February 21.] 
M 
w 
D 
U 
21 
Tn 
22 
F 
23 
S 
24 
Sun 
25 
M 
26 
To 
nr 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
WEEKLY CALENDAR. 
273 
FEBRUARY 21 — 27 , 1850 . 
Sun declinat. 10° 34's. 
2 S. in Lent. St. Matt. 
jSiskin goes. 
Godwit goes. 
Velvet Duck goes. 
Ds. Cambridge 
[b., 1774. 
Weather near London 
in 1849. 
T. 51°—42°. W. Rain. 
T, 52°—35°. W. Rain. 
T. 50°—34°. W. Fine. 
T. 47 °— 37 °. N.W. Rain. 
T. 51°—34°. N.W. Rain. 
T. 47°—22°. N. Fine. 
T. 50°—30°. S. Fine. 
Sun 
Rises. 
5 a. 7 
3 
1 
VI 
56 
54 
52 
Sun 
Sets. 
I Moon 
, R. & S. 
23 a. 5 
25 
27 
29 
31 
32 
34 
Sr. Matthias was one of the seventy disciples ; and when the 
vacancy occasioned by the death of Judas Iscariot occurred he was 
chosen by lot (Acts i. 26 ) to be his successor in the apostleshin. He 
was deputed to preach the Gospel in Cappadocia and Colchis • and 
returning thence to Jerusalem, about a.d. 02, he was seized in Galilee 
and carried before the high priest. Ananias. By the command of this 
hierarch, he was first stoned, and then beheaded with an axe—the in- 
strument of death usually represented in drawings intended to repre¬ 
sent this apostle. F 
Meteorology op the Week.-I n the last twenty-three years 
the average highest and lowest temperatures of the above seven days’ 
at Chiswick, have been 47-2° and 34.3°, respectively. In the 161 days 
2 45 
3 51 
4 50 
5 40 
6 21 
rises 
7 a. 3 
Moon’s j Clock 
Age. bef.Sun. 
Day of 
Year. 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
© 
15 
13 55 
13 47 
13 39 
13 30 
13 20 
13 10 
13 0 
52 
53 
64 
55 
56 
5 / 
58 
Insects.— One of the 
most common pests of the 
grape is the Vine Scale 
(Coccus vitis). It preys 
uponthestemsandbrancii- 
es of the grajie vine, both 
in the open air and under 
glass. It seems to be the 
same species which also 
attacks, occasionally, the 
peach,nectarine,and plum. 
It is, says Mr. Curtis, 
a longish brown insect, 
which in old age assumes 
a blackish brown colour, 
andbecomes hemispherical 
and wrinkled. The fe¬ 
males are shield-like, being 
convex above, and flat, or 
concave, below; they are 
furnished unth six small 
legs, which, when the in¬ 
sect is old, become part of 
the substance of the body. 
On the under side of the 
insect is a sucker, with 
which it pierces the cuti¬ 
cle of the plants, and ex¬ 
tracts their juices. Soon 
after impregnation the female dies, and her body becomes a protection 
for the eggs, which are covered with long white wool, and sometimes 
completely envelope the shoots of the vines, or of plants, growing 
underneath them. Ihe males are furnished with four wings, and are 
apterous. Their powers of propagation are immense ; and, where 
they once become very numerous, they are exceedingly difficult to 
eradicate. This species belongs to the true genus Coccus, character¬ 
ized by the female having a scale inseparable from her body. While 
young, both sexes are alike ; but the male larvae produce two-winged 
insects, with two tail threads. The females have no wino-s • and 
their dead bodies, beneath which the young are sheltered, appear as 
in the annexed woodcut. 
Whilst the leaves are on the vine, if any species of scale appears 
on its stem and branches, the least offensive remedy is to paint over 
tiie whole with a strong solution of gum arabic or starch; allow it 
to remain on for a week, and then wash it off. But the most effectual 
remedy is to brush them over thoroughly twice, after an interval 
ot a day, with spirit of turpentine. To prevent the recurrence of 
the plague, a very effective mode, in autumn, is to scrape away and 
burn all the rough bark, and then, with a rough brush, to paint over 
the stem and branches with a creamy mixture, composed of «£ lb. of 
soft-soap, 1 lb. of sulphur, and \ oz. of black pepper, to four gallons 
of water ; boil together for twenty minutes, and make it thick enough 
to adhere to the wood like paint. If it does not, thicken it with lime, 
of those years, rain occurred during 83, and 78 were fine. The high¬ 
est point reached by the thermometer during the period was 6 ?=, on 
the 27 th, in 1846 . 
