650 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
June 13, 1891. 
Kent prove on identification to be Otiorhynchus 
picipes. The body is oblong-ovate, and surrounded 
except on a small portion of the under surface by the 
hardened wing cases soldered together, and in which it 
lives as securely as a tortoise. There are no wings, so 
that the creature is unable to fly. The wing cases are 
furnished with twenty sunk lines, in which are arranged 
very numerous eye-like spots, consisting of scales, and 
on the ridges between are lines of little black protuber¬ 
ances. The whole is densely covered with scales of a 
grey colour, very much resembling dull yellowish clay, 
so that when the weevil folds up its legs, which it does 
when alarmed, it can hardly be distinguished from the 
soil. The thorax or shoulders are covered with black 
warts, and the head is drawn out in the form of a 
short, stout, slightly bent snout. 
The weevils are night prowlers, so that those who 
would do battle with them must attack them during 
the hours of darkness. No lantern should be used, 
otherwise the weevils drop to the ground in alarm, and 
draw up their legs under the body, feigning death till 
the supposed danger is past, and so escape detection. 
Where they abound in myriads, as they frequently do, 
upon Raspberries or similar bushes, two men might 
hold a white sheet under them, while a third shakes 
the beetles upon the cloth, and collects them into 
wide-mouthed jars before they escape. On a smaller 
scale a sieve might be employed, or a wooden tray 
tarred inside. Many might be captured during the 
day by disturbing the clods and other objects of 
concealment. They may afterwards be destroyed 
by pouring boiling water or spirits of turpentine into 
the jars containing them, or crushed with the foot on 
pavement or hard ground. 
As the enemy has the habit of hiding away during 
the day in crevices of old walls and amongst other 
rubbish, fruit-tree walls, and also the back walls of 
vineries should be kept well pointed to reduce the 
means of concealment. Pieces of tile, bark or other 
objects might be intentionally laid about as a means of 
entrapping them, and examined in the morning. 
Vines or fruit trees on walls might be cleared by 
similar means as are adopted in the case of Raspberry 
canes, varying it as occasion may suggest. For 
instance, a white cloth might be spread upon the 
ground under the plants during the day, and a light 
suddenly turned upon the weevils at night, causing 
them to be seized with a panic and drop. Many of the 
larva could be destroyed by turning up the soil during 
winter, or by applications of gas-lime, avoiding imme¬ 
diate contact with the roots. A severe winter has no 
effect upon the larva, as Miss Ormerod has subjected 
them to more than 20° of frost without, apparently, 
being injured in any way. As to natural enemies, the 
weevils of this genus are said by Curtis to be largely 
preyed upon by sand-wasps.— J. F. 
-«->£«•- 
THE CHISWICK CONFERENCES. 
It has now been definitively arranged that the confer¬ 
ence to be held at Chiswick on hardy summer-flowering 
perennial plants on Tuesday, July 7 th, shall commence 
at 2 p.m., when the chairman, Mr. William Marshall 
(chairman of the Floral Committee), will deliver an 
opening address. The following papers will also be 
read:—“Some Results from Wild Gardening,” by 
Mr. William Robinson ; “ On Some of the Summer 
Flowers of my Garden,” by the Rev. H. Ewbank, M.A. ; 
and “The Picturesque of Hardy Summer Perennial 
Plants,” by Miss Jekyll. On the following day Straw¬ 
berries, Gooseberries, and Raspberries will be the 
subject of the conference, and the chair will be taken 
by Mr. George Bunyard, who will deliver an opening 
address. The papers to be read will be “Strawberries 
for Private Gardens,” by Mr. W. Allan, of Gunton 
Park ; “Strawberries for Forcing,” by Mr. G. Norman, 
Hatfield; “Gooseberries for Private Gardens,” by 
Mr. D. Thomson, Drumlanrig ; “ Gooseberries for 
Exhibition,” by Mr. C. Leicester, Macclesfield; and 
“ Raspberries,” by Mr. G. AVythes, Syon House. 
The October conferences will commence on the 6th 
and terminate on the 8th, the first day being devoted 
to Perennial Sunflowers and Michaelmas Daisies, and 
the second and third to Coniferous Trees and Shrubs. 
The programme is as follows ; October 6th, opening 
address by Mr. J. G. Baker, F.R.S., chairman; “The 
Genus Aster,” by Prof. G. L. Goodale, Harvard Uni¬ 
versity, U.S. A ; “Michaelmas Daisies,” by the Rev. C. 
Wolley Dcd, M.A. ; “Perennial Sunflowers,” by Mr. 
