2 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
July 5,1894. 
with tepid water, in which carbolic soap had been dissolved at 
the rate of 1 oz. to the gallon. This made short work of all that 
came in contact with the liquid, but the remedy had to be 
repeated a few days after, for a fresh colony had appeared. The 
second syringing left both leaves and young shoots quite clean ; 
and although the enemy seemed to have a slight inclination to 
continue the battle by showing themselves on a shoot here and 
there, they have given no further trouble, as I have been able 
to direct a good force of water upon them through the hose. 
Where this can be done Rose growing is made a simple and 
pleasureable matter during the summer months so long as the 
weather is bright, but syringing with insecticides must be sub¬ 
stituted for it during cold wet periods. One pound of quassia 
chips to which 3 gallons of boiling water have been added, after 
standing for twenty-four hours, if sprayed upon trees or crops of 
any kind which are infested with green fly will kill all that the 
solution touches. I always consider, however, that in the matter 
of insecticides the one which has the combined merit of being 
economical, quickly prepared, and easily applied is by far the best. 
When a tedious or lengthy process of preparation is required 
remedial measures are often delayed till the enemy has gained a firm 
footing. The advertised remedies are convenient, cheap, and good. 
Black aphides on Cherry trees have not only been extremely 
prolific, but also unusually tenacious of life. The same remark 
applies in the case of Peach trees where growing in rather hot 
positions. The best remedy I have found is to prepare tobacco 
water by pouring 1 gallon of boiling water on 2 ozs. of strong 
shag tobacco. Allow this to cool before using, then dip the points 
of the worst affected shoots in it. Next look carefully over the 
trees and dust with tobacco powder any insects which remain in 
parts not easily dipped. There are “ distributors ” suitable for 
performing the work. Both green and black flies are playing 
great havoc upon Currant bushes where nothing has been done to 
check their progress up to the present time. Perhaps the only 
practical measure of eradication now is to remove the points of 
the shoots and burn them, as the fruit is in too advanced a stage 
to render it desirable to syringe with an insecticide. 
Gooseberry trees in some neighbourhoods are being denuded of 
their foliage by sawfly caterpillars. In those instances in which 
the fruit is required to hang till ripe a dressing of hellebore 
powder ought to be given at once ; but where it is convenient to 
gather it now it should certainly be done, so that determined war 
may be waged against the insect pests. A good method of doing 
this is to dissolve 1 oz. of size in 1 gallon of hot water ; add 1 oz. 
of freshly ground hellebore powder, mix thoroughly, and apply to 
the bushes on a dry day with a syringe. All bushes on which 
caterpillars are now troublesome should in winter be dusted with 
quicklime and soot in equal parts, the soil at the same time 
receiving a good coating, which ought to be forked in. When the 
leaves begin to unfold in the spring the bushes should again be 
dressed with equal parts soot and slaked lime, performing the work 
while the leaves are damp. Remedial measures of this kind, by 
rendering the trees obnoxious to sawflies, insures immunity from 
severe future attacks. 
Red spider has not yet put in an appearance to any great extent, 
but should the present spell of hot weather continue trouble may 
be looked for in that respect. In the case of wall trees, however, 
much may be done to keep it in check by timely attent on to 
watering, mulching, and syringing ; indeed, it is to my mind a 
moot point whether sluggish root action, or an insufficiency of 
moisture at the roots, is not invariably the first cause of bad attacks 
of red spider. 
Both black and green aphides have given much trouble upon 
Chrysanthemums, and it has been only by unremitting attention 
that they have been prevented seriously injuring the plants. 
Repeated syringings with a solution of carbolic soap, used at the 
strength previously given, killed the aphides wherever it reached 
them, but as it is a most difficult matter to force it into the centre 
of the shoots, I had them all dusted with tobacco powder, and have 
seen but few insects on them since. With the occasional employ¬ 
ment of this remedy I hope to keep the plants clean and healthy 
for the remainder of the season. 
