January 1, 1891. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
13 
More than one kind of aphia frequents the Rose. The principal 
pest is Siphonophora rosse. Subject to variation of colour, as many 
aphides are in the same species, it is either shining green or a 
brownish red ; occasionally we see a party of them bright red, 
antennae and legs long, the eyes red. Each female, when bringing 
forth alive, produces from thirty to fifty young, and on Roses, both 
indoors and without, we may often find some of them lively enough 
in winter. Eggs are, however, laid during the autumn, large for 
the size of the aphis, so the number from each female is four, five, 
■or six. At first yellow, they are afterwards black, and they appear 
"to be usually placed in a fold of one of the leaf buds. Evergreen 
or Perpetual Roses have been noticed to suffer least from aphis as 
a rule, but the worst victims are Sweetbriar and Moss Roses. 
On Geraniums and Pelargoniums we have seldom any difficulty 
to discover specimens of Siphonophora pelargonii. This is a long¬ 
bodied aphis, the antennee and legs also long ; the body, if magni¬ 
fied, is seen to be curiously punctured and wrinkled in colour ; it 
is entirely green, or yellowish-green. When winged the females 
are still green ; but the head is brown, with red eyes and long 
antennte, the abdomen transparent, and the light green wings are 
veined with brown. As in other species the winged form appears 
in May or June, and again in autumn. We find this not only on 
Pelargoniums, but on Calceolarias, sometimes on .Chrysanthemums. 
From its having been first observed in houses some have supposed 
that this w'as an imported species ; if so, it has now become hardy 
in habit, breeding all the year round, and probably small companies 
■of them frequently lodge during winter near the stock or crown of 
■Chrysanthemums just under the soil. 
Siphonophora convolvuli infests plants of the genus from 
which it takes its name, occurring also on Nemophila and some 
other annuals and biennials. This is a large aphis of a dull green, 
but the antennm and legs are black ; its body is transparent and 
•punctured. When winged the insect is a brighter green, the body 
f?potted and striped, legs short, and wings marked with yellow. 
The Honeysuckle is a plant offering special attractions to 
S. xylostea, which breeds upon it in thousands in June unless 
precautions are taken. It is a long-bodied aphis, green, furnished 
with a yellow tail and having the body ringed. At its time of 
flight it is furnished with greenish wings marked with brown, the 
head, thorax, and antennae being black. Some Ferns, especially 
Cystopteres, are visited by a large aphis, green and transparent, 
having a mottled appearance and long antennte. It is commoner 
•some years than others. Pemphigus lactucar’ius is a species linked 
to the American blight, as it produces long threadlike fibres of 
pale yellow. In the unwinged state it lives underground, close to 
the roots of Wallflowers and some other cruciferous plants. The 
3'oung look at first like tiny centipedes, and have no eyes ; as they 
grow these organs develop, and they assume the aphis form.— 
Entomologist. 
CLEANING GRAPES OF MEALY BUG. 
Garden literature abounds in detailed instruction for ridding 
our Vines and vineries of mealy bug, ard yet it is questionable if 
•ever it was more prevalent than it is to-day. The fact is, there are 
few gardens where the vineries have not also to do service as plant 
houses, and many plants requiring protection and heat have often 
to be grown in them ; in this way bug is often introduced into 
vineries at seasons when it is impossible to deal with it. After 
long and desperate contests with mealy bug in vineries my con- 
■clusioDS are, that so long as they are vineries and nothing else it is 
by no means difficult to rid them of the pest. But if they have 
to be plant houses also, and if the plants grown in them have to do 
service in a conservatory, the construction and arrangement of 
which is such as to make it impossible to clear them of the enemy, 
then you must ever be on the alert, and even then can only hope 
for partial success. 
From causes such as these and numerous others over which the 
gardener has no control, he often finds that notwithstanding all his 
"efforts the bug has managed to establish itself in his Grapes and 
rendered them quite unpresentable. It may be welcome news to 
«ome of the Jonrnal readers to know that such Grapes need not be 
thrown away, as they can be thoroughly and quickly cleaned and be 
none the worse in flavour and very little in appearance. The chief 
factor-s in the operation are pure soft rain water, a syringe or 
hydrant, and two careful men. Let one man take a bucket of 
water and a hydrant, which is better than a syringe, because it 
gives a continuous stream ; and the other should have an empty 
bucket to hold the Grapes over so as to catch the mealy bug that 
is washed out. To preserve the bloom on the Grapes they must 
be carefully handled, and this is best accomplished by looping a 
strand of bass round the stalk at the lower part of the bunch ; by 
this means the bunch can be turned at a sufficient angle to expose 
the stalks of the berries to the action of the water. The man with 
the hydrant must direct the stream of water into the stalks of the 
berries with sufficient force to wash out all the mealy bug ; and 
the man with the bunch must keep turning it so as to bring all 
parts into direct contact with the spray. When the bunches are 
clean hang them in a dry airy house a little distance from the 
heated pipes, and occasionally give them a gentle shake, when in 
about twenty-four hours they will be dry. 
