June 13, 1SS3. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
471 
T7\0R a considerable time when thunderstorms were prevalent in 
JJ various districts, and in some doing great damage, the 
metropolis and district surrounding were enjoying brilliant summer 
weather. A change occured on Thursday last, and on^the evening 
■of that day the air appeared charged with electricity, and for up¬ 
wards of an hour the lightning was continuous and the thunder 
heavy. Rain fell in torrents for a short time with a few “lumps of 
ice,” and though damage was done in some places it did not approach 
in severity that which previously occurred in the provinces. The 
following day (Friday) was very close and sultry, the thermometer 
in the shade at the Royal Observatory registering 81°, and in the 
sun 143°. On Saturday a fall of 21° occurred, the highest in the 
shade temperature being 60°. Since then rain has fallen daily, 
on Monday without interruption, the maximum temperature being 
•52°; and the ground, which was previously dry, is now sufficiently 
moist for planting and the requirements of plants an 1 crops. 
Much grass had been cut and some hay removed before the rain 
•came, and the work is now in abeyance. 
A Stafford correspondent sends us an account of the effects of 
the storms in that town and neighbourhood. Gardens appear to 
have been wrecked, glass broken to an extraordinary extent, fruit 
trees and bushes defoliated, and vegetables cut into strips. It is 
■computed that between 20,000 and 30,000 feet of glass were broken 
in a radius of five miles. Hailstones are described as large as Wal¬ 
nuts and remained on the ground some hours after the storm. The 
account of the storm at Rodbaston Hall, near Penkridge, runs 
thus:— 
“ Coming as it did from the south, the Peaches on the south wall 
are left leafless. Figs on the same aspect are denuded of all leaves, 
or what are remaining are in rags. Among the Potatoes at the foot 
of the walls, which were almost ready for use, the stalks are cut up 
in pieces, every leaf in shreds. Broad Beans, that were in full 
flower, are cut off from the bottom. Not a sound leaf remains on 
the Cabbages. Strawberries have had one-half of the bloom cut 
off. The vineries, being in the direct line of the storm, have 
suffered most, upwards of 500 panes being smashed in this range 
alone. The fernery, Peach house, greenhouse, Orchid house, 
Pine, Melon, and Cucumber pits all suffered more or less. In all 
about 2000 panes of glass will have to be renewed in the green¬ 
houses, and in the south front of the hall nearly 100 panes are 
broken. The Chrysanthemums are left leafless, the tops being all 
cut off. The bedding plants are now naked stems. One could 
.hardly credit the desolation created without seeing its effects.” 
'Turning to the very important question of prospective fruit 
crops, we regret to learn that the majority of the reports that reach us 
are not favourable, and some are gloomy, indeed almost saddening. 
We publish three communications from close obseivers in fruit¬ 
growing districts. The first is from Mr. S. T. Wright of Glewston 
•Court, an extensive cultivator of hardy fruit, and evidently most 
ipersevering in combating its enemies. He writes :— 
“ My impressions as to the failure of the fruit crops of 1889, 
•inserted in the Journal of May 16th, seem in process of being 
•realised. So far as I can gather the crops of Apples and Pears in 
Herefordshire will be an absolute failure. This involves growers 
an a serious loss. None of the various remedies are more than 
scotches, and no insecticide is of much value for destroying cater¬ 
pillars, which does not at the same time seriously injure the trees. 
Last October we greased the stems of some 4000 trees, in January 
cut off and burned the ends of pruned branches, thus destroying 
No. 468.— Vol. XVIII., Third Series 
millions of eggs. In March and April we dusted the trees twice 
with lime, at a time when the pests were scarcely visible to the 
naked eye. Every tree was handpicked in 1887, 1888, and 1889. 
Starlings, and other birds in a lesser degree, have lived upon the 
caterpillars, and, spite of all, a. very large proportion of the trees 
are as bare of leaves as in winter. Strange to say, some of the 
trees, Maltster, Cellini, and Gloria Mundi, are comparatively 
untouched, while others of the same varieties in the same row are 
leafless. 
