September 24, 1891. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
261 
would be well if we could come to an agreement as to the name of 
this fine flower. Kniphofia seems to have, perhaps, the weight of 
authority in its favour ; while Tritoma is decidedly more easily 
pronounced, by no means a slight advantage where we desire the 
scientific name to become familiar to the general public. Kniphofia 
was named after J. H. Kniphof, a Professor at Erfurt in the 
eighteenth century, and Tritoma was derived from treis , three, and 
temno, to cut, in allusion to the three sharp edges of the ends of 
the leaves. The popular names are surely numerous enough to 
satisfy the most ardent advocate of the use of these vague terms. 
Red Hot Poker, Flame Flower, Torch Lily have all been applied 
to the Tritoma, while, as if to add insult to injury, it has also been 
called the “ Devil’s Poker.” My preference is for the name Torch 
Lily, the plant being one of the Lilyworts, and the form of the 
flower being more that of a “ torch ” than of a “ poker ” or a 
“flame.” 
What a fine effect would be made in the garden by a large 
clump of the white Hyacinthus candicans with a background of 
Tritomas. It is singular how slowly this Hyacinth makes its 
way. It attracts admiration from all by its stately yet graceful 
habit, and the purity of colour of its pendent bells. It might 
well be termed the “ Autumn Snowdrop,” were it not that it is 
not a Snowdrop, and that some day or other Galanthus octobrens : s 
will be in clumps in our gardens, and we shall then have a true 
autumn Snowdrop. H. candicaDS or Galtonia candicans (which 
shall it be ?) is so easily grown, so hardy, and so beautiful that 
it should have an honoured place in every garden in the land. It 
is readily raised from seed, which is freely produced. Equally 
fine in their way are the varieties of Anemone japonica, which 
are almost indispensable at this season of the year. They do not 
do so well on my light soil as 1 should like, and I purpose removing 
my plants to a specially prepared position, where with stronger 
soil and more moisture they may be finer and nearer their natural 
character. 
What a shy flowering troublesome plant Zauschneria californica 
seems to be. I had expected that this hot dry summer would have 
caused it to flower with me ; it will not do so, however, although 
Mr. James Davidson of Summerville, Dumfries, has it at present 
in flower. I have had it in the same position for some years now, 
but must give it a change and try once more. This is one of the 
plants which has not achieved the high position predicted on its 
introduction. It was to be a grand autumn bedder, and so forth. 
Even when it does flower' it is by no means brilliant enough for 
bedding purposes. There is no fear of losing it when once planted, 
as it spreads so quickly that it soon encroaches on other plants. 
It should flower with me, and must if at all possible. The Zausch¬ 
neria or Californian Fuchsia is a native of California, whence it 
was introduced from seeds sent by Hartweg in 1847. These seeds 
were collected near Santa Cruz. The generic name was given by 
Presl, in honour of M. Zauschner, a German. There is a superior 
form named Z. c. splendens. 
The rock garden presents but little in flower at present. That 
ever-blooming plant, Hutchinsia alpina, is still in flower, producing 
its little heads of white flower here and there over a good sized 
plant. Another plant which is in flower for a long time at a 
stretch is Arenaria csespitosa, the Turfy Sandwort. Although by no 
means so dwarf as A. balearica, it is yet dwarf enough and com¬ 
pact enough to please the most fastidious. It is of free growth, 
and will soon form a large mass of carpet-like light green foliage 
not more than half an inch in height, which early in the season is 
densely studded with tiny white flowers larger than those of the 
Balearic species, but almost as close to the plant as those of Silene 
acaulis exscapa. It commenced to flower in June, and even yet 
produces a considerable number of flowers. A. cgespitosa is a 
native of Switzerland, and was introduced in 1826. It is a far 
superior plant to such species as A. graminifolia, and as regards 
freedom and length of flowering is superior to A. balearica, 
although, so far as I have seen, it has not the power of creeping 
over stones, which renders the latter so useful and so interesting. 
Close to the Arenaria is a good sized plant of Margyricarpus 
setosus, the Pearl-berry, one of the family of the Sanguisorbacem, 
l’eceiving its rather unwieldy name from margaron, a pearl, and 
Tearpos a seed vessel, referring to the beautiful pearl-like berries 
produced on the plant. These are now in perfection, and for these 
and the deep green prickly looking foliage this trailing evergreen 
shrub-like plant is grown. The flowers are produced in the axils 
of the leaves, and are almost unobservable, while the berries are 
about the size of a small pea, and are of a beautiful waxy white 
colour. This Margyricarpus is said to like peat, but is doing 
exceedingly well in very sandy loam near the base of the rockery, 
where it is fully exposed to the sun in summer. It was introduced 
from Peru in 1829, and was for years grown as a stove plant—a 
mode of treatment quite in accordance with its probable require¬ 
ments, but which was quite unnecessary, as has also been experienced 
with several other plants from that part of the South American 
continent. The Margyricarpus has proved perfectly hardy in many 
pa ts of this country, and is possessed of so much distinctness of 
character that it should find a place in almost every rock garden. 
