August 18,1881. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 159 
in the Journal by Mr. Wm. Taylor—will he kindly say what next 
should be done 1 Having no glass save a small cold frame, I 
desire to know if the cuttings should remain in the box where 
they are and the glass be lifted, or should they be planted in a 
border or placed in pots ?—L. T., Putney. 
CHAPTERS ON INSECTS FOR GARDENERS.—No. 27. 
NEW SERIES. 
It is not, perhaps, easy to persuade the individual who, having 
taken a bite out of a juicy Peach, perceives in the portion which 
he holds in his hand the wriggling half of a centipede, and is there¬ 
fore forced to the conclusion that the other half of the said creature 
is in his own mouth, that something may be said in favour of centi¬ 
pedes and millipedes. The gardener certainly has many worse 
enemies if he has also more important friends amongst the insect 
tribes. The fact is that this group is simply divisible into two 
sections, each having special habits, the insects of the one being 
generally harmful in our gardens, those of the other are mostly 
harmless or actually beneficial. An estimate of the two, in so far as 
we can make it, would lead us to think well of the myriapods as a 
whole, but as yet the habits of some of the species are very little 
known. All our native species are small compared to the bulky 
and formidable centipedes or millipedes of hotter countries, a bite 
from which has proved as troublesome as one from a snake or a 
scorpion. 
The myriapods are readily distinguishable from the majority of 
insects by the absence of any evident separation of the body into 
thorax and abdomen, and by their possession of a large and vari¬ 
able number of legs, though “ hundred legs ” is an exaggeration, 
and “ thousand legs ” also—appellations sometimes given to the two 
groups referred to, because one has usually a pair of legs to each 
segment of the body, and the other two pairs. Of course the 
segments are numerous, giving much flexibility to the body. The 
mouth resembles that of biting insects, having mandibles, and an 
upper and lower lip. There are no distinct transformations, but 
juvenile myriapods have fewer feet and segments. 
The Julidas or “ Thousand-legs ” have mandibles and jaws suited 
to the ordinary operations of biting ; and so far as we have ascer¬ 
tained these species feed chiefly upon vegetable substances. The 
short and plump G-lomeris marginata, commonly called the Pill 
Millipede, is exceedingly like a woodlouse, and it rolls up in the 
style of that crustacean, though it may be readily distinguished 
by its appearance when crawling. When a woodlouse is moving 
along the feet are seen to project beyond the sides of the body ; 
in the millipede they are hidden from view. Probably this insect 
lives by preference on decaying roots or bulbs, but is not re¬ 
stricted to them, and it has been suspected of doing damage in 
Orchid houses. It is not, however, so frequently noticed as are 
the snake-like species of the genus Julus, not literally thousand¬ 
legged, if possessing in several instances one or two hundred, 
possibly more. These have often been discovered in the act of 
eating small insects and molluscs ; thus far they are of use, but 
much more frequently there has been found unpleasant proof of 
the injury they do to growing plants, especially to the delicate 
fibrils of herbaceous species. They will also bore deeply into 
bulbs, necessarily destroying the plants, liliaceous species being 
much infested by them in some seasons. Traps, such as scooped- 
out Potatoes and Apples, placed in suitable spots have been tried 
with some success under glass structures; in the open ground soot 
and lime water not so successfully, their vitality defying these 
and similar applications, while more powerful ones kill probably 
the plants and insects together. 
Julus pulchellus was, it may be, so named because it is a pretty 
object under the microscope, being delicately formed, having the 
pale surface of the body marked with crimson spots. To the 
horticulturist it has no attractions, since it appears to be the 
most troublesome of the genus, though almost the smallest species 
in it. Not only does this millipede attack various garden or 
greenhouse flowers, it has been discovered by Curtis and others in 
the act of perforating the roots of Cabbages and Beans. The next 
species is considerably larger—J. terrestris, about an inch in length, 
and with similar habits ; it occurs amongst decaying vegetable 
substances very ofteD, but does not limit itself to these. As a root- 
eater it is apt to escape notice, for it will go down to some depth. 
