Jane 30, 1887. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
523 
is still increasin?. Our national emblem, the Rose, has made consider¬ 
able progress, various sections have been produced that have their 
respective admirers. Fifty years bach Orchids were scarce and not 
much in favour, but on account of numerous introductions they have 
become very popular, particularly among the wealthy, who have a taste 
for the rare and beautiful, and who have been at great expense in ob¬ 
taining choice collections. There are many other plants which have hail 
their rise anti fall according to the tide of fashion. Much has been 
done for Begonias ; in my remembrance Evansiana was almost the only 
one to be seen in a general collection of plants, but now there is great 
variety and beauty of foliage and colour of flowers which renders them 
highly desirable for grouping among other plants. It must be acknow¬ 
ledged that horticulturists have shown the capability for improvement 
in all kinds of plants that they have taken in hand, both in the open air 
and under glass their achievements are too numerous to mention, but 
their works will show the progress of the times. Rhododendrons and 
Azaleas have received great attention, and have well repaid the workers 
for their trouble. Much also has been done with Fuchsias,and although 
most graceful in habit and distinct in colour they have declined in 
favour among the plant-loving public, and are not so generally grown 
as formerly. There are some admirable colours in Gloxinias which com¬ 
mand especial notice. Heaths have gone very much out of favour with 
a few exceptions. 
In taking a general survey of the trade the demand has increased in 
proportion to the population. It is the ambition of many persons to show 
their respectability in their gardens. Although there were numbers of 
nurseries around London that did a good trade which are now almost 
lost to memory, their places being occupied by streets and houses, there 
are now many more on a larger scale a few miles distant from the 
smoke. A large trade is done in cut flowers, which have become much 
more fashionable than formerly, and has induced the continental 
nurserymen to send large quantities to this country with the effect of 
keeping down the prices of our home supply. 
Of fruits and vegetables plenty of new sorts have been introduced, 
but considering the quality, hardiness, and productiveness generally 
speaking, I cannot see so much improvement as I should desire. 
There is not much gain in quality in fruits, if any. In vegeta¬ 
bles we had good Marrow and other Peas. Our Potatoes were superior 
to the present day. Beans, Cabbages, Cauliflowers, Onions, Carrots, 
Parsnips, Celery, and indeed I may say everything, was as good and 
some things better. Those who imagine the old gardeners were with¬ 
out many of the good things that are now grown may be pleased to know 
that they had plenty for their requirements, and that they knew how to 
grow them without many of the appliances now at the command of 
horticulturists.— An Old Gardened. 
A JUBILEE INSECT—THE EARWIG. 
Almost every year that passes over us is remarkable for the appear¬ 
ance of some insect or other in unusual plenty, perhaps more than one 
species, and it would be quite according to the usual course if 1887 were 
thus made memorable by an insect, leading us afterwards to look back 
and say, “ Oh, that species swarmed in Her Majesty’s Jubilee year!” 
Were I to hazard a conjecture as to what may prove to be the insect of 
this season, I should feel tempted to say, the earwig probably, or a 
leading one at least, for reasons I will give. It should be premised that 
this is an insect which occupies a special position ; it is indeed a garden 
species, but also somewhat of an Arab in its habits. The earwig is 
detested by horticulturists, being specially injurious to many flowers and 
to fruit. It is disliked by the public as an unpleasant intruder into 
houses, and to picnic parties it is an object of alarm, being sure to turn 
up when an open air “ feed” is going on, in company with caterpillars 
and spiders. Everybody is acquainted with the common earwig as a 
mature insect, but even amongst gardeners there are only a few that 
have made its acquaintance during its early stage of life. 
Possibly it may be desirable to repeat once more, what has often 
been stated in scientific manuals, that there is no ground for the 
traditional belief that the earwig makes a point of entering the human 
ear whenever it can, and does serious mischief there. Those seemingly 
formidable force] s at the tail Nature chiefly designed to be used in 
folding up the v\ n ;s. They are not venomous, nor are the jaws the 
insect possesses adapted for biting any substances that are not soft. It 
has been supposed, indeed, that the name ought to be “ earwing,” the 
reference being to the shape of the beautifully veined wings, which 
resembles that of the ear, but as “ ear-piercer ” and other equivalents 
expressive of the popular notion occur in various countries, this will 
hardly do. It is granted that an insect so fond of hiding might creep 
into the ear of anyone lying on the ground, but it could not possibly do 
any harm, and could at once be killed and removed by dropping in a 
little sweet oil. 
Concerning the transformations of the earwig tribe, it will suffice to 
state that in the larval condition these insects, like the nearly allied 
crickets and grasshoppers, much resemble the matured form, but their 
mode of life is even more secluded than when they are best known, as 
they reside under bark or beneath loose soil, feeding upon vegetable 
substances chiefly, yet sometimes being carnivorous. He Geer was the 
first to announce the discovery that the mother earwig carefully attends 
upon her progeny long after the eggs are hatched, and others have 
repeated the observation, though for my part 1 have as yet to verify this ; 
still, we may accept it as a fact. No doubt the young earwigs are fre¬ 
quently lost sight of amongst the host of subterranean insects. They 
may be found of various sizes during the winter and spring months. 
