January 28, 1886. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
71 
of which there were no fruit trees, and, for the sake of uniformity he cut 
down Pope’s Apple tree, notwithstanding the offer of 20s. a year more 
rent to spare it. The tree, being condemned, was cut down in 1846, at 
which period it was between fifty and sixty years old. The name of 
Cobham was given to it by Kirke, the nurseryman at Bromptoa by whom 
trees were distributed.] 
AN ORCHID SOCIETY. 
There seems a desire on the part of a good many people that there 
should be steps taken to procure the formation of an Orchid Society, 
and for many reasons it seems desirable that such a society should be 
formed. It would of c mrse be necessary that the society be supported 
and acknowledged by all, or at least the great majority, of the leading 
Orchid cultivators, importers, and all the leading nurserymen and recog¬ 
nised lights in the Orchid world. This will be the only way in which 
the society can be as useful as anyone desirous of starting it can wish. 
Nomenclature should be submitted to the society, and by that means 
there might be some reduction in the endless multiplication of “ variety ” 
names, which at present are given so freely by one and all of the importers 
or cultivators of Orchids in our land. All varieties should be submitted 
to the society before being honoured with distinctive names, which in 
some cases at the present time are bestowed without enough to warrant 
them being given. 
Then I should imagine that such a society as is proposed would 
endeavour to hold Orchid exhibitions in various parts of the country, and 
in order to do so a fund would need to be raised to enable prizes to be 
offered. Of course such awards to Orchids as are at present bestowel by 
the Floral Committee of the Royal Horticultural ^Society in the shape of 
medals and certificates would be awardoi by the proposed Orchid 
Society. The goodwill and co-operation of the Royal Horticultural 
Society would of course be looked for, and doubtless will be accorded by 
the majority of its members. 
It would be very necessary that, as far as possible, a National Orchid 
Society be formed, wherein Orchid cultivators of all degrees and from all 
quarters would find a welcome, and where no signs of trade or other 
jealousy would be allowed to crop up. Orchid cultivation is becoming 
very general, and in view of the ever-increasing importations, and the 
lowering in price of many fine Orchids, also the increased amount of 
knowledge being circulated regarding them—a knowledge that tends to 
make people aware that many Orchids are very easily and cheaply culti¬ 
vated—it seems that a still more general culture of them will mark the 
future, therefore an Orchid Society is one of the horticultural events that 
seems probable at no distant date. 
I have no doubt all who are really anxious to see real and permanent 
good result from the formation of such a society will come forward at the 
proper time with support of all necessary kinds, whether advice, 
pecuniary aid, or exhibits when the society has reached the length of 
holding meetings.—A Cultivator. 
THE INSECT ENEMIES OF OUR GARDEN CROPS. 
THE APPLE. 
Our forefathers, excellent men in their time and way, cannot 
be credited with the merit of being accurate observers of Nature; 
no, supposing we were to go back but a century or two. Hence 
comparisons between the climate of our island now and in the 
past can never be made without some measure of doubt, yet we 
are tolerably safe in assuming that, if variable, it is on the whole 
more equable than once it was ; the summers are not so hot, the 
winters are not so cold. I have been asked how the insect 
pests of our gardens have been affected by the change. I am 
inclined to think it has cut both ways, as we say. Evidence 
proves that mild and moist winters are unfavourable to insect 
life generally in gardens or out of them ; the reasons need not 
be detailed. Thus far we are the gainers. On the other hand, 
warm long summers lead to a rapid multiplication of some 
species which at present ai’e of comparatively little trouble to us. 
Now, with reference to the Apple, the yearly crop of which, even 
in these small islands, amounts to a considerable sum of money. 
I believe we should be right in saying that, apart from the 
admirable methods of dealing with insect enemies, of which 
formerly people knew nothing, it is a tree less infested than it 
used to be, especially by caterpillars. True, some species new to 
us have appeared on our Apples from time to time, but they have 
been kept under, and we have learnt a good deal through them. 
At all events, we have advanced beyond the careless modes of 
fruit growing once prevalent, when small heed was taken to 
obtain the full yield from an orchard, and some yearly loss, 
more or less, was taken for granted, but the margin of profit 
forbids such easy going now. 
