472 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
a mixture of soot and lime is applied round the roots of the 
hushes. Should any earth be removed, it must be either buried 
deeply, or the chrysalids must in some way be destroyed, or the 
flies will appear after all, and manage to reach the Gooseberries 
to deposit their eggs. Some have highly commended the applica¬ 
tion of fresh tan, but the results of this seem to be rather uncertain, 
the article, probably, being of varying composition. 
As to applications to the bushes, there have already been pub¬ 
lished in this Journal many commendations of white hellebore 
powder, a considerable demand for which has arisen owing to its 
proved efficacy, but on account of its poisonous qualities it ought 
not to be used when the Gooseberries are nearly ready for gather¬ 
ing. The only safe time is when the foliage is still young ; 
early morning is very suitable for its application, the bushes being 
moist with dew or rain. Freshly slaked lime has been tried in a 
similar fashion, and flowers of sulphur dusted over the bushes 
by means of a pepper-box kills the caterpillars without any risk. 
From an extensive list of other remedies, I may add a syringing 
in the spring with Fir-tree oil, tobacco-water, or paraffin mixed in 
the proportion of 2 ozs. to a gallon of soapsuds, well stirred while 
it is being applied, and subsequently well washed off. Plain 
water as hot as the hand can bear may be safely used after the 
leaves have attained some strength; it will remove most of the 
caterpillars. 
Another insect prejudicial to the Cun-ant, but which does not 
touch the Gooseberry, is the small moth called the Currant 
Clearwing (Sesia tipuliformis), which I have always found, in its 
caterpillar state, more plentifully on the Black Currant than on 
the other varieties. Living concealed in the pith, the operations 
of the species are carried on unnoticed, till the death of the 
branches excites suspicion of some enemy. Where the caterpillars 
have been allowed to proceed from branch to branch they will, 
after some years it may be, kill the bushes, or at least greatly 
diminish the crop of fruit. Should the flylike moths chance to 
be observed basking upon the leaves in the midsummer sunshine 
no apprehension is felt that they are the cause of the unhealthy 
condition of the Currant bushes. By a little hand-net scores may 
be captured at the right season, and the production of hundreds 
of the caterpillars stopped. I have failed to discover the females 
in the act of egg-laying; the eggs, which are placed singly upon 
the bark, are also difficult to find. These moths (fig. 104) much 
resemble one of the species of Ichneumon flies that is upon the 
wing in June and July, but they have hard bodies, the moths 
being soft and downy. The wings are four, transparent, with 
yellow tips, and a black bar near the middle. At the tail is a 
tuft, which, when flying, the insect extends like a fan. 
I believe the caterpillars continue two years in that condition, 
although there is a flight of the moths every summer—that is to 
Fig. 104.—The Currant Clearwing (Sesia tipuliformis). 
say, those that will appear this year come from eggs deposited in 
1881. While young they are to be found chiefly in the twigs ; as 
they grow they travel along the branches, or even pierce the 
main stem. They appear to be able to move up and down the 
mines or tracks they make in the pith, the twigs or branches not 
dying off until they have ceased to be the abode of the caterpillars. 
During very severe weather in winter they are in a somewhat 
torpid condition; the chrysalis is placed near an angle of a branch 
about April. Into the empty mines Acari or mites occasionally 
penetrate, entering at the opening left by the emerging moth. 
The Gooseberry and Currant do not escape a visitation from 
the Aphis tribes. A conspicuous species of fly seldom leaves the 
Black Currant undisturbed. It raises upon the leaves reddish- 
brown blisters, and the insects shelter in crowds within the 
curling shoots. This species, called Rhopalosephum Ribes, appears 
from April to July; it is of a shining green, mottled with a 
darker shade. It is also found on other varieties of Currant 
and on the Gooseberry. Another kind that is common on various 
plants, also of a bright green, is named from a favourite plant 
Siphonora Lactucre. This shows itself upon the Gooseberry and 
Black Currant. Myzone Ribes is a larger species, which by its 
continued punctures disfigures the leaves of the Red Currant. 
They must be operated upon by washing or syringing.— 
Entomologist. 