Gardeners as a body have during recent years commenced to 
more fully realise how important a part of their duty is concen¬ 
trated in the task of checking, and if possible exterminating, 
insects which are injurious to various crops, for they know full 
well that cultural successes cannot be achieved when insect pests 
are allowed to continuously abound.—H. Dunkin. 
THE NUTRITION OF ROOTS—MANURING. 
Your genial correspondent, Mr. Raillem, pays me an undeserved 
compliment on page 512. I am not a “ well known authority ” 
with a “ valuable seal.” An unknown mediocrity would, I am 
conscious, be a more appropriate designation, and I am sure I do 
not possess a “seal” worth twopence. Undoubtedly the “value 
of rising moisture to plant life should be evident to every culti¬ 
vator.” It may be taken for granted that the value of such 
moisture is generally recognised by all who can be regarded as 
even fairly successful gardeners, amateur or professional. “ Mulch 
to prevent the escape of moisture from the soil in dry weather,” 
or “ run the hoe through the soil in summer to break the lines 
of evaporation,” are time-honoured teachings of the best advisers 
in practical gardening. 
If all Mr. Raillem really wanted to know was, “ Whether it is 
doubted by a majority of practical and scientific men that the 
rising moisture does bring up plant food,” it may be presumed 
he has got to know it. As no one appears to have suggested the 
contrary, we may take the case as settled nemine contradicmte. If 
Mr. Raillem has not got to know something more than that through 
the interesting correspondence he has had the credit of eliciting, 
others have, and so a little has been added to the common store of 
knowledge. 
But is there not a practical question underlying the scientific 
arguments which have been advanced on Mr. Raillem’s questions ? 
Evidently “ A. D.” thinks there is, and he also appears to be of 
opinion that science without practice is dead. May we not also 
suppose that Mr. Raillem had a practical object in view in “ want¬ 
ing to know” if plant food is not brought up by rising moisture in 
the soil? It would be no compliment to him to opine that he 
wanted to know something for nothing. True, he says “ all ” he 
wanted was what he has stated, but as used in a colloquial sense the 
little “all” is commonly credited with elastic possibilities; and 
besides, when “all” the information precisely asked for is forth¬ 
coming a very natural question arises—What was it all wanted for? 
I happen to know of more than one individual who wants to know 
if Mr. Raillem thinks that all the plant food conveyed in manure 
buried deep down in the soil is brought up to the roots of plants 
in “ rising moisture ? ” True, he may retort that he never said or 
suggested it was, and even may complain of being the victim of 
misinterpretation ; but that cannot be helped. It is not altogether 
what a person says in these rapidly reading days that has to be 
taken cognisance of, but what his words are supposed to imply in 
the minds of a jumping generation—that is of men who will jump 
at conclusions, and without any compunction fasten them on some¬ 
one else. 
Mr. Raillem will, I think, not deny his having suggested that 
“the roots of plants will not benefit by any liquid till it has 
reached below them and commenced to rise ” (page 388, May 17th). 
It is this “ rising liquid ” which according to all logical sequence 
brings up, in his view, the only manorial elements that can 
benefit plants as implied in the above sentence. Is it so ? Mois¬ 
ture will, no doubt, rise through 4 feet of sand and feed the roots 
of Hyacinths in Holland, as Mr. Raillem has said on page 389 ; 
and if this holds in solution the essential constituents of manure, 
and if plants cannot benefit by “ any ” liquid except that which 
rises, ought not the manure to be buried deep down below the 
roots of plants, crops, and trees, instead of being incorporated 
in the soil, as well as placed above the roots as in mulching ? I 
am one of the multitude of cultivators who hold in profound 
respect the teachings of scientific men, and only wish, as indeed 
they must desire, to make the best use of what is advanced by 
them for our edification. 
Mr. Raillem could scarcely have anticipated that his communi¬ 
cation could have drawn forth such a learned disquisition as that of 
a scientific authority at Kew, who has said (page 444), it (the 
communication on page 388) “contains points of deep interest, and 
to fully understand them involves a knowledge of the physical 
