), which 

 does not appear to have attracted the notice of foresters up to the 

 present, has recently forced itself upon attention by the damage it 

 was doing in larch woods in more than one locality in England. The 

 beetle lays its eggs in crevices in the bark of sickly larch trees, from 

 about 6 inches diameter upwards. The larvae, on hatching out, devour 

 the soft bast and cambium layers, penetrating 2 inches or so into the 

 wood prior to pupation. The tree is quickly killed, and some damage 

 done to the outer layers of the wood, but chiefly to the sapwood. 

 The beetle is dull black and about J inch in length; the antennae 

 about two-thirds as long. 



Methods to combat the insect. — Existing plantations should, 

 as far as possible, be kept free from sickly trees. Where a 

 tree shows signs of being attacked by this beetle, recognized in 

 summer by wilting foliage, and confirmed by finding larvae at work 

 under the bark, the tree should be at once felled and converted or 

 barked, the slabs or bark, as the case may be, being burnt. 



In future plantations of larch it will be well to aim at producing 

 healthier conditions of growth, if possible. This object may perhaps 

 best be attained : 



(1) By restricting the planting of larch to suitable localities where 

 this species is known to thrive. 



(2) By avoiding pure plantations of larch, which introduce un- 

 natural conditions. 



(3) By avoiding overcrowding in the pole stage. — A. D. W. 



Lawn Sprayer, an Ingenious. By Max Garnier (Rev. Hort. 

 May I, 1914, p. 213 ; i woodcut). — To obviate the stopping up of the 

 small holes of metal roses, the spray is induced by close adjustment of 

 a metal cone to the orifice of an ordinary jet, as shown by the woodcut, 

 a simple and apparently very practical remedy. — C. T. D. 