THE PROPOSED FRUIT SHOW AT SOUTH 
KENSINGTON. 
I WAS pleased to see the suggestion of Mr. Wright, on page 444, 
as to holding a great autumn fruit show in connection with the 
Fisheries Exhibition. I do not think we have had such a promise 
of Apples for many years, and combined with Pears, Plums, and 
Grapes a fine exhibition might be held during the last week of 
September. I have no doubt that if the Royal Horticultural 
Society were to take up the subject and carry it out on the lines 
suggested that many horticulturists, both amateur and pro¬ 
fessional, also fruiterers, would give it their hearty support.— 
Lewis A. Killick, Langley , Maidstone. 
MESSRS. J. VEITCH & SONS, CHELSEA. 
The magnificent collections of plants in Messrs. J. Veitch and 
Sons’, King’s Road Nurseries, are now in grand condition, the 
multitudinous houses being filled with attractions of all kinds, 
from the aristocratic Orchids and Nepenthes to the plebeian bed¬ 
ding plants, which are numbered by scores of thousands. Between 
these extremes there are all classes of plants flowering and fine- 
foliage innumerable ; the visitor wanders from house to house in a 
maze of wonderment, and leaves the nursery with a confused impres¬ 
sion of having had the whole vegetable kingdom passed before him 
in review. Still more space is required, and fresh houses are being 
erected wherever there are a few square feet of unoccupied ground, 
though this extension must soon be discontinued, for the whole 
nursery is already nearly covered in glass. In every department 
the utmost skill is evidently brought to bear upon the particular 
plants, and the result is a uniformity of excellence that must be 
as satisfactory to those engaged in superintending the work as to 
the proprietors, the visitors, and the purchasers. A glance at the 
leading features of the nursery at the present time will afford 
some idea of the extent and merit of the collections. 
OECHIDS. 
These deserve prominent notice, both on account of their great 
beauty and the surprising numbers grown. Houses, the majority 
of which are large enough to contain the whole of an ordinary 
private collection, are devoted to special genera, such as Cattleyas, 
Dendrobiums, Lycastes, Odontoglossums, Phalacnopses, and 
Yandas. Thousands of imported Orchids, too, are seen in all 
situations, while two houses are just being completed expressly 
for establishing the newly received importations. 
Cypripediums are now very handsome, many choice species 
and varieties being in flower. Particularly fine is C. albo-pur- 
pureum, of which an engraving is given in fig. 105, page 473. 
It is one of the most handsome of the numerous distinct hybrids 
raised at Chelsea by Mr. Seden, and is said to be the result 
of crossing C. Schlimi with pollen from C. Dominianum, which 
is, strangely enough, also a hybrid obtained from a cross between 
C. Pearcei and C. caudatum, so that it may be said that three 
very distinct species have contributed to the production of C. 
albo-purpureum. It is suggestive of C. Sedeni, which also has 
C. Schlimi for one of its parents, and C. longifolium for the 
other. It has, however, larger flowers, the lip, petals, and sepals 
of a bright rosy-pink colour combined with white. The petals 
are 5 or 6 inches long and twisted. The great value of the plant 
consists in its floriferousness and vigorous habit, characters 
which are, however, shared by several other Veitchian hybrids, 
and wherever it has been tried it is spoken of most highly. 
Certificates have been awarded for it both at Kensington and 
Manchester, but even without these honours its merits are so 
great that it is certain to become a general favourite. 
One fine specimen has been recently sold for 50 guineas, but 
the largest in the country, now in the Chelsea nursery, a magni¬ 
ficent example, is priced at 150 guineas. Another fine hybrid of 
which Mr. Seden speaks very highly is C. Schroederi, and though 
not now in flower it may be remarked that it is a cross between 
C. caudatum and C. Sedeni, and a fine plant has been sold to 
Baron Schroder for eighty guineas. 
The large-flowered C. Lawrencianum, one of the finest of its 
section, the distinct and attractive C. superbiens, the dark 
C. Harrisianum, C. selligerum majus, and C. Roezlii are all 
flowering freely ; but two other forms deserve a note, one a 
