March 29, 1894 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
247 
flowers, which are freely prodaced from the forks of the branches of 
from ten to twelve in a cluster, are pure white and very fragrant. 
Having been very successful in the cultivation of this plant I will 
relate my experience, trusting it may be of interest to the readers of the 
Journal. 
Cuttings of half-ripened wood may be inserted any time during the 
spring or summer, but I much prefer the spring. Two or three cuttings 
may be placed in a GO-size pot, afterwards plunging in a good bottom 
heat. When rooted the young plants must be removed from the frame 
and gradually inured to air, afterwards placing them singly in small 
pots. Use a compost of good lumpy loam and fibry peat in equal pro¬ 
portions, one-third partly decayed leaf soil with a little dried cow 
manure, and a fair portion of sharp silver sand. Before the roots 
become much restrict^ for room the plants should have liberal shifts 
as becomes requisite, for on no account must they be allowed to 
become root-bound or they will quickly present a stunted appearance. 
The process of watering must be very judiciously performed till the 
roots have taken full possession of the soil, 
after which water may be applied with greater 
freedom. Where practicable I recommend a 
stock of young plants to be raised every two 
or three years, as by this method much better 
flowers are produced than it is possible to 
obtain from older plants. 
Having so far dealt with the cultivation 
of young plants I will now make a few re¬ 
marks in reference to old ones ; for although, 
as before mentioned, the flowers are not so 
large as on younger plants, they are never¬ 
theless produced in much greater numbers, 
thereby making them indispensable where a 
large supply has to be maintained. Plants 
that are too large for general requirements 
should be kept rather dry for two or three 
days after flowering, after which they may 
be pruned back to the old wood. No fear need 
be entertained in reference to over-pruning, 
as I know of no hardwooded plant that re¬ 
covers itself after severe pruning more readily 
than the Tabernaemontana. The plants should 
be liberally syringed two or three times a 
day till the young growths appear, at which 
stage it will be necessary to repot them. 
Remove some of the old soil from the ball, 
afterwards placing the plants in the same 
sized pot as it was previously in, using a 
compost similar to that above recommend^. 
There are other kinds of Tabernsemontanas, 
one of the best being T. cymosa flore pleno, 
which is represented in the illustration 
(fig. 41). This variety, it appears, was 
originally obtained from a Belgian garden, 
and by some growers is considered superior 
to the double T. coronaria. It is occasionally 
offered in trade catalogues as T. camassa, 
and is said to be more profuse in blooming 
than the first-mentioned and generally grown 
form. 
Tabernsemontanas are subject at all 
stages of their growth to the attacks of 
various insect pests, mealy bug being especially troublesome. A 
sharp watch must, therefore, be kept, and upon their first appearance 
immediate steps should be taken to insure their removal, for if once 
this pest is vllowed to become thoroughly established it will be found 
very difficult to eradicate it. One of the best insecticides that I have 
found for the removal of mealy bug is petroleum. This should be used 
in proportion of a wineglassful to 3 gallons of water, the whole being 
thoroughly mixed by filling the syringe two or three times, and returning 
its contents back into the can, repeating this operation at about every 
six or eight syringefuls. If this is performed, say, once a fortnight, and 
the plants syringed twice a day with clean water, it would do much 
towards preventing the attacks of insects, and at the same time be very 
beneficial to the growth of the plant.—G. Paeeant. 
REPORT OF OBSERVATIONS OF INJURIOUS INSECTS. 
Miss Eleanok A.Oemerod’s seventeenth report has reference to 
insects and common farm pests during the year 1893, with methods of 
prevention and remedy. 
As representing the importance of the work of this accomplished 
lady and indefatigable worker, it may be stated that during last year 
(1893) she “received inquiries regarding about (or upwards of) 145 
distinct species of infestation.” Of these, twenty-eight subjects are 
treated in a very plain, yet scientific and elaborate way, so that there 
is no difficulty in understanding the nature of the attack, nor making 
any mistake in applying the preventives or remedies. 
The report opens with a startling illustration—excellent engravings 
of the male, female, and caterpillar of the lappet moth, Gastropacha 
quercifolia, Linn,, “ all from life.’’ Although the caterpillar is hardly so 
fearful in appearance as the figurative dragon the mythic St. George is 
said to have vanquished, it is dreadful enough to strike terror into the 
hearts of fruit growers ; but, fortunately, it is “ only here and there 
they have attacked our young trees.” This is consolatory, for so large 
an animal as this is figured and the ravages it commits—“every vestige 
of leaf eaten ”—may well make cultivators quake in their shoes. 
Fancy “ caterpillars of ... a length of from 4 or 5 inches ” feasting 
and fattening on our Apple and other fruit trees. One thing is 
certain, there cannot be any excuse for allowing trees to be devoured 
by the monster, as it is easily seen, and the application of 5-inch 
pruning nippers across its middle will make speedy work of it and 
similar pests, which are not pleasant to handle. Miss Ormerod suggests 
collecting and selling the caterpillars to entomologists or naturalists. 
This reminds me that the offering of Is. each for caterpillars of the 
death’s head moth in a newspaper led to the trampling of Potato fields 
by boys, and, later, to digging up the Potatoes. 
Our old friend the collier or Bean aphis was “ unusually prevalent 
during the hot and dry season of 1893,” and no wonder, for farmers 
allow it to foster on Ragged Robin and docks in their field hedge sides, 
41,—TABEEN.®MONTANA CYMOSA FLOEE PLENO. 
and then are amazed whence the black louse on the Beans comes from. 
Miss Ormerod advises cutting off the tops of the infested Bean plants 
in good time; old and excellent advice, good alike in field and garden. 
Gout fly attack on corn and grass crops is rext alluded to, and it 
was “ worse on those plots which were deficiently manured, while on 
those plots which were fully manured, that is, received all the necessary 
constituents for healthy and vigorous plant growth, the injury done 
was insignificant.” This shows that good cultivation aids crops against 
their insect as well as their fungal enemies. Little grain moth receives 
a generous share of attention, also the haystack moth, hessian fly— 
which does not appear to gain much hold in this country, mainly 
through Miss Ormerod’s efforts in diffusing knowledge and means of 
contending with its attacks since 1887. 
“ Rose chafers have caused serious mischief in many localities 
during the past season.” Attention is drawn to the fact that they are 
the parents of the grubs that presently ruin the adjacent lawns and 
meadows by preying on the roots of the grass. The authoress rightly 
observes that “ twenty-one grubs or somewhat more to a foot square of 
ground . . would be somewhere about one grub to every 2^ inches of 
grass roots, and the results are necessarily serious.” Reference is made 
to the value of starlings and of fowls in this connection, also rooks. The 
old-fashioned drenching of the ground with gas liquor as a cure for 
ground insects, and cockchafer grubs in particular,is also mentioned. It 
is an excellent remedy, as I have proved. In one place we used the 
gas liquor from the works, where gas was made for lighting the mansion 
on the park land, diluted with four times its bulk of water, distributing 
it with a liquid manure cart, and it made the grass grow famously, 
while neither starlings nor rooks worked that part of the land as they 
did that where it had not been used. It browned the grass a little, 
killed the moss, and a luxuriant crop of grass followed. 