D. Dewar; and “Culture of Sunflowers,” by Mr. 
Jenkins. October 7th, “ Special Features of Interest in 
the Order of Conifers,” by Dr. Masters, F.R.S. ; 
“ Japanese, Chinese, and Californian Conifers,” by 
Mr. H. J. Veitch ; “Conifers in England for Utili¬ 
tarian Purposes,” by Dr. Schlich ; “ The Value in the 
British Islands of Introduced Conifers,” by Mr. 
Malcolm Dunn, Dalkeith; “ Fungoid and Other 
diseases of Conifers,” by Prof. Marshall Ward; and 
“Insects Injurious to Conifers,” by Mr. W. F. H. 
Blandford, M.A. 
-* 5 ®**- ~ 
THE BULB FIELDS OF 
HOLLAND. 
Hating recently visited the famous bulb fields of 
Holland, it may interest many of your readers to have 
a short account of that not far distant land. The 
principal locality is between Leiden and Haarlem, about 
twenty-five miles north of Rotterdam, where the soil is 
composed principally of yellowish white sand, and part 
of that large section which has been reclaimed from the 
inundation of the sea for several generations past. 
The channels or canals, from 30 ft. to 60 ft. wide, 
are kept up by broad banks or dykes on each side, 
and some feet higher than the ground-level. The 
canals (vaart) all run in connection, or nearly so, 
therefore are kept at about the same level. They are 
very shallow, and with little current or pressure of 
water, all of which is pumped into them at given 
points from the lower ground, mostly by windmill 
pumps, but there are a few effective steam pumps for 
the purpose. Holland has been very appropriately 
called the land of windmills. 
All the land is arranged so that no water shall remain 
on the surface, and it is kept within a given depth of 
the surface, say from 24 ins. to 30 ins. The ordinary 
land in this part is principally used for dairy purposes, 
and the bulbs are grown on most convenient parts in or 
near the villages, on account of obtaining labour, and 
are planted in sections of half-acre to three-acre pieces, 
fenced in by hedges composed of Beech, Alder, Oaks, 
Willows, &c., kept clipped close, 4 ft. to 6 ft. high, 
which are utilised to break the force of the wind. 
The land is then dug to a great depth, 3 ft. or more. 
The spades used are very broad, of thin steel, nearly 
flat, with a straight shaft. Being nearly all sand it is 
very easily turned. In preparing for autumn planting 
manure is put on at the rate of many tons per acre, 
which I have calculated to cost about £55 per acre 
when dug into the soil a few inches, the first digging 
costing somewhat more. This manure is all clear 
cow-dung, and is brought by boat from North Holland, 
a distance of 300 to 400 miles. 
When planted, and before winter sets in, the beds 
are nicely covered with several inches of coarse hay, or 
really reed straw, which is, like the manure, brought 
long distances by boats ; this remains on the surface 
until spring. The past winter has been a very severe 
one, 38° of frost being frequently registered, many 
bulbs being killed where the covering was neglected. 
The quarters within the fences are nearly square, with 
a path about 3 ft. wide running down the centre. From 
these square beds are formed and planted early in the 
autumn with the bulbs, beginning with the largest 
first, gradually so to the smallest, in rows about 8 ins. 
apart, and covered with 3 ins. of soil. They are so 
placed that each root can be reached without treading 
upon the bed. 
I was fortunate in being at Hillegom in time to see 
the Hyacinths at their best. The growers had just 
commenced to cut off the blooms to prevent exhaustion 
of the bulb. The blooms are usually put into boats 
and sent out of the district, to prevent any disease 
being generated thereby. The black rot amongst the 
Hyacinths is a most serious disease, and every bulb 
affected is removed and despatched as soon as discovered. 
Rotation cropping is observed by never planting the 
same class of bulbs on the land two years in succession 
— i.e., the land growing Hyacinths this year would be 
planted with Tulips next, and Crocus, &c.,the following. 
The mode of propagation of Hyacinths is peculiar, 
old bulbs being only suitable as breeders, young bulbs 
refusing to increase, except in size. Some sorts require 
portions cutout of their base, whilst others are hollowed 
out. The first year they produce numerous little bulbs, 
and which are grown separately the following season 
and cultivated for three years, each time being planted 
wider apart until fit for sale, which is four years in all. 
Tulips, Narcissi and Crocus multiply more naturally, 
but require replanting every year. 
The extent and value of the stock is very large. 