Any water will wash off the bug, but if clean soft water be used 
there will be no sediment on the berries or traces of syringing. I 
have often kept Grapes in winter for two months after treating 
them as above without losing a berry, but it is generally best to 
wash them a few days before they are wanted for use. When 
from any cause there is a possibility of mealy bug infesting Grapes 
the bunches should be extra well thinned, for crowded bunches 
offer a good nidus for them. Moreover, they are more difficult to 
clean.—J, H. W. 
HEMUMS 
M. E. A. Careiere. 
This Japanese variety, which T saw once or twice last season, has 
fulfilled the promise it then gave. It is, I believe, of French origin. 
When in its best form the blooms are large, florets wide and incurve 
iu quite a loose manner at the points, not close enough to form a ball. 
The colour is creamy white, heavily blushed, and in favour with ladies. 
I call special attention to this variety, however, now on account of the 
splendid pure white flowers the plants afforded at Christmas time. 
Instead of cutting off the stems close to the soil after the main blooms 
were removed, signs were visible of other flowers appearing, for 2 feet 
down the stem ; therefore the plants were left as they were. We have 
been able to-day (2ith December) to cut numerous pure white blossoms, 
quite reflexed in form, each having a full centre. They were used for 
church decoration, and associated so well with dark coloured evergreens 
that we wished our stock of this variety were three times as large. 
Another of last year’s varict'es Ldon Frache, a silvery white, shadel 
rose toward the centre, has also produced a welcome supply of blooms. 
This late and double-flowering propensity of these new Japanese varie¬ 
ties, I consider a step in the right direction.—E. M. 
Chrysanthemum John Lambert. 
Mr. Molyneux avoids the one question I put to him on page 157. 
If he refuses to call a variety by the name it was certificated under, the 
least he could do would be to call the variety in question Improved 
Golden Queen of England when he acknowdedges it to be an improve¬ 
ment, and at the FTational I see it is reported as 100 percent, in advance 
of the others. This is not a bad proof that it merits something to 
distinguish it from the old variety. “ West Riding,” like myself and 
plenty of other growers, can only find time and room to grow the best 
of each variety. This is acknowledged to be the best by Mr, Molyneux 
himself, as shown in my last letter, and as the “ National” saw fit to 
distinguish it from others by giving it a certificate as J. Lambert, why 
should it not go in that name ? Is not the N. C. S. a sufficient authority ? 
I have not yet advised anyone to show it in the same stand with Golden 
Queen of England or Emily Dale, although it has been so shown this 
year in a first prize stand. Similar remarks apply to John Doughty and 
Bronze Queen. Mr. Molyneux would not recommend anyone to show 
those two in a stand of twenty-four blooms distinct, yet John Doughty 
has been adjudged distinct. I feel sure it will prove a good built flower 
next season as raised from stronger cuttings. I thank Mr. Molyneux 
for his congratulations, and feel sure he will find more John Lamberts 
to judge next November, if it is not such an illustrious name as the one 
he prefers—Golden Queen of England.— John Lambert, Onslow, 
Salojy. 
Chrysanthemums for Decoration. 
Much has been written from time to time on Chrysanthemums for 
exhibition, which has caused many amateurs to discard varieties most 
useful for decoration, and cultivate those which they have seen grown 
to so great a size at the various exhibitions. Cut blooms at an exhibition 
are very misleading to those in search of good varieties for decoration, 
as in many instances the bloom shown was the only one on the pJant 
fit for the show table, the others being deformed and of no use. 
For usefulness and effect there is nothing better than bush plants 
with from one to two dozen fair-sized blooms, every one of which is 
suitable for cut work in vases. When plants are grown on the three 
or four bloom system the individual blooms are too large for house 
decoration, and likewise do not last in flower so long as the bush plants 
with their smaller blooms. Giving large money prizes by Chrysan¬ 
themum societies for cut blooms and groups of plants with large flowers, 
has induced many growers to dispense wich bush plants to make room 
for plants grown for exhibition purposes. That such should have been 
the result every lover of this beautiful flower will deplore, for it is 