J. londinensis is not so common ; this is supposed to have a pre¬ 
ference for the roots of Wheat. There are other species of the 
genus varying in size that are seldom met with in gardens. Sir 
John Lubbock has described, with a friendly appreciation of its 
services, a small millipede he calls Pauropus Huxleyi, which occurs 
amongst dead leaves and similar accumulations of vegetable 
matter, which this creature busies itself to disintegrate, and it 
seems to be in a condition of activity all through the year. He 
states that it is “ a bustling, neat, and cleanly little insect, with a 
look of cheerful intelligence, which forms a great contrast to the 
dull stupidity of the Julidac and the melancholy ferocity of the 
Scolopendridee.” 
The Scolopendridee or centipedes have fewer legs, and man¬ 
dibles peculiarly formed, having a point at the end of a hollow 
tube which communicates with a poison gland placed in the head. 
The presence of this apparatus is sufficient proof that these are 
intended to subsist upon living creatures ; it is therefore to be con¬ 
cluded that, when centipedes are unearthed, even amongst plants 
which have been suffering from the visitation of some insect 
species, they are not the real offenders but have been preying upon 
them. A small Scolopendra having occurred in several instances 
amongst diseased Potatoes a few years ago, led Messrs. Curtis and 
Hope to assume that the species had to do with the mischief—an 
idea which the better knowledge we now have of the habits of 
centipedes leads us to set aside. But I am hardly prepared to 
admit that the centipedes which insinuate themselves so dexter¬ 
ously into our wall fruit have only done so with the laudable 
object of killing other and smaller insects that have previously 
made entry. The attitude of a centipede curled round the stone 
of an Apricot, Peach, or Plum certainly implies an appreciation of 
the sw T eet fluid by which it is surrounded ; and though many cen¬ 
tipedes may be found in partially damaged fruit that has the 
marks of other insects, centipedes also appear in sound fruit— 
sound until they had worked their way in, which they usually do 
Fig. 28.—Julus terrestris. Fig. 29.—Section of body. 
close to the stalk. The majority of our native species have no 
eyes, therefore the sense of touch must be very acute, or some 
sense that we are unacquainted with. Female centipedes have 
been observed in the act of watching over their brood of eggs ; 
these are placed in a small cell underground. Geophilus longi- 
cornis, the largest British species, is the one that most frequently 
visits fruit, I fancy ; it is very slender, and pale yellow in colour or 
whitish. The name of the “ electric centipede ” has been bestowed 
upon G. subterraneus, from its property of emitting a phosphoric 
light in spring and autumn. This was at first supposed to have 
been caused by the insects having been in contact with some de¬ 
caying substance that was phosphorescent, but it is evidently 
inherent, like the light of the glow-worm. Moreover, in crawl¬ 
ing, this centipede when thus endowed leaves a shiny track in its 
path for a foot distance or more. This species undoubtedly de¬ 
stroys slugs, small worms, and insects above or below ground, as 
do its brethren in the genus, probably killing more than they 
devour. Lithobius forficatus is a stouter centipede, about an inch 
long, common in gardens and also predatory.—J. R. S. C. 
ROSE MADAME PLANTIER. 
The Hybrid China Roses are principally employed for covering 
walls and training to poles for pillar Roses, and for this purpose 
are best known amongst cultivators. Seldom are these Roses 
seen grown in pots, and their value for this purpose is not known 
to the majority. Where Roses in pots have to be forced Madame 
Plantier should have a place and be largely grown. Its flowers 
are small but pure white, and are produced in clusters at the end 
of the young shoots. The flowers of this variety are admirably 
adapted for bouquet-making or for buttonholes, also for vases in 
rooms. It can be readily forced, and nearly every slender shoot 
produces a fine truss of flowers. I have not tried it on its own 
roots yet, but no doubt it would do well. It, however, flourishes 
on the Manetti and seedling Briar. When on the Manetti the 
stock must be buried beneath the soil in the pots, as if exposed 
the stocks will not last long. When trained to a pole or against a 
wall little pruning is necessary, only removing the weak growths 
and slightly shortening the strong ones ; but when grown in 
pots a different system of pruning must be followed. The shoots 
