THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, DsTc&Mbeb 2?, 18*9. 
199 
method practised by myself, and one I would strongly recommend. 
The mode ot propagation is by parting the roots, which should 
be done as soon as the plants are out of flower. 
The single varieties freely produce seed, and are, therefore, 
easily increased, with a chance of obtaining new varieties. The 
seed may be sown as soon as ripe in pots or boxes, in a mixture 
of light soil, and placed in a shady situation, where they may 
remain until bad weather sets in. They should then be placed in 
a warm, sunny situation, where they may remain until the spring. 
As soon as the plants are large enough to handle, they should be 
planted in rather a shady place in a bed or border prepared for 
them of light sandy loam. They should be placed six inches 
apart every way, and care should be taken when planting to well 
close the soil round the roots, for worms are liable to disturb 
them. A little lime and soot should also be sprinkled over the 
beds in damp weather to prevent the ravages of the slug. The 
plants will flower in the spring, but they cannot be expected to 
produce strong blossoms until they are at least three years old.— 
Edward Bennett, Osberton. 
NEW BOOKS. 
The Illustrated Bouquet.— The first number of the second 
volume, Part 7, published by the Messrs. Henderson, of the 
Wellington Road Nursery, is a masterpiece of drawing ancl^ 
colouring to nature from the hands, taste, and talents of Miss 
Sowerby and Mrs. Withers ; beginning with Qazania splendens 
and Callicarpa purpurea, plate 29. This is the new bedding 
Gazania, of which we have already given full particulars. Calli- 
earpa is one of Mr. Fortune’s late introductions from China, and 
is a bushy, soft-wooded plant, with large clusters of purplish 
berries from the joints all along the stems, and is a winter green¬ 
house ornament of easy culture. 
The next plate represents ten kinds of Cyclamen Persicum —a 
beautiful group, arranged with the highest degree-of effect. The! 
leaves are as varied in their markings as the flowersjin their tints 
and shades. The whole of them, and many more kinds of this 
charming flower, may be had cheaper than new Verbenas and in 
full bloom in a few weeks at the Wellington Road Nursery; 
fully four pages are devoted to the practical description of the. 
family, and how to treat them from first to last. 
The next plate represents a full-sized new double Camellia , 
tricolor raised at Florence; and “those who possess the well- 
known variety named tricolor will at once recognise in this the 
rich combination of white, rose, and carmine tints peculiar to 
that variety.” Tricolor , as all the gardening world 1 knows, is a 
single flower; and it was nocessai-y to add plena, or double, to 
distinguish this from that, and imbricata to indicate the form o-f 
the petals. Tricolor imbricata plena, is therefore the name—one 
of the very finest of all the race. 
The fourth plate represents the new Salvia tricolor, and a 
foreign Petunia of extraordinary markings, regular as geometry 
could make it; a purple ground colour, a white band round the 
edge, and a white Pear-shaped mark in the centre of each of the 
five lobes of the flower—an extra hit: it is called Madame Henry 
Jacotot. The Salvia tricolor is likened to chamcedrioides,, and 
has a scarlet front, a white centre, a crimson violet at the back, 
with long spikes of bloom : a Mexican of the usual culture. 
The last plate shows three varieties of the celebrated Japan 
monster Indian Pink, called jDianthus Heddetvigii, which we have 
told of in our last report of the Wellington Road Nursery.- 
The rules, the laws, the reasons, and the suggestions in the 
accompanying pages are* as usual, highly instructive and alto¬ 
gether most plain and practical. Of all our books this is the 
first and fairest for the drawing-room. 
CARTER’S CHAMPION CUCUMBER. 
As the time is approaching for Cucumber forcing, I beg to 
offer a few remarks on the productiveness of Carter's Champion 
Cucumber. From my own experience I recommend it as 
decidedly the best for general purposes, especially for amateurs 
and gardeners with small means, being among that number 
myself. 
I have tried many kinds that have been recommended for 
productiveness, but none were equal to Carter's Champion. I 
have only two common-sized two-light frames to work with. 
I make it a rule to prepare the dung and have it all ready for 
planting on the 1st of February; as linings with me are" oitt of 
the question, and the beds arb apt 4b become cold if made up 
earlier, before the sunmas power 85 assist me. 
