252 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
December 21, 1889. 
Hardening 
fflSCELLANY. 
The Currant-Bud Mite. 
I enclose a few twigs of diseased Black Currants to 
see whether you, or any of your numerous readers, 
know anything about the cause or how to prevent it. 
I have had experience of the disease for a good many 
years now, but, as yet, have been unable to get any re¬ 
liable information on the matter. One thing I have 
found to my cost, is, that it destroys all hope of ever 
being able to gather any fruit from affected bushes. 
The disease is partial to localities. I believe it is com¬ 
paratively little known in the north of Scotland, while 
here—around Glasgow—gardens that used to produce 
splendid crops of this useful fruit cannot grow them 
now for more than three or four years, as they become 
useless. In the gardens here, for example, some years 
ago the Black Currants were a sight to behold, while 
now they cannot be grown but a few years before 
the enemy appears. I made a plantation five years 
ago exactly, in ground thoroughly prepared for their 
reception. For a time they did well, and I thought 
our enemy had gone to pastures new, when lo ! this 
winter I have had to uproot several bushes affected as 
you see. If you would kindly bring the subject 
under the notice of your readers I am confident it 
would be profitable and instructive to many of them. 
I am communicating with some of my professional 
friends on the subject, and should I get any further 
information you shall hear.— J. Simons, Ccvpelrig. 
[We examined the specimens sent us, and found 
the buds literally swarming with mites—one bud pro¬ 
bably containing hundreds. There is no way of getting 
at the mites to destroy them, as they live protected by 
the scales, and at present are found located on the 
iving scales or young leaves, which, by sucking their 
juices, they cause to become greatly thickened and 
spongy. Buds, therefore, containing mites may readily 
be detected. At the winter pruning all these swollen 
buds should be cut off and burned at once, to destroy 
the mite and prevent it spreading to other and healthy 
buds. The bushes should be gone over again after they 
come into leaf, and have all those buds which fail to open 
cut away and burned. All this should be done on the 
very first appearance of the pest in healthy plantations 
of the Black Currant.—E d.] 
Monster Vegetables. 
I AH very pleased to see that Mr. A. Dean in his paper 
on “ Yegetables for Exhibition ” condemns the present 
system of regarding size as a primary qualification 
in exhibition vegetables. I frequently see monstrous 
specimens, which I admit to be of good quality also, 
but I always ask this question : Of what use are they 
for a gentleman’s table ? I have for many years fre¬ 
quently had to assist in judging vegetables, amongst 
other things, and in the gentlemen’s gardeners’ classes 
I lean very much to fitness for a gentlemen’s table by 
moderate size, symmetry and quality, and leave monster 
vegetables alone. Who wants monster Cauliflowers, 
gigantic Potatos, or old Vegetable Marrows ? In the 
cottagers’ classes more attention should be paid to size, 
when other good qualities accompany it, for a working¬ 
man's table demands plenty of eatables. We seem to 
be drifting into a system of growing for size nowadays ; 
and I am pleased to see some hard hits at our monster 
blooms of Chrysanthemums, so very misleading as they 
are to those who know so little of growing for exhibition, 
and think it so easy to get such blooms. Your ex¬ 
cellent Chrysanthemum notes in The Gardening 
World of the 14th inst. admirably treats on this 
subject.— Brassica. 
The Riviera. 
!l Hardly less noteworthy, as bearing on the habits of 
this vast and magnificent department of the vegetable 
world, is Mr. Watson’s conclusion that the long 
brilliant sunshine and high temperature of the Medi¬ 
terranean shores, instead of making vegetation delicate 
in constitution, really fortifies it to bear the winter’s 
cold.” This remarkable statement is taken from a 
short leader in the Daily News of a recent date, which 
deals with a report on vegetation in the Riviera, fur¬ 
nished by Mr. Watson, of Kew, to his superiors after 
paying an official visit to that delectable region. I 
hope Mr. Watson had a jolly time of it, but if he made 
no greater discovery than is furnished in the opinion 
above expressed, his report is not worth the cost 
incurred in obtaining it. If there is one thing more 
than another common in elementary horticulture at 
home, it is the fact that summer heat serves to harden 
and mature growth, and render it invulnerable to 
winter cold. We, at home, do have winter cold, whilst 
out in the Pdviera, absurdly enough, hard frosts are 
rare, and the cold season short. The Daily News 
leader writer must surely have been poking fun.— -A. 