The large and usually conspicuous feeders on the Apple 
tree in one stage or other of its growth may take rank before 
the lesser fry as belonging to a nobler group of insects, yet in 
fact many of the small species are most to be dreaded because of 
their numbers and activity. I have had shown to me, with looks 
of apprehension that provoked the smile, the almost adult cater¬ 
pillar of the eyed hawk moth (Smerinthus ocellatus), a creature 
which, being about 2 inches long, might be supposed to consume 
a large number of leaves; but it is not a ravenous eater compared 
with some big caterpillars, nor is it at all usual to discover this 
species abundantly in one spot. The eggs are distributed one by 
one generally on trees and shrubs. The preference of this 
species is given to Willow and Poplar, but it does occur on 
Apples, especially in low-lying orchards, feeding in July or 
August. The caterpillar, of a greenish white, seven-striped, and 
having a blue horn, is best removed early in the morning, when, 
probably to aid the digestive process, it reposes with head erect. 
Or it may be that this peculiar attitude is taken up to deceive 
the birds. In books detailing the Apple insects of the continent, 
mention is made of the Hawthorn butterfly, or black-veined 
white, as a species frequently observed nfesting the Apple, and 
since the caterpillars live in 
colonies they might strip young 
trees if left alone. With us at 
present this bmterfly breeds only 
upon the Hawthorn, and, thanks 
to collectors perhaps, it is scarcer 
in Britain than formerly. Then, 
again, there is the insect oddly 
called the gipsy (Bombyx dispar) 
very rare here, well known on 
the continent. By the Germans 
the shaggy large-headed cater¬ 
pillar is styled Grosskopf. Dur¬ 
ing autumn the fema'es lay 
Fig.IS.—Bombyxneustria. (Seepige72 ) patches of eggs upon the Apple 
bark, from which companies of 
the larva; appear in spring and infest the buds while they are 
expanding. 
That destroyer of so many trees throughout Britain, the 
powerful-jawed long-lived caterpillar of the goat moth, may 
occur within the wood of Apple, but it has not been observed by 
me A kindred, though smaller insect, the leopard (Zeuzera 
sesculi) is a foe to our fruit trees, but seemingly likes the Pear 
better than the Apple. The late Edward Newman noticed that 
trees in which this caterpillar is boring will for a time bear 
better than usual with a sort of spasmodic energy, and may live 
many years, unless the tree is brought to the ground by the 
wind owing to the presence of the hollows in trunk or branches 
which open here and there to the outer air. 1 have repeatedly 
seen orifices in the bark of infested trees, besides those larger 
ones that the leopard leaves when it emerges as a moth It is 
scarcely probable that the caterpillars migrate from tree to tree, 
and these holes of varied size may be designed to admit air. To 
us they are of advantage, since by judicious insertion of a 
flexible piece of wire the insects may be either dra wn out or 
crushed, also by help of a syringe tobacco water, or a soapy 
solution, can be thrown up holes that lead to galleries beyond 
reach. Some advise a hunt for the eggs during the season the 
moth is out—that is, in July and August, but really this is of 
little use, for by her ovipositor the female thrusts them under 
strips of loose bark where they are hidden from view. At first 
they feed on the wood and the inner bark, but are soon strong 
enough to begin their mines, which are enlarged as the cater¬ 
pillars grow, and it is believed that this life continues nearly two 
years. It is a species which would do much more mischief 
did not the showy spotted moth fall a frequent prey to birds 
and bats Those moist places that appear upon trees that 
have been injured by this insect sometimess warm with mites; 
they, of course, are not the cause of any mischief, but a con¬ 
sequence of the harm previously done. 
Popular aathors who have written upon the gold-tailed and 
brown-tailed moths have given us some trouble by confusing 
the two species, and the Latin names also have been inter¬ 
changed. No doubt the insects are much like each other in 
all stages, but it can be definitely asserted that it is the 
brown-tail (Liparis chrysorrhoea) which has been supposed to 
be hostile to fruit trees, the brother species seems to keep 
steadily to the Hawthorn. There is one important point of 
distinction —both bybernate, and the juvenile gold-tail when 
autumn gets chilly retires to a silken cell he spins, in which 
he leads a hermit’s life until the spring. On the other hand, 
the caterpillars of the brown-tail, having kept together from 
infancy, form a common abode with several apartments, and 
there they abide through the cold weather, or the damp, as it 
may be. I have observed that a rainy winter kills many 
colonies. Herein lies an advantage to whoever may aim at the 
destruction of the species where it is injurious. Nothing is easier 
than to clear off these nests and burn them after the leaves 
have fallen. In France and Germany, however, there are two 
