September 6, 1894, 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
217 
an otherwise lumpy arrangement exceedingly graceful. The bulbs 
are unfortunately not quite hardy, and therefore a mulch must be 
provided when they are not lifted. A large stock is easy to 
raise from seeds, the plants flowering for the first time three years 
from the time of sowing. 
A few of the Michaelmas Daisies are valuable, and none more 
so than Aster Amellus bes«arabicus. I cultivate many more of this 
than of any other sort. Some of the new forms of Aster novm- 
belgae and of A. novae angige are also fine, and like the first named 
are indispensable for room decoration. In Cactus Dahlias we have 
now a range of most attractive varieties. Indeed, one can hardly 
go wrong in cultivating all the sorts distributed during the last few 
years, still the original Juarezi as yet holds its ground. In Chrys¬ 
anthemums also we are provided with quite a large number of 
charming sorts, but I have found none to eclipse the very old 
Pi^cocite, which has been a blaze of yellow for some weeks 
past. Then with all its faults Madame Desgranges and its sports 
have yet to be surpassed. 
Other good flowers for autumn comprise Sweet Sultan, White 
Mallow, Godetias, single Sunflowers (Common, Oscar Wylde, and 
Primrose), and Begonias, which I find are best allowed to start 
naturally. Where Pyrethrums were cut down after blooming 
a supply of these will be forthcoming. Annual Asters are good. 
Nicotiana affinis (a valuable autumn flower), Tritomas (which I 
grow extensively), and Rudbeckia Newmani, are indispensable 
for vase-furnishing.—R. P. Brotherston. 
PLANTS AND FLOWERS for CHURCH DECORATION. 
This subject is one of general interest, and there is such a 
wealth of plants and flowers to select from that it is abso¬ 
lutely necessary to devote considerable space to the matter to do it 
justice. I will first touch upon the most suitable plants for 
the purpose. The majority of these will be required for the 
beauty of their foliage alone, as it is always easy to add flowers in 
a cut state to produce the desired effect. 
Palms rank among the best for the purpose. Some of the most 
suitable are Kentia Fosteriana, Areca lutescens, Seaforthia elegans, 
Latania borbonica, and Cocos Weddelliana, the latter requiring 
more heat than that given to an ordinary greenhouse. Dracaenas 
congesta, rubra, and Veitchi, all greenhouse varieties, have sterling 
qualities to recommend them for decoration. Other good green¬ 
leaved plants are Aralia Sieboldi, Grevillea robusta, and Curculigo 
recurvata ; the latter requires the heat of a forcing house. Among 
flowering plants available for use from the beginning of June till the 
end of September but few are better than Campanula pyramidalis 
alba, tuberous Begonias, Fuchsias, Zonal Pelargoniums, and White 
Marguerites. 
From October to Christmas Chrysanthemums, Marguerites, 
and forced White Roman Hyacinths should form the chief 
feature. The early flowering varieties of Chrysanthemums, such 
as Madame Desgranges, Soeur Melaine, and Lady Selborne, will 
be in full beauty throughout October, after which time there is 
no lack in varieties which supply flowers till Christmas. At 
that time Roman Hyacinths, Arum Lilies, and Christmas Roses 
may be had in abundance where a forcing house is at command. 
During the two following months forced plants of Deutzia gracilis. 
Spiraea japonica and S. astilboides, as well as Hyacinths and Tulips 
will be useful. 
From March till May, the greatest number of flowering plants in 
pots will be available. Many beautiful varieties of Indian Azaleas, 
and Azalea mollis may then be easily brought into flower by 
introducing them into heat at various periods. Deutzia gracilis 
and Spiraea japonica will also grow quickly, and Lilium Harrisi, 
Callas, Narcissus Poeticus ornatus. Primulas and Cyclamens, if 
grown gradually in a greenhouse, should be in full beauty at 
Easter. 
Turning to cut flowers I will, at the outset, point out that 
although the majority of flowers required for church decorations 
should be white, yet in consejuence of the growing custom of 
occasionally using coloured blooms also I shall include some of the 
best of these among my list. From May till September plenty of 
flowers may usually be obtained from the open air without drawing 
up n the inmates of glass houses, except for such choice ones as 
Eucharis amazonica and Stephanotis floribunda. Some of the 
best that may be grown in the open and during that period are 
Magnolia conspicua (grown against a south wall), Guelder R ses. 
Rhododendrons, Marguerites, Doronicums, Phloxes, Liliums can- 
didum and chalcedonicum. Pyrethrum Aphr dite, Roses, Asterq 
Gypsophila paniculata. Sunflowers, Paeonies, and Anemone 
japonica. 