The Rose of Jericho. 
We have lately had two of these very curious and 
interesting plants sent to us. When we received them 
they looked like small tufts of dead and shrivelled 
leaves, but on placing one of them in water, in less 
than an hour it expanded and opened out in the form 
of a beautiful green rosette. It is very interesting to 
read the various descriptions of this interesting plant. 
It grows in the sandy wastes of Egypt, Palestine, Syria, 
and Barbary, especially on the arid plains bordering on 
the Bed Sea. After flowering it contracts itself into a 
round ball, the branches become dry and curl inwards, 
and it is readily torn up by the winds and tossel about, 
often being whirled over the sands for hundreds of 
miles, until it reaches the sea or some moist spot, or 
moistened by rain, when its branches, which are 
delicate hygrometers, immediately expand, the seed- 
vessels burst, and the seeds are discharged at the only 
time, and in those spots, most suitable for germination. 
It will remain dry and withered often for years, but 
when moistened will spring into life again, hence its 
name of Resurrection Plant. It is a superstition 
amongst the common people of Palestine, that this flower 
blossomed the instant the Saviour was born, and 
remained open till Easter, hence it is called Kaf 
Maryam, St. Miry’s Flower, The Holy Rose, or Rose 
of Jericho. Its botanical name is Anastatica Hiero- 
chuntina .—Alfred Gaut, Berwick Gardens, Shrewsbury . 
Two useful Eupatoriums. 
Of Eupatorium odoratum and E. Weinmannianum, 
the former blooms in autumn and winter, and under 
good treatment produces a great quantity of bloom for 
cutting purposes. The body of a heated pit at Syon 
House, Brentford, was wholly occupied during the 
autumn and early part of wiDter with two rows of large 
spreading plants, from which the flowers were cut as 
wanted. Each truss was cut with a long piece of stem, 
and now the plants are furnishing another supply by 
the development of the small axillary shoots ; but the 
supply has really, however, been continuous. Mr. 
"Wythes grows only the two above mentioned species. 
As is well known amongst cultivators, E. Weinmannia- 
num naturally does not flower till spring under the 
ordinary treatment accorded this class of subjects, and 
the stems are long and perfectly upright. By growing 
a batch in 6-in. pots (which are smaller than for ordi¬ 
nary purposes), and putting them in a higher 
temperature, Mr. Wythes forces them, as it were. The 
greater confinement of the roots in small pots, favours 
early forcing, and this batch is now showing its trusses 
of bloom, and will afford a supply till the larger plants 
come into bloom. Owing to the erect habit of the 
stems, the plants do not take up very much room. 
Both species are plunged out of doors in summer, 
otherwise it would be almost impossible to keep them 
properly supplied with water, and without that they 
would be small and give but few flowers. All were 
struck from cuttings last spring. 
Spathiphyllum candidum. 
Few of the Spathiphyllums are grown by cultivators in 
general ; but although the greater number have 
greenish spathes, their flowers are in many cases 
strongly and not unpleasantly fragrant, making their 
presence felt whenever they come into bloom in a hot¬ 
house full of plants. S. candidum, is, however, both 
neat in habit, being much dwarfer than several other 
species we occasionally meet with, is pleasantly and 
not too powerfully fragrant, and has white flowers. 
The spathe is ovate, narrowed to a point, pure white 
above, and occasionally tinted with green beneath. 
The spadix is short, stout and creamy white. The 
ovate lance-shaped leaves are neat in habit, light green 
and veiny. It was introduced in 1875 from Colombia, 
and is sometimes grown under the name of Anthurium 
candidum. Few private establishments can yet boast 
of it, but we saw it a week ago at Syon House, 
Brentford. 
Gentiana acaulis. 