Hillegom alone has about 1,000 Dutch acres, propor¬ 
tioned something like this : to Tulips, 350 acres ; 
Hyacinths, 300 ; Crocus, Narcissus, Scillas and sundry 
bulbs, 350. They are grown in thirty-two parishes, 
and each acre is capable of producing 150,000 Crocus, 
115,000 Tulips, 100,000 Hyacinths, and 90,000 
Narcissus. "When these are in full perfection they may 
be fairly valued at £1,000 per acre, but considering all 
the expenses for the four years, though the amount 
may seem large, the profit is only a moderate one. 
Small Hyacinth bulbs produce no blooms ; but the 
second year a few small blooms may be seen, which 
increase in size yearly until sold off at the fourth year. 
The same principle applies to other kinds, but is most 
marked in Hyacinths. 
The flowers of Hyacinths, Tulips, and Narcissus are 
removed, but not Crocus or Scillas. About the middle 
of June, storing is commenced, and lasts a considerable 
time. The foliage being very succulent, does not take 
long to dry, and very freely separates from the bulbs. 
The process of cleaning is done in thorough harvest 
style, all hands being well employed, and this is the 
the only time when female labour is in request. The 
stores are very extensive, light, and airy. Racks are 
constructed of strong uprights of timber, with shelves 
4 ft. wide of narrow slats about in. apart to admit air 
and allow the sand to run through—about IS ins. from 
each other, from the floor to the roof. In a few 
weeks orders are put in hand and sent to all parts of 
the world. I carefully made a list of the best kinds 
for size, colour, and decorative effect. 
I must say that Dutch gardeners are exceedingly 
industrious and neat in their work, working from 5 a.m. 
to 7 p.m. I found the proprietors carefully inspecting 
each lot almost daily while in flower to detect any 
wrong sort, and this practice is carried on for weeks. 
There are a number of small growers (cottagers and 
amateurs) who have their stocks sold by auction, many 
of which are too small for the trade. These bulbs get into 
the hands of little dealers, who send them over to this 
country on consignment to be put up to auction, 
but it is impossible for them to produce good blooms.— 
John Harrison, Over dale, Aylestone, Leicester. 
-- 
THE PANSY IN SCOTLAND. 
The Pansy ! What a quaint, old-fashioned, familiar 
name, carrying us back to sunny summer days, when 
the cottage garden, with its double Pea lines, Carrot 
beds, Turnip rows, Radishes, &c., was a happy hunt¬ 
ing-ground, always exciting, but never satisfying our 
rapacious schoolboy stomachs. Happy it was that the 
Pansies came early. Their beauty was upon us before 
the fruits of the earth—hard, green “Grousers,” half- 
ripe Apples, and other face-twisting delicacies—claimed 
our grosser appetites. Early in May their first modest 
blossoms smiled out to meet our eager eyes. For weeks 
we had watched the developing buds, and now, as the 
first bloom shows colour, we are all alert to catch its 
opening smile—a veritable smile which only the face of 
a Pansy can reflect—when blushing answer to the 
dawn’s first kiss. 
The Pansy as a Social Reformer. 
Than the Pansy perhaps no flower either in past or 
present times can claim higher rank as a social reformer. 
The Tulip mania of the 17th century evolved and died 
as a speculative vice, and the Narcissus craze of the 
present time is largely a race for the rich who cater to 
the follies of fashion. Orchids command fancy prices, 
bidding defiance to all but a wealthy aristocracy, and 
even the Rose but pays its best respects to that favoured 
class who can afford to treat it to a pure atmosphere 
and a dainty bill of fare. 
But the Pansy ! Well, ask the thousands of our 
artisan population who now happily indulge in flori¬ 
culture. It is perhaps no exaggeration to say that as 
a “hobby” the art of Pansy culture claims more 
students, among Scottish working men at least, than 
the sum total of the united ‘ ‘ hobbyists ” in every other 
class of cultivated flowers. The Auricula claims its 
ardent few, coothie and kindly, if widely spread, and 
the old-fashioned laced Pink has still its admirers. The 
Sweet William and Antirrhinum, the Carnation, Dahlia, 
Phlox, and a number of other delightful old florists’ 
flowers, happily still and happily ever, be it hoped, can 
claim their numerous fanciers. But while these have 
their hundreds, the Pansy has its thousands in every 
county from the Solway north to, at least, as far as 
Aberdeen and Inverness-shires. Truly a social reformer, 
winning the spare hours of the sons of honest toil, 
“the hard and horny hand ” tending and turning each 
opening bloom with touch as gentle and loving as a 
maiden’s caress. Had Carlyle but seen the grimy 
artist among his flowers, he would have banished the 
thought that the “ lamp of his soul could go out.” 
The Evolution of the Pansy, 
The natural Pansy, Viola tricolor, is a very modest 
plant, bearing numerous small flowers of about half an 