It grows only an inch or two in height, but will extend its branches 
a foot or more. As usua 1 , space fails me, and with the garden gay 
with Sunflowers, Oenotheras, perennial Asters, Phloxes, a few 
Sedums, and dwarf Campanulas, and with Tiger Lilies with their 
spotted fiery blooms, we need not say that September cannot draw 
from her storehouse of flowers subjects worthy of our highest 
praise.—S. Arnott. 
INSECTS OF THE FLOWER GARDEN. 
( Continued from page 114 ) 
It is about this time of the year that I have had brought to me 
from gardens an insect akin to the sawflies last noticed—one which 
awakens surprise or curiosity, sometimes alarm. Occasionally it 
has been taken buzzing sonorously in a conservatory, or else it may 
have been caught reposing upon a wall during the day. This is the 
horn-tailed sawfly, of which there are two species. The larger of 
these, from its appearance, is generally supposed to be a kind of 
hornet ; but insects of this genus are neither able to sting nor to 
bite. The explanation of their presence in gardens is, that they are 
now and then lodged while chrysalids within the wood used for 
sheds or summer houses, and subsequently emerge ; also they may 
come from some shrubbery near where Firs are growing. As flies 
they possibly sip honey from flowers, since they have tongues. 
We are justified in killing them, their wood-boring propensities 
during the larval state ranking them amongst destructive insects. 
But the late Mr. Watsrton maintained that these flies only 
deposited eggs upon timber that had begun to decay. These are 
laid by an ovipositor, which is formidable looking, and which has 
suggested that the female is a stinging insect. It ha3 not the saw¬ 
like blade of the Tenthredos, but is armed with a fringe of teeth at 
the tip, and has ridges along the sides. This ovipositor has the 
strength and elasticity of steel, its movements being regulated by 
powerful muscles. Like most feeders upon wood, the larvae of 
these wood borers grow slowly. They have a scaly head, with 
powerful jaws and tiny feet. We see Sirex juvencus the most 
frequently, blue and black chiefly, but with red legs and abdomen. 
The larger species is S. gigas, having a black head and thorax, the 
abdomen being yellow and black, the wings yellowish. Some think 
these flies are not true natives of Britain. 
We come now to a remarkable group of flies which are known 
better by their performances than by their own personality, and 
which are popularly called gall flies. Destructive insects we could 
not call them ; rarely do they imperil the life of a plant, and 
seldom do they render it unhealthy, but their proceedings make 
many plants less beautiful than they would otherwise be, as the 
larvae or grubs disfigure and contort flowers, leaves and shoots ; 
sometimes, also, they occur in numbers upon the roots of shrubs or 
trees. The flower garden is not exempt from the visits of gall 
flies any more than the orchards, woods or fields, and though they 
appear to be mere idlers amongst the blossoms, they combine 
business with pleasure. So numerous are the flies of the garden 
that even the entomologist cannot but overlook the gall flies some¬ 
times amongst the multitude ; still, if the gardener could always 
pick them out there would be little advantage in killing them. All 
the galls we notice, however, are not attributable to these four¬ 
winged flies of the hymenopterous order. Many galls are the 
work of the small two-winged flies known as the “gall gnats.” 
Other galls are the abodes of some species of the aphis tribe, and 
galls there are, a few, attributable to caterpillars or to beetle grubs. 
Galls are very familiar objects. Conspicuous are the round galls of 
the Oak, the Currant-like galls that are strangely fastened together 
in strings, and most persons have seen the mossy gall that occurs 
upon the wild Rose and the Sweetbriar, a curious object, formerly 
credited with notable medicinal virtues. 
In the flower garden the little rounded galls now and then to 
be seen on Rose leaves, and which may be found on several 
herbaceous plants, offer an illustration of the work of these insects. 
Common also are some galls that take the form of small ridges or 
protuberances noticeable on Composite plants or upon species of 
the Cruciferous tribe. A peculiarity of these gall insects is that 
they often take some natural feature of a plant and somewhat 
exaggerate it. Thus, for instance, in a hairy species galls are pro¬ 
duced which resemble the hairs, but are larger, or the fly attacks 
shoots that are swelled naturally, and makes them bigger. Our 
present knowledge of these gall flies is not satisfactory, though 
from the gardener’s point of view this doe3 not matter much, for 
they are not enemies against which remedial or preventive measures 
can be taken. Galled leaves or twigs might, if removed, be burnt 