From September till Christmas, as in the case of plants in pots, 
Chrysanthemums will supply the bulk of suitable cut flowers, and 
it would be difficult at any season of the year to find flowers more 
thoroughly adapted for the purpose. Good white varieties to grovy 
are—Early, Madame Desgranges, Mrs. Cullingford, Souvenir d’un 
Ami, and Lady Selborne ; midseason, Stanstead White, Madame 
Therese Rey, Elaine, Avalanch-, Beau'y of Exmoutb, and Mrs. 
J. Carter ; for late use Lady L. Lawrence and Mrs. E. Beckett. 
These may be supplemented with Eucharis amazonica and Roman 
Hyacinths from the forcing horse. 
At Christmas Callas which have been kept in pots through¬ 
out the summer should be sending up a few flowers. Christmas 
Roses lifted and placed in the greenhouse six weeks previously 
will also be in full beauty. Scarlet Pelargonium Rasphail 
Improved, grown on shelves near the glass in forcing house, 
Roman Hyacinths, and Poinsettias from the same structure will 
give the best flowers obtainable at that festive season. From 
January till May Callas, Camellias, and Roman Hyacinths will 
give a rather fluctuating supply, but if plants of Deutzia gracilis. 
Spiraea japonica, Indian Azaleas, and Narcissi are taken in 
at regular intervals the supply may be made steady and continuous. 
To keep up this constant supply during the winter and spring 
months a considerable amount will have to be expended on bulbs. 
—H. D. 
ENTOMOLOGICAL NOTES. 
Probably the influences of different seasons—that is to say, as 
regards their heat and cold, their moisture and dryness, exert less 
effect upon the beetle tribes than upon many other species of 
insects. The fact that certain beetles are more abundant some 
years that others has not so much to do with the weather as with 
the number of their bird enemies and insect parasites, or their 
opportunities of obtaining abundant food. One circumstance 
notable in the life of some tribes is that the larval state continues 
two or three years, the consequence being that there is always a 
much larger number of larvae or grabs feeding than in the species 
where the changes are passed through within one year. 
Unpropitious weather and various unfavourable influences 
during any year, naturally take less effect upon a species of slow 
growth in the larval state than upon a brood that runs its course 
quickly. The cockchafer affords a good example of a vigorous and, 
for an insect, a long-lived enemy to our crops. Others of the 
chafer tribe are very active in the destruction of roots and leaves, 
some also do injury to flowers. The meaning of the name is 
debateable, though most think it comes from an Anglo-Saxon 
word, which alludes to the beetle’s habit of chafing, fritting, or 
gnawing vegetable substances, but it may be a reference to the 
sound produced by the wings of some of them. In her annual 
report on the injurious insects of gardens and farms Miss Ormerod 
states that one of these beetles which came prominently into notice 
during 1893 was the small but prolific species Phyllopertha 
horticola, which has several English names, such as the May (or 
June) bug, the Bracken clock, and the Rose chafer; the last of 
these, however, has been more generally applied to the larger 
species Cetonia aurata, which is conspicuous as a haunter of Roses, 
owing to its size, but the little chafer is far the worse enemy of 
this favourite flower. It has yet one name besides, the Welsh 
coch-y-bondhu, known by that to some anglers, and it can claim 
that to them, at least, it is of use as an occasional bait. The com¬ 
plaints regarding it last season were, that it was a devourer of 
Rose petals, and that the larvae or grubs seriously damaged the 
turf on lawns or in parks, sometimes in meadows. Of all Roses, 
this beetle prefers the white Scotch, but it infests many varieties, 
and eats also the blossoms of other garden flowers. 
There is no doubt it occasionally gnaws the leaves of fruit 
trees, and some accuse it of attacking the fruit when just forming, 
but this was not reported last summer, though the species seemed 
so abundant in the south. This Rose chafer is nearly half an inch 
long, head and thorax bright green, the wing-cases brown, within 
these are broad wings, and the insect flies in the daytime, becoming 
quiescent at night. Each female lays about a hundred eggs on the 
ground, the young grubs work down to the roots of grasses, or 
perhaps other plants, and, feeding through summer and autumn, 
are adult by the end of the year. After a pupation of some months 
they emerge as beetles in early summer ; the round of life therefore 
occupies but a year. In appearance the grub is exceedingly like 
that of the cockchafer, of course much smaller ; its head is brownish, 
the body yellow, except the extremity, which is, as in the cock¬ 
chafer, dark, and swelled out; the legs are long, six in number, 
and the jaws are powerful for its size. 
As a result of October digging, observers state that the Rose 
chafer grubs reside generally at the depth of 7 or 8 inches, twenty 
of them were often found in a square foot of the soil. These, and 
the beetles that follow, might do us serious mischief were it not 