Few perennials are more attractive and beautiful than 
Gentiana acaulis. This handsome species, of which 
there are several forms, is perhaps the more extensively 
cultivated of all Gentians, probably because it with¬ 
stands division of the root better than any of its con¬ 
geners, and consequently is less difficult to propagate. 
All Gentians are most impatient of root disturbance, 
therefore frequent transplanting must be avoided. In 
planting it is important to select a permanent situa¬ 
tion in which they can remain undisturbed for years, 
such for instance as a prominent position on the rock- 
work, or as an edging to herbaceons borders or 
shrubberies. For the latter purpose they are admir¬ 
ably adapted and frequently used. Those who have 
studied their culture closely have concluded that the 
most satisfactory results are obtained from plants grown 
in a good depth of loamy soil, with a few stones inter¬ 
mixed, and some placed round the roots to assist in 
retaining the moisture, an element so essential to the 
well-being of nearly all Gentians during the period of 
growth. In localities or situations where the soil is of 
a retentive character the subject under notice will 
succeed satisfactorily without stones being placed round 
its roots. I remember seeing a beautiful row of this 
charming little plant in an herbaceous border in Aber¬ 
deenshire, and one morning about the beginning of 
April the ground was covered with about 1 in. of snow, 
through which the dark blue flowers peeped and looked 
somewhat curious, but sweetly pretty.— J. Peebles. 
The Wood-leopard Moth. 
The stems and branches of fruit trees are more often 
tunnelled or eaten away in the centre than growers 
in general imagine ; because unless one is continually 
amongst the trees, and has them under close obser¬ 
vation, mischief is frequently going on without being 
noticed. The other day, Mr. William Caudwell, the 
Ivies, Wantage, sent us a branch of an Apple tree, 
about 1J in. in diameter, together with a grub or cater¬ 
pillar, which had completely hollowed out the branch, 
leaving little in places except the bark. The grub was 
that of the Wood-leopard moth (Zeuzera CEsculi), an 
inject which also attacks several other fruit and forest 
trees. The perfect insect is large, white or faintly 
greenish yellow, and beautifully spotted with bluish 
black. The grub may sometimes be destroyed by 
pushing a stout wire into its burrow and crushing it 
If the branch is very much hollowed out in the 
interior, it may be cut off and split up to extract the 
grub. Fumes of sulphur blown into the burrow have 
also been attended with success. 
-►»$<--- 
ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 
«♦» 
The Orchid Growers’ Calendar. 
Plants of Odontoglossum citrosmum, which have now 
nearly or quite finished up their bulbs, should be kept 
dry at the roots, so as to give them a thorough rest for 
a couple of months, for if kept moist they are almost 
certain to commence growing again, and in all 
probability would not flower. Experienced growers 
know how necessary it is to see the flower spikes pushing 
out of the young growths before giving the plants a 
thorough soaking of water after the period of rest. 0. 
grande, 0. Insleayi and its varieties may also be 
allowed a thorough rest now that the bulbs are finished. 
Most of the Trichopilias having done growing will 
require but little water, as it is best to keep them as 
quiet as possible at the present time, without allowing 
the bulbs to become shrivelled, and the flower spikes 
will come away strongly later on. Laelia anceps in its 
many forms is now making a brave show, but 
unfortunately the flowers seldom last more than a 
fortnight, and are very easily crippled by fog. A dry 
airy position will suit them for about two months after 
they go out of flower before commencing growth again. 
Cattleya Warneri will now be pushing young growths, 
and should be kept well in the light and steadily 
growing. 
Masdevallias of the Chimtera section now in warmer 
quarters are somewhat subject to red-spider at this 
time of year, especially in dry houses; and yellow 
thrip is apt to become troublesome among the 
occupants of the cool-house, when fire-heat has to be 
used for any length of time. If a pail containing 
tobacco-water is kept handy, a dip in time will 
probably save the proverbial nine. — TV. P. 
Lycaste leucantha. 
Amongst the several species of Lycaste grown, it is 
matter for wonder that the one under notice should not 
be more largely grown by cultivators than it is at 
present. The spreading sepals are of the palest green, 
while the petals are erect and white. The lip is also 
white, and the terminal lobe is pubescent all over the 
