I 
1 
128 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION.— May 20, 1856. 
nock. He had fortunately been able to secure sufficient 
specimens for nil his subscribers. 
Mr. Samuel Stevens exhibited a very fine individual 
of the Aleucis pictaria, taken in the middle of April, at 
the old locality on Hartford Heath palings. 
Mr. Janson exhibited several specimens of the very 
rare Beetle, Helcerius quadratus, found in ants’ nests, 
together with four species of the curious genus Thorictus, 
from Abyssinia, Corfu, &c. 
Mr. Newman exhibited a cocoon of Hemerobius varie- 
gatus, with the insect reared therefrom. The white 
cocoon had been found within a hollow chrysalis of the 
Magpie Moth, in which it had evidently taken shelter. 
Mr. Curtis communicated a notice, by Mr. MacLean, 
relative to the depositing of the eggs of the Brimstone 
Butterfly, proving that this species is only single 
brooded. 
Mr. John Scott exhibited a new British Elachista , 
nearly allied to E. Oangabella. 
Captain Cox exhibited a specimen of the Death's 
Head Moth, taken in the Hospital at Scutari, which he 
described as a fitting emblem of the sad scenes connected 
with that locality; also, an extensive collection of draw¬ 
ings of the Caterpillars of British Moths and Butter¬ 
flies, made by his wife. 
Mr. Boyd exhibited a specimen of Colcophora WocJci- 
ella, a small Moth, the caterpillar of which feeds upon 
Betonica officinalis. 
Mr. White communicated a series of notes on the 
Necrophagous Beetles of India, with the description of 
a fine new species recently sent from Borneo by Mr. 
Wallace. 
Mr. Samuel Stevens exhibited specimens of both 
sexes of the two remarkable species of Beetles, Penta- 
platarthrus Paussoides and Tapliroderes distortus, from 
Natal. Hitherto, no observation had been made on the 
difference of sex among the Paussidse, to which family 
the former of these two species belonged, and of the 
latter (described and figured by Mr. Westwood in the 
Society’s Transactions) a male had only been seen, and 
so singular was its structure, that it had been assumed 
to be an accidental monstrosity. The specimens, how¬ 
ever, now received of both sexes proved that the distor¬ 
tion of the jaws was normal. The female differed, also, 
very materially from the male in the form of the head, 
and in having very small jaws. 
Mr. Douglas communicated a translation of a curious 
account of the habits of the Spiders of Goree, published 
in Guerin’s “Revue Zoologique;” and Mr. Smith read 
a paper on the results of a day’s collection by his son, a 
boy thirteen years old, who had succeeded in capturing 
a large number of Andrenidce, enabling his father to 
determine the sexes of several species of these Wild 
Bees, one of which, moreover, was infested with the 
parasitic Stylops, that strange two-winged insect, the 
specific identification of which, by Mr. Smith, had led 
him to examine carefully the figures and characters of 
the recorded species, the result of which was that the 
Stylops Melittce, S. aterrima, S. Childrenii, and S. Dalii, 
appeared to him to form but one species, the published 
figures of which were, with few exceptions, misorable 
caricatures of the insect itself, in consequence of its 
shrivelling up after death. 
VINES AND THEIR AILMENTS. 
In offering a few remarks on Vines, in general, I w'ould 
desire to attract the attention, more particularly at this 
period, of “ the many” who, for the most part, possess 
but one small house, which has, of course, many duties 
to perform. Nevertheless, as the heading I have taken 
involves many considerations, we must occasionally di¬ 
verge a little. Setting aside that terrible malady, the 
Vine disease, or Oidium, which many of the readers of 
The Cottage Gardener are by this time aware of, it 
will be well to turn our eyes, first, to ailments which we 
have all been too long familiar with, and which were 
known to our grandsires. After summing up all that 1 
can remember concerning A r ine culture—and my me¬ 
mory extends over some forty years at least—the real 
evils which have beset the Vine during that period, 
except the Oidium, are few, if my memory be worth any 
confidence; at the very least, three-fourths of the mishaps 
have been traceable to mismanagement, misconception, 
and, let me add, misapplication of those good things 
considered requisite as the food of the Vine. We have 
all heard of blister, of pimples on the leaves, of bad 
colouring, shrivelling, of long jointed wood, of would-bo 
bunches becoming tendrils, and I do not know what; 
and, with me, to this hour, it remains a question whether 
they be not all derived from one cause: a weak action, 
or uncertain condition of roots. 
As to any system of pruning proving an autidote to 
any of these evils, it is absurd to expect it; the pruning 
of in-doors Vines is, in general, as much a matter of 
convenience as of principle. Pruning, of course, forces 
the amount of sap into a less compass, and thereby 
causes a kind of extra impetus for awhile, hence the 
common phrase amongst gardeners—“ Cut it back to 
make wood.” I have seen ATues, in my time, so happily 
situated, as to the root, that had they been clipped with 
the shears they would have carried good crops; and I 
have also seen Vines strong enough in growth, yet in 
which all the appliances of the most experienced failed 
in inducing a fruitful habit. 
There can be no question that Vines love as much 
ground warmth as they can honestly get; all experience 
goes to prove this; and if so, their well being depends 
on other considerations than those which concern ma- 
nurial applications and quality of soil. I observed, 
! some time since, in these pages, that I once knew some 
] of the finest Hamburghs imaginable, and heavy crops, 
produced from a tree planted out at the back of a tan- 
pit in which Pines were placed occasionally ; the body 
of soil being simply old tan alone, about four feet in 
! depth. Nothing could be finer than those Grapes. But 
how would a house of this kind answer out-of-doors, and 
how long would it endure? Why, the first thoroughly 
rainy period would irrevocably ruin it. Now, if this old 
tan, or humus, proved successful in-doors, the question 
arises, why should it fail out-doors, granting that I am 
correct in that inference ? The reason lies here : humus 
of any kind, but especially old tan, will hold an excesfe of 
water for a long period, parting with it sluggishly ; need 
I add, that such alone prevents the acquisition of 
ground heat from an atmosphere many degrees warmer, 
say ten in the months of May and June. The tun in¬ 
doors, however, never received any rain, and water was 
sparingly administered by an experienced hand; it was, 
consequently, always in a mellow condition, and per¬ 
fectly pervious to the heated surrounding atmosphere. 
One of the best Grape growers I know, has told me that 