Natural Phenomena Indicative op Weather.— When birds 
ot prey, such as the kite and raven, soar very high in the air, they 
indicate a long continuance of fine weather'. Candles and /amps, 
whether of oil or gas, burn less bright, both immediately before the 
arrival and during the continuance of wet weather; the flame crackles, 
and a fungous excrescence accumulates around the wick, owing to the 
combustion being less perfect than when the air is dry. Larks flying 
high, and continuing their song for a lengthened time, indicate pro¬ 
longed fine weather. 
RANGE OF BAROMETER—RAIN IN INCHES. 
Feb. 
1841. 
1842. 
1843. 
1844. 
1845. 
21 
B. 
z 30.296 
29.813 
29.371 
29.528 
29.946 
R. 
X 30.162 
29.771 
0.1G 
29.326 
0.12 
29.235 
0.14 
29 757 
22 
B. 
/ 30.345 
29.753 
29.351 
29.660 
29.466 
X 30.323 
29.616 
29.246 
29.262 
29.437 I 
— 
0.02 
0.03 
0.10 
23 
B. 
/ 30.323 
29.444 
29.519 
29.935 
29.467 
R. 
X 30.298 
29.167 
0.11 
29.449 
29.651 
0.44 
29.377 ! 
0.16 
24 
B. 
f 30.304 
29.171 
29.640 
29.614 
30.018 
R. 
130.298 
29.115 
29.612 
29.055 
29.655 j 
0.01 
0.11 
— 
0.10 
25 
B. 
( 30.308 
29.250 
29.619 
29.478 
30.116 
l 30.076 
29.1 SO 
29.596 
29.000 
29 904 
R. 
0.07 
0.07 
0.26 
0.10 
0.26 I 
26 
B. 
(29.872 
29.570 
29.601 
28.922 
29.768 
129.638 
29.367 
29.326 
28.624 
29.624 
R. 
0.04 
0.04 
0.03 
0.26 
27 
B.l 
'29.735 
29.470 
28.933 
29.447 
29.945 j 
1 
R. 
29.368 
29.377 
28.848 
29.382 
29.918 
0.07 
0.05 
0.19 
I 
- 
1846. 
1847 
1848. 
1849. 
30.098 
30.091 
0.01 
30.109 
29.912 
0.21 
29.861 
29-785 
0.07 
29.690 
29-587 
0.16 
29.569 
29.405 
29.800 
29.663 
0.01 
29.648 
29,623 
0.05 
30.279 
30.235 
30.297 
30.259 
30.255 
30.209 
30.197 
30.098 
30.136 
30.108 
30.124 
30.063 
30.100 
30.0/6 
29.790 
29.595 
0.11 
29.478 
29.142 
0.08 
29.341 
29.002 
29.323 
29.172 
0.14 
30.050 
30.031 
0.16 
29.209 
28.452 
0.48 
29.103 
28.795 
0.22 
29-998 
29.786 
0.06 
29.828 
29.693 
0.01 
29.996 
29.839 
29.657 
29.613 
0.28 
29.493 
29.326 
0.92 
29.853 
29.435 
30.034 
29-978 
adding sufficient soot to take off the glaring white colour of the lime. 
The proportions are of little consequence, the object of this and 
similar washes being, by adhering to the wood, to prevent the eggs 
or larvae of insects from coming to life. (Card, Chrort. 1842, 840.) 
It is more than an ordinary hardship upon the 
seedsman and florist, that some of our contemporaries 
are scourging them for having voluminous catalogues, 
whilst every purchaser observes, “ What nice com¬ 
plete lists there are in Mr. A-’s catalogue. In 
Mr. 13-’s there are not half so many.” We see 
no objection to these long lists, and we consider that 
that seedsman or florist is the most deserving of en¬ 
couragement, who has the fullest and most complete 
catalogue. It would he very hard if it were other¬ 
wise, lor the public differ in what they require, and 
are clamorous if they cannot obtain what they prefer. 
Then, again, it is an unjust complaint that new 
varieties are unnecessarily multiplied, for one of the 
first questions put by an amateur is for “ anything 
newand we should regret if it were otherwise, for 
No. LXXIII., Vol, III. 