The first bed bein’g'planted with three plants and all right, I 
begin to prepare forHhe second, which I plant as before about 
the middle of April. From these six plants last season I cut 
150 Cucumbers, all fine fruit, besides a great quantity of small 
ones for pickling. 
I may add, that this Cucumber is very good, indeed better 
tlmn any that I am acquainted with for the open ground, if well 
hardened off and planted out the second week in July.— G. 0., 
Kew. 
CABBAGE CATERPILLARS. 
In dry seasons the crops of Cabbages and Broccoli are often 
injured by caterpillars, especially in the gardens of cottagers 
who neglect to destroy them. This is done by picking off the 
grubs, or squeezing them on the leaves between the finger and 
thumb. The devouring pests are the larvae of several kinds of 
butterflies, but chiefly those of the larger and lesser white ones 
of the garden. The largest butterfly lays eggs in clusters on the 
inside of the leaves, and the larvae keep together awhile, so that 
«• several may be squeezed to death at once—I mean before they 
disperse and feed about the plants ; but as they get larger and 
darker, with bright yellow stripes, they are readily detected. 
September is the principal month for them; hut latter-bred 
ones last partly through October, and I have known them stand 
pretty sharp frost. 
The eggs of the smaller butterfly are placed singly, and their 
■ larva) always remain so, and may be found on the centre ribs or 
- veins of the leaves, especially in the hearts of young Cabbage- 
plants. There are various broods of them, from May, or June, 
• to October.- Being of the colour of the plants they are not so 
easily observed* 
In a recent publication on British butterflies this grub is 
1 figured with a rather bright yellow stroke down each side; both, 
‘however, are likeMie pale yellow stroke on the back, hardly 
visible except in those of full growth. I have known the green 
pest since childhood; they were pointed out to me when sent 
'with a branch in hand amongst Cabbages in pursuit of white 
butterflies whose eggs produced them: 
The larvee of the largest one are most numerous, and afford 
excellent food for birds, especially the house-sparrow, which is 
' too often destroyed, to the loss of the cirltivator. But he has 
: still another, and, perhaps, an unknown friend of a different 
f kind in a small ichneumon fly {Microgaster glomeratus), which 
lays its eggs in the caterpillars, perhaps not before they have 
attained their full growth, or, at least, ceased casting their skins. 
The small parasite maggots without feet live upon the inner 
part of the caterpillars. These feed on till they are about to 
change to the pupa state ; when suddenly they shrivel up, aud 
the small destroyers appear through the skins, on which they 
spin small cocoons in a cluster, and shortly apjmar in their true 
form of four-winged ichneumon flies. This curious fact first 
came under my notice some years back, when I kept some 
Caterpillars to learn the different kinds of white butterflies, the 
larvEe of which were injurious to the crops of Cabbages. 
The proper name of the large one is Pieris Prassicce, and the 
mate is smaller than the female, which is, perhaps, the case 
with all kinds of butterflies. The fore-wings are not so much 
tipped with black as those of the females, and there is only one 
dark spot'ou each of the hind wings. The females are readily 
known by two large black spots upon each of the upper wings, 
sometimes united by a dotted dark line, Tyhen so, each wing 
is marked as with a pair of spectacles, under which there is a 
longisli blotch, which unites with the spot on each of the under 
wings v'hen expanded. 
The proper name of the small white garden butterfly is 
Pieris rapce. The upper wings of the female are tipped with 
black, with two dark spots on them, and only one spot on each 
of the under wings. The males of this kind are said to be 
spotless; but I have never observed them without similar marks 
as those on the females—at least one spot on the upper wings. 
However, both species vary in size and colour ; indeed, so much 
so that one might think they were crossbred. This may arise 
from the condition or health of the insects when in the larva 
* state; but such sports differ from the greenveined white but¬ 
terfly, whose larvae attack Cabbages. Its proper name is Pieris 
'napi , and is less common than the other two mentioned. 
These inhabit all parts of Europe, Asia Minor, and Siberia; in 
fact they seem to be found everywhere. When their larvte are 
confined, they strive to get away about the time of their change to 
