July 14, 1894. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
727 
Gardeners who find flower plants, such as 
Dracaenas, Cinerarias, Cyclamens, Primulas, 
Spiraeas, Sedums, and others, withering or dying 
in greenhouses and borders, should search among 
the roots for the white grubs of the weevils. If the 
young succulent shoots of vines are pierced and 
nearly severed, it is certain that there are weevils in 
the soil near the vine stems, and action should be 
taken against them. 
Peach, Nectarine, Apple, and Pear trees are fre¬ 
quently injured by both these weevils, which bite 
their shoots and cause the sap to escape just when it 
is required for the fruitlets. 
There is another species of weevil rather larger 
than those described above, and of almost identical 
habits. It is known as Otiorrynchus tenebricosus, 
Herbst, but it is comparatively rare. 
The Black or Vine Weevil (Otiorrynchus sulcatus, 
Fab.). 
This weevil is termed sulcatus because of the broad, 
deep furrows on its rostrum. It is black, with 
greyish hairs upon the head and thorax, having 
reddish antennae with clubs, and dark coloured legs. 
It has no wings and is about five lines, or nearly half 
an inch in length. The elytra have somewhat deep 
furrows with a few yellow hairs. 
Eggs are laid in the summer, and the grubs, or 
larvae, are found, from the early autumn until 
March, in the earth near to, and among, the roots of 
plants. The larvae is white, and has many brownish 
hairs upon it. The pupal state is assumed in the 
early spring, and, according to Taschenberg, lasts 
fourteen days. The pupa is yellowish-white in 
colour, and is covered with reddish hairs, but is 
without a cocoon. It is found at a depth of from 
2^ in. to 4 in. in the earth. When the weevil 
emerges, it at once attacks the plants near it, feeding 
only at night. When disturbed, it feigns death, and 
remains immovable for a long time. It is tenacious 
of life in an extraordinary degree, and in its weevil 
state disregards heat, cold, and the most pungent 
odours. Curtis says that nothing but boiling water 
and turpentine seems to annoy this insect. 
THE CLAY-COLOURED, OR RASPBERRY, WEEVIL 
(Otiorrynchus picipes. Fab). 
The clay-coloured, or raspberry, weevil is about 3J 
lines long. Its head and thorax are of a pitchy 
colour, and the elytra somewhat brown, but these 
are thickly covered with light-coloured scales which 
make the weevils of the colour of clay, so that it is 
impossible to detect it in clayey soils. These scales 
seen undea the microscope appear like beautiful 
mosaic or tessellated work. The weevil is rather 
ovate in form, and has dark red legs, or pitchy red, 
asSchronherr describes them, with pitchy, twelve- 
jointed antennae furnished with clubs. The femoral 
teeth, as Schonherr notes, are very indistinct, and 
in many cases imperceptible. There are long bristles 
upon the rostrum, and rows of short bristles down 
the furrowed elytra. This insect has no wings, and 
is a night feeder. 
The life history of this weevil is practically the same 
as that of Otiorrynchus sulcatus. Eggs are laid in 
the summer in the earth. The grub, or larvae, is 
white or yellowish-white, thickly covered with hair, 
with a brown head, but without feet. It lies in a 
curved shape, and feeds on roots throughout the 
autumn until the spring, when it changes to a whitish 
pupa with black eyes, from which, in about a fort¬ 
night, the weevil comes. 
Preventive and Remedial Measures. 
As the weevils described above feed upon many 
trees and plants, it will be found that they often 
come from hedgerows round the fields cropped with 
Hops, Peas, Beans, Mangels, Turnips, or fruit 
bushes, and gradually infest these crops. In some 
Hop gardens in Kent they originated from rows of 
Poplars planted as shelters, or “ lews ” for the Hop 
plants. In others they came from Raspberry and 
Currant plantations near. As they cannot fly their 
progress is slow, and they should be prevented by 
active measures from advancing in fields where they 
are discovered. They may be caught upon Hop 
plants and Raspberry plants by holding tarred 
boards near the ground at night, and tapping the 
poles or stakes so that the insects fall into the tar. 
