74 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
May 
encampments established at short distances from each other; hence, 
each brood constructs several webs in the course of its caterpillar 
state; the reason of which is, that the caterpillars do not quit their 
webs to feed, but only eat such leaves as are enclosed in each web. 
The number of inhabitants in a colony varies from one hundred to 
two hundred; and, hence, the more numerous the colony, the more 
frequent is a change of residence required. The caterpillars eat only 
the parenchyma of the upper side of the leaf; they also arrange their 
threads longitudinally, each, apparently, having a thread of its own, 
along which it moves either backwards or forwards without disturb¬ 
ing its neighbours, which, w’hen in repose, are arranged side by side. 
For the destruction of these insects, various plans have been recom¬ 
mended. Mr. Major says that nothing more is required than the 
application of strong soapsuds forcibly applied with the engine, so 
as to break the web, that the suds may reach the insects. Where the 
trees are not much infested, gather the webs, including the cater¬ 
pillars, by hand, and destroy them in any way most convenient. 
Care should, however, in these cases, be taken to kill, and not merely 
to disturb, the caterpillars. Mr. Lewis suggests the picking off and 
burning of the leaves whilst the caterpillars arc in the mining state ; 
the presence of the insects being indicated by the blighted outward 
appearance of the leaf: but prevention is always better than cure, 
and it seems to us easier, as well as more advantageous, to destroy 
the moths as soon as they are produced, and before they have had 
time to deposit their^eggs. The generally simultaneous appearance 
of the entire brood in the winged state, together with the very con¬ 
spicuous appearance of the moth, will render this a matter of great 
facility. A sheet may be laid beneath the branches in the daytime, 
which should then be sharply struck with a stick ; when the moths, 
which at that time are sluggish, will fall into the sheet, and may 
easily be destroyed. 
Another name must be entered in the long, mourn¬ 
fully long, roll of “the martyrs of science.” Dr. 
George Gardner, Superintendent of the Botanic 
Garden of Ceylon, has fallen a victim to his con¬ 
tinued researches after the botanical riches of the 
tropics. “Death’s coal black wine” came to his 
lips as it usually does, in those climates, to the san¬ 
guine and energetic; and he has died, unwarned, in 
the prime of manhood. He was a pupil of Sir W. 
Hooker, when the latter was Professor of Botany at 
Glasgow; and, almost fresh from the class room, he 
voyaged to South America in 1835, and devoted 
himself to the examination of its Flora. “ The 
shores of Brazil,” he relates, “ were finally left on 
the 1.0th of June, 1841, and I arrived safely at Liver¬ 
pool, with all my collections, on the 11th ol July, 
having been absent five years and two months. 
It was a source of no little satisfaction to myself, as 
well as to those who participated in my collection of 
dried plants, amounting to about 7000 species, that 
they all arrived in the most perfect state.” ( Hort. 
Society's Journal, iii. 256.) Some of the results of 
his observations have been published in the form of 
“ Contributions to a History of the Relation between 
Climate and Vegetation.” But these were written 
during the necessarily unoccupied hours on ship¬ 
board, for his love of research, and his zeal for the 
increase of botanical knowledge, were not compatible 
with protracted studious employment at home. In 
1841 he was appointed Superintendent of the Ceylon 
Garden; and he addressed himself to the duties of 
the office with his accustomed zeal. In the interval, 
he had published his “ Travels in the Interior of 
Brazil;” and when he reached Ceylon he had abun¬ 
dant employment to sweep away from the garden 
the consequences of previous inattention, and then to 
examine its too-much neglected botanical riches. 
He published some essays on the subject, and was 
employed upon a larger work, for in one of his last 
published essays he said—“I am at present engaged 
in preparing a work which will contain descriptions 
of all the vegetable productions indigenous to 
Ceylon, illustrated with coloured figures of some of 
the more rare, beautiful, or useful species. This, 
however, will be a labour for several years to come ”— 
but those years were not permitted to him. He died 
at the beginning of the present year, of apoplexy, and 
before he had attained the age of thirty. We hope 
that liis MSS., as well as the beautiful drawings of 
Ceylon plants, which we remember to have seen at 
Calcutta, from the pencils of General and Mrs. 
Walker, will yet be placed in competent hands, and 
made public. 
1 jwjp* fji 
We have had so many inquiries relative to “ The 
vinegar plant,” that we think it best to answer our 
correspondents generally, by placing here the fol¬ 
lowing letter from a successful cultivator of the 
plant, Mr. Reid, gardener to Mrs. Clarke, of No 
blethorpe Park, near Barnsley:—“ I am unable to 
give a scientific description of the substance known 
by the name of ‘ the vinegar plant,’ but it is a 
fungus, wliitisli in colour, of semi-transparent, jelly- 
like appearance, and when full grown about the 
size of a dinner-plate; tough to handle, and about 
an inch in thickness. Although I never heard of, 
nor saw it until last year, yet I find it is very com¬ 
mon in this part of Yorkshire amongst tradespeople, 
farmers, and cottagers, as by making use of it they 
are able to obtain a good useful vinegar, at the cost 
of about one penny per quart. The process is as fol¬ 
lows :—Dissolve ^ fb of moist sugar, or, for highly- 
coloured vinegar, £ lb of treacle, in three quarts of 
soft water. Put this mixture into a wide mouthed 
jar, and the vinegar plant with it; cover the mouth 
of the jar either with white paper pricked full of 
holes with a pin, or with a thin piece of gauze. Let 
it remain in a warm room or corner of the house for 
about five weeks, when the process will be completed, 
and the vinegar fit for use. During the process the 
plant, if it is a good sound one, will grow consider¬ 
ably both in diameter and thickness, floating on the 
surface of the liquor, and when taken out a young 
plant will be found adhering to the under surface of 
the old one. This young one will be nearly as large 
as the old one, but much thinner; and must be care¬ 
fully separated from its parent, and set to work by 
itself in a separate jar. The old plant, also, may be 
safely set to work once or twice more, and will pro- 