Many of the autumn insects hybernate to reappear in the spring, hiding 
themselves in nooks and corners. I am inclined to think there is only a 
single brood each year, but would not be positive. 
Now, it appears by Miss Ormerod’s annual report, and we have 
evidence confirming this from a number of observers, that the common 
earwig, and also some of the smaller species, were notably abundant in 
1886. Such was the case about North Kent, and in some of the London 
suburbs with which I am acquainted. Professor Westwood long ago 
stated that the earwiu had its times of special profusion ; one of these was 
chronicled as far back as 1755, when the insects seriously damaged the 
Cabbage crops, and it was remarkable last year how many complained 
of a new and startling appearance of hosts of earwigs amongst Brassi- 
eaceous plants. At Biggleswade, early in August, such quantities 
occurred in the fields at a depth of from 1 to 3 inches, that Turnips and 
Mangolds were actually destroyed by them. Later on during that month 
a plague of earwigs was reported from Great Missenden, where they also 
attacked Clover and Wheat. Near Reading Turnips suffered severely and 
Kale. Similar reports came from various places in Wiltshire and Kent. 
In some places the creatures became a domestic grievance. One gentle¬ 
man writes —“ They came in at all windows and doors, they dropped 
upon the tables, they swarmed in the pantry. Frequently they entered 
pastry after it was cooked, and even pushed their way into the bread. 
One night I amused myself by killing them upon the walls outside, and 
hit upwards of 1100 of them with a hammer in about half an hour. I 
took, then, a lantern, and examined a Privet hedge of many yards in 
length, and found quite as many earwigs as flowers.” 
One curious circumstance was that at Sittingbourne, Kent, an ex¬ 
perimental Tobacco plantation was damaged by one of these, the par¬ 
ticular species being Forficula Corcalis ; the insects ate holes in the 
leaves, and also gnawed the fleshy part of the stems. Associated with 
these attacks upon vegetables there was, of course, much harm done to 
flowers and fruit. One farmer suggested whether the en diage system might 
not prove favourable to these insects, the silos affording them convenient 
abodes during the winter months, but this opinion has not met with 
general support. In one instance, where they were abundant in a silo, 
it was proved that they swarmed amongst the grass and Clover on the 
farm before the silo was filled. Looking at the circumstances of last 
winter and spring, it would seem they were, on the whole, favourable 
for the continuance of earwig life, since moisture is much liked by these 
insects, and it is, therefore, probable we may have many earwigs during 
1887, for it is not an insect foe by any means easy to extirpate.— 
Entomologist. 
ROSE-GROWING FOR BEGINNERS. 
(Continued from page 503.) 
WATERING. 
When it is remembered that plants have to take up nearly the 
whole of their food by means of water, it can very well be seen 
how necessary a proper supply is ; but too much of anything is 
worse than too little ; potted plants in the hands of beginners, I 
think, generally get too much. In the open ground Nature so 
adapts herself to circumstances, that with established plants it is 
rarely necessaiy to apply water—an exception to this might be 
where one was preparing for exhibition. I should never recommend 
watering with plain water—except where the plants were very dry— 
where liquid manure could be obtained. When we do water we 
must give a good soaking ; wetting the surface only chills the 
ground, and is worse than useless. 
MULCHING AND HOEING. 
These, in dry neighbourhoods, are a great assistance in keeping 
the ground moist. Decayed leaves have a most wonderful power 
of retaining moisture, while manure is not to be despised. A thin 
layer of either spread over the beds in summer will be of great 
benefit to the Roses. 
Surface-hoeing is the next best thing to mulching. Some 
peop'e cannot understand how this prevents evaporation. In hot 
weather the ground bakes and cracks, which allows the moisture to 
escape, and dries the roots. The keeping of an inch or two of fine 
soil on the surface prevents these cracks, and helps to retain the 
moisture. 
PESTS AND GARDEN VERMIN. 
I have already incidentally alluded to some of these, but perhaps 
I may be excused if I just run quickly through them again. Under 
<dass mildew and green fly are our main enemies. Smoking, as 
already advised, will quickly kill the latter, and good management, 
combined with softsoap, will generally keep away the former. I 
described the use of softsoap in a former article. Red spider is 
apt to be troublesome under glass, and is brought into prominence 
by the neglect of plants by allowing them to get dry, and keeping 
the atmosphere of the house too dry generally. When once it gets 
fairly hold in a house, it is, as far as I know, quite impossible to 
get rid of it. It is first noticed by the older leaves on a plant 
having an unhealthy look, and white lines and patches appearing on 
