May S3, 1889. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
411 
T HOUGH it is too early for arriving at any definite conclusion 
as to the probable character of the fruit crops throughout the 
country, yet the conditions so far have been favourable to the 
development of the blossom, while in some gardens in the south 
this has set abundantly. In the Royal Horticultural Society’s 
■Gardens at Chiswick, though the Peach crop will be a failure on 
the open wall, the more useful fruits, such as Apples, Pears, and 
Plums, are plentifully set, and if the weather continue genial 
-abundant crops may be expected. They are, however, not safe 
jet, and a week or more of dry cold winds, which have before now 
•occurred in June, have caused the young fruit to fall, leaving the 
trees almost barren. Some of the fruit now set can be very well 
•spared, for if anything approaching the whole should be retained 
a “ glut ” of small produce would be the result; and should 
-this be common over a wide district the usual newspaper cry for 
uprooting. trees would be heard because of the crops not being 
•worth gathering. 
Mr. Rivers informs us that the trees are laden with fruit at 
Sawbridgeworth, and that they are also free from the caterpillars 
of the winter moth, which are proving so injurious, or ruinous, in 
some gardens and districts. Mr. Rivers attributes the absence, of 
•caterpillars from his trees to the great number of sparrows which 
are encouraged early in the season, and reduced later if it is 
thought necessary for the protection of other crops which they 
anight devour when the caterpillar season is over. We have 
observed during the past few years that the “ scourge of cater¬ 
pillars ” has been much greater near London than in the country ; 
but curiously some trees that were almost devoured last year are 
not nearly so voraciously attacked this, while in some other 
places, where they did not do serious damage last season, they are 
now quite a plague. It is difficult to account for such changes, but 
it is reasonable to suppose that a due proportion of birds is requisite 
for preventing a preponderance of insects, and when the balance of 
Nature is destroyed something must suffer ; at Sawbridgeworth it 
-appears to be the caterpillars, in some other districts the trees. 
It was thought last year by some observers that fruit trees 
might be protected from caterpillars by encasing their stems with 
bandages smeared with cart grease and Stockholm tar, because 
numbers of the wingless female moths were caught in their 
•attempts to ascend the trees ; but Mr. S. T. Wright of Glewston 
Gourt has, on page 400, shown conclusively that much more than 
that is requisite for protecting them from the enemy, and his ex¬ 
perience of the nests of eggs found in the ends of the shortened 
branches accounts for the prevalence of the pests in spite of the 
greasy barriers. The failure of these was mentioned by Mr. G. F. 
Wikon at the last meeting of the Scientific Committee of the 
Royal Horticultural Society, but no indication appears in the 
report of the recognition of the other method of increase alluded to 
by the observant gardener above mentioned. We have received 
two letters on fruit prospects and insects. “ Herefordshire Incum¬ 
bent ” writes :— 
“ I am sorry to add my adverse testimony to that of Mr. S. T. 
Wright in an interesting paper in last week’s Journal. It is not 
at all too early, I am afraid, to form an opinion, and that a very 
bad one, of this year’s fruit crop of Apples, Pears, and Plums, to 
which I may add Peaches, and Nectarines, and Apricots, which are 
suffering extensively in our west midlands from curl and other 
No. 465. —Vol. XVIII., Third Series! 
vermin pests gardeners know so well. Strawberries appear to me 
the only thoroughly healthy hardy crop promising well, both in 
relation to blossoming and setting. No observant horticulturist 
surely will be the least surprised at this state of things ; with last 
year’s persistent rainfall and long-continued absence of sun, 
especially in the early autumn, it was impossible that the wood 
and fruit buds could have properly ripened, while the mild 
winter that followed gave the finishing blow to any lingering 
hopes that might remain. The blossom in our Herefordshire 
orchards is by no means extensive or vigorous, except in very 
highly favoured localities, and for reasons given above doe3 not 
stand well. 
“ The description Mr. Wright gives from his own sad experi¬ 
ence, both of this and last year, fully bears out my own. Swarms 
of the little green caterpillar are firmly embedded in every crevice 
(especially terminal) where the female moth could find a lodg¬ 
ment for her eggs, and apparently intend to remain so, all attempts 
of mine to reduce, if not to keep off, their ravages by grease bands 
being practically useless. Still, I know this plan occasionally has 
met with great success, as I have had ocular demonstration to 
that effect. I may mention my experience as to locality affected 
is different to that of Mr. Wright’s, for while my plantation 
(mixed orchard trees, pyramids and bushes) has almost escaped, 
those in my garden (over 100 bushes and pyramids) are so much 
affected as almost to be destroyed by caterpillars. It is difficult to 
find a theory, for how a previously perfect plantation should 
become affected, without any reason, such as fresh planting, &c. ; 
although it is not altogether impossible that, as in the case of other 
insects, the winged male may transport the female from one spot 
to another. 
“ I find petroleum, judiciously mixed with softsoap and applied 
violently with a syringe, the best preventive to keep caterpillars at 
bay ; but depend upon it, horticulturists can only look forward to 
a winter of exceptional severity (such as, happily for vegetation, 
we occasionally get) when joined to climatic alternations to at all 
satisfactorily remove a plague which at present baffles every 
human precaution.” 
That is a very gloomy narrative, and it may be regarded as an 
exact record, as the writer is not one of those desponding persons 
who habitually look at the dark side of things ; and we would ask 
him to think over the subject of the plague from the bird point of 
view, as suggested by the experience of Mr. Rivers, who says his 
trees have been “full of sparrows” of late, devouring the cater¬ 
pillars before human eyes could see them. There is no doubt 
whatever that the last unpropitious season influenced the buds of 
fruit trees, aud the blossom could not have developed as it has if 
the weather had not been so favourable for its expansion. This has 
to a large extent compensated for previous adverse influences, and 
weak blossom became strong under the summer-like weather that 
fostered its growth, and it has set as we have said in some, and 
probably in many cases, abundantly. Mr. Walter Kruse favours 
with the following interesting and useful communication from 
Kent :— 
“Like your correspondent, Mr. Wright, we have had in this 
district an abundance of fruit tree blossom, more so than usual 
but there is also an abundance of insect pests, which threaten to 
make the crops light. The Apples seem particularly infested, some 
sorts having one or more caterpillars in every bunch of bloom, 
the caterpillars being those of the winter moth. The Plums and 
Pears are more or less affected with the caterpillars, and aphides 
are just appearing in large numbers. To-day I have observed on 
the leaves of some of my Pear trees a disease I have not seen 
before on them, a sort of blister, which appears to be caused by 
insects. 
“ Gooseberry caterpillar is abundant in places, but I have not 
seen any on my own bushes at present, their principal enemy having 
been the birds. They let the buds alone in the winter much more 
than usual, but attacked the blossom, I suppose for the sake of the 
honey. They nipped it off just where it joins the berry, which 
afterwards dropped, those with the tip of the berry least mutilated 
remaining on for some time before dropping. This has lessened 
the crop to a very considerable extent; it would hardly be believed 
how much unless seen. 
“ For the last fortnight we have been busy washing our Apple 
trees with a wash composed of the following ingredients :—With 
one gallon of water boil 2 lbs. of softsoap, f lb. ground helle¬ 
bore powder (very poisonous), and a quarter of a wineglass petro¬ 
leum. When required for use add 20 gallons of soft or pond water. 
No; 2121 .—Yol. LXXX, Old Series. 