“So much for the past and present. Now as to the future. 
We have in the plantation two of Boulton & Paul’s portable fowl 
houses. When the caterpillars were at a sufficiently advanced stage 
to be shaken off one of the men commenced shaking the trees ; he 
was accompanied by the fowls, which, so far as I can judge, have 
not allowed a single caterpillar to escape. One set of fowls would 
eat for an hour. The man then went to the second lot with the 
same results, arid then returned to the first, repeating the process 
all day, and clearing 300 to 400 trees a day. I hope we shall thu3 
have a minimum of moths in October, but as the Elms are full of 
caterpillars it would be foolish to be too sure. I incline to the 
belief that the trees should be washed with lime and petroleum as 
soon as the leaves are off, so as to reduce as much as possible the 
available spots for the moths to lay the eggs in. Keeping the 
ground clean is also a necessity. The codim and ermine moths and 
the Apple weevil have ably seconded the labours of the winter 
moth, and now a quantity of the fruit in the garden which had 
escaped their attacks is splitting. Quassia, quicklime, and a solu¬ 
tion of salt strong enough to kill weeds are of no use ; olive oil is 
instant death ; petroleum had to be applied twice to kill. As the 
disaster is so great and so widely spread it is to be hoped that 
entomologists, chemists, and practical gardeners will combine to 
discover some perfect cure, otherwise it is difficult to imagine what 
can save fruit growers from ruin.” 
We join in the hope that all who can aid in the extermination of 
the scourge in question will do so ; and if a “ perfect cure ” is 
discovered we think the discoverer would be entitled to recognition 
by the Royal Horticultural Society at least equally with exhibitors 
of fruit. The use of fowls in fruit gardens appears to be estab¬ 
lished in the above letter, and it was a happy idea to obtain their 
services under the circumstances. Mr. Leonard Coates, an exten¬ 
sive Californian fruit grower, now on a visit to this country, informs 
us that it is the custom to wash the fruit trees in America 
systematically twice a year whether they are infested with insects 
or not. This is done as soon as the fruit falls in the autumn, and 
again when the blossoms are on the eve of expansion. The 
favourite deterrent appears to be a solution of “ Paris Green.” 
What this is, as used in America, we shall be very glad to know, 
and if any of our readers on either side of the Atlantic can supply 
exact information it may be of great service in this country. From 
Kent we receive the following letter from Mr. Walter Kruse :— 
“ I notice in the last number of the Journal that a correspon¬ 
dent writes in reference to this county that those gardens which 
have escaped the hail will be full of fruit, especially Cherries and 
Strawberries. I suppose he is writing in reference to gardens in a 
different part of the county, for in the large fruit district in which 
I reside, although very little damage was done by the hail, there 
are, on the whole, poor crops of fruit. The caterpillars have been 
very destructive, and also the blossom seems to have been weak, 
probably in consequence of the wet summer of last year, and has 
not set well, and where it did the fruit has subsequently largely 
dropped off. Cherries are a very poor crop, especially Bigarreaus. 
Black Currants, light ; the crop was good, but kept running off 
every day. Red Currants, good. Gooseberries, good in places, and 
light crop in others ; on the whole, I think the poor price for green 
Gooseberries has just gone up a little. Apples and Pears, scarcely 
any. Plums, most sorts ; a light crop. Strawberries, good. In 
some parts the damage done by caterpillars is very great. One 
large grower in one of the most favoured situations, I am told, 
expects to gather nothing either from bush fruits or standards, 
and is washing his trees in order to try for a crop another year, as 
where they are eaten bare they do not make blossom buds. One 
orchard near here looks bare, like in winter. I send the above 
notes, as I understand that very erroneous statements have been 
made in the papers about the fruit prospects, I mean as to the 
market supply. I should like to hear how the prospects of market 
growers are in Middlesex or elsewhere.” 
No. 2124 .—Yol. LXXX., Old Series. 