Some Hop planters sent men with lanterns to pick 
them from the Hop bines at night. In this way 
many pints of weevils were caught. 
They would be disturbed by prong-hoeing close 
round the plants, and by hoeing in lime and soot 
mixed together, or gas-lime. A constant moving of 
the soil with midgetts, horse-hoes, and hand-hoes 
would tend to check the progress of the weevils in 
the case of Hops, Mangels, Peas, Beans, and 
Turnips. In infested hop-land and fruit-land, where 
the plants are permanent, besides constant hoeings 
and the application of caustic materials in May 
and June when the weevils are active, the soil 
immediately round the plant-centres and bushes 
should be treated in the autumn with lime and soot, 
or gas-lime, or earth, sand, sawdust, or ashes 
saturated with carbolic acid or paraffin oil, at the 
rate of from three to four pints to a bushel. 
In Strawberry fields it is most difficult to cope 
with these insects, but when infested fields are 
grubbed up they should not be replanted with 
Strawberries for two or three years. 
Strawberry plants in gardens that have become 
infested with weevils should be examined closely in 
the late autumn, and the grubs picked out from the 
roots as far as possible. 
--J-- 
ARDENING fllSCELLANY. 
YUCCA GLORIOSA FLOWERING IN 
SCOTLAND. 
A Yucca gloriosa, planted ten years ago when quite 
small, is now coming into flower in my garden. 
Signs of flowering commenced to be seen two years 
ago, and I have been looking for the flower ever 
since. I first noticed the flower stem coming on the 
i8th of June last, and it has been growing at the 
rate of 2 in. a night since. It is so high now that we 
have to stay it up to prevent the wind from blowing 
it over. Is it usual for this plant to flower in the 
open air in the north of Scotland ?— G. Drummond, 
32, George Street, Oban. [The climate is too severe 
as a rule for Yucca gloriosa or any other species to 
flower inland in the north of Scotland. Two or 
three of them are nearly hardy there as well as 
Dracaena australis, but moisture lodges about the 
crown of the young leaves and causes the centre to 
rot during the winter. The usual custom is to grow 
the plants in pots and stand them outside in summer, 
or to plunge them as centres to flower beds. Our 
correspondent being on the west coast enjoys a much 
more equable and temperate climate than those gar¬ 
deners less favourably situated, so that this would 
account for his happy success with the plant he 
mentions. This should encourage him to plant 
other species as well as Fuchsias, Dracaena australis, 
and various other half hardy plants.—E d.] 
TRACHELOSPERMUM JASMINOIDES 
ANGUSTIFOLIUM. 
Most gardeners are familiar with the typical form 
of this greenhouse climber for pot culture or for 
planting out in the conservatory border for training 
over the roof. The variety here noticed is less 
known, but considering that it is hardy in the 
southern counties at least, it should find its way into 
many gardens as a beautiful wall climber. It grows 
rather slowly, but sends out numerous slender, 
twiggy branches furnished with closely set, leathery, 
evergreen leaves, that completely cover the stone or 
brickwork all the year round. A plant has been 
growing on a west aspect wall at Kew for many 
years, and has now covered a space about 5 ft. high 
and 8 ft. or 9 ft. wide. The flowers are smaller than 
those of the typical, greenhouse form, and creamy 
instead of being pure white : but this may be due in 
part to the plant being grown in the open air, and 
the fact that the whole plant is on a smaller scale 
that the better known form. 
CLEMATIS RECTA. 
The stems of this species do not climb, but are 
erect, growing to a height of 2J ft. to 3 ft. It is all 
the better for a stake and tying up to preserve its 
tidyness, as the stems are slender and may be blown 
about by the wind or weighted down by" rain. 
The flowers individually are small, and consist of 
four creamy-white sepals, with numerous and pro¬ 
minent anthers, but they are produced in large 
terminal cymes or panicles and are therefore con¬ 
spicuous. They have a distinct fragrance at certain 
times of the day at least, resembling that of the 
Meadow Sweet, although not so powerful. Though 
a herbaceous plant this may be grown with great 
appropriatness in the shrubbery where its pro¬ 
fusion of flowers would serve to give a little colour 
to it at this season of the year. In the herbaceous 
border it should occupy the third line. 
A BLUE FLOWERED LETTUCE. 
As a rule the Lettuces with which we are familiar 
in gardens including that grown forjsalad making, 
have yellow flowers. There are, however, several 
with blue flowers, including Lactuca perennis, 
which is very effective as a border plant, but is even 
more at home on the rackery in association with 
rocks and other subjects that enjoy similar condi¬ 
tions. The leaves are large, deeply pinnatisect and 
of a beautiful glaucous hue. The stems are about 
2ft. high, much branched and bear their flower 
heads in a graceful and open panicle. The heads 
are starry, with long, lilac blue, ray florets, and 
loosely arranged deep blue disc florets. A fine 
specimen may be seen upon the rockery at Kew. 
YUCCA ANGUSTIFCLIA. 
Comparatively few of the Yuccas are hardy but 
those few not only live out of doors in the south of 
England, but thrive satisfactorily, making fine foliage 
and flowering freely. The leaves of that under 
notice are much narrower than those of any other 
species we have seen out of doors, linear, about i8in. 
long, moderately rigid, and furnished with a few 
white thread-like processes at the margin. There is 
a flowering specimen upon the rockwork at Kew at 
the present time, with a stem about 3ft. high, 
bearing a mass of large, pendent, somewhat droop¬ 
ing flowers, of a creamy white hue, and more or 
less tinted with pink on the outer face. In associa¬ 
tion with some large boulders it seems to harmonise 
well with its surroundings. 
CNCNIS ANGUSTIFCLIA. 
Several of the species of Restharrow are of a 
shrubby nature while the rest are herbaceous. The 
flowers of that under notice are of a beautiful soft 
pink with the midrib of the standard and the outer 
edge of the keel tinted with rose. They are borne 
in terminal clustery on shrubby stems about i8in. 
high, and may be described as delicate and pretty. 
The leaves are nearly stalkless, and consist of three 
lanceolate, serrate leaflets. It is a convenient little 
shrub for planting about rockwork, and is perfectly 
hardy. It may be propagated by cuttings of the 
half ripened shoots under a hand glass. 
LIMNCCHARIS PLUMIERI. 
The allied Hydrocleys Commersoni, better known 
as Limnocharis Humboldtii, is more frequently 
cultivated than the plant under notice, yet the latter 
is remarkably distinct, and though the flowers are 
not particularly showy the foliage is conspicuous, 
making the plant an interesting subject for planting, 
or standing by the edge of a tank in the stove. The 
leaves are large, heart-shaped, and light glaucous 
green, with three-angled petioles. Curiously enough 
the flower stem and pedicels are even more sharply 
three-angled, and the former terminates in an umbel 
of six to ten flowers. The three inner segments or 
petals, are pale yellow, fading almost to white at the 
edges, and the stamens are yellow. The leaves are 
carried about 2 ft. or 3 ft. above the water, and 
apparently were never intended for floating as the 
early leaves of Hydrocleys Commersoni do. Several 
plants may be seen in the Lily house at Kew. 
CLITCRIA TERNATEA. 
Climbers in stoves are frequently objected to on 
account of their size, but the subject of this notice 
occupier but little space, and should the stems be 
numerous, all that is necessary is to spread them out 
thinly or remove some of them. The leaves are 
compound and consist of one to four pairs of ovate 
or oval leaflets with an odd one. T. he stems are 
twining, and continue developing flowers over many 
weeks. The standard is the largest and most con¬ 
spicuous feature of the flower, and is of an intense 
azure-blue, with an oblong or variously shaped pale 
yellow band or blotch along the centre. The wings 
are much smaller, slightly paler, and hide the small 
white keel. The species comes from India and is 
readily propagated by seed. 
