August 12, 1893. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
787 
Jubilee; and frequently large drops of rain fell, quite 
insufficient, even to wet the ground and scattered 
over narrow paths of inconsiderable length. Very 
heavy rains occurred over the eastern district of 
Scotland, practically terminating the drought there, 
on June 22nd and 23rd, when, on these two days 
4 20 in. fell at the North Esk Reservoir on the Pent- 
land Hills, 3 32 in. at Roslin, 2’2i in. at Aberdeen. 
2-06 in. at Logie Coldstone, near Ballater, and nearly 
2 in. at many places, whilst generally in the west 
little, and at many places no rain fell at all. 
Temperature was phenomenally and almost con¬ 
tinuously high in March, April, May, and June, 
especially as regards the first three of these months. 
Thus, for London thte mean of the three months was 
4 3 0 above the mean of the previous 130 years , and 
in Edinburgh 3’3 Q . The only springs since 1763 with 
a mean temperature exceeding that of 1893 were for 
London, 1811 and 1794, which were respectively 
5 2 0 and 4'3 Q above the average ; and for Edinburgh, 
1779 and 1781, which exceeded the mean by 4 0° and 
3 8°. It is highly interesting to note that large as 
these figures are, the Ben Nevis figures far exceed 
them, the mean temperature at this high-level 
observatory for March, April, and May last being 
6 6° above the mean of these months, a result due to 
the prevailing anticyclones, which so frequently are 
attended there with abnormally high temperatures. 
The drought has also extended over nearly the 
whole of Europe, large portions of Canada, the 
United States, and other parts of the globe. In the 
north of Italy no living person recollects to have seen 
the Italian lakes so low ahd the southern Alps so 
greatly denuded of their snow covering. It is 
estimated that over the wheat-growing countries of 
the world, this valuable crop will be to no inconsider¬ 
able extent under the average. On the other hand, 
in other parts of the world the rainfall has been 
exceptionally heavy, and followed with widespread, 
disastrous floods, as in the cotton districts of the 
United States, and in Queensland. 
In London, the total amount of rain that fell during 
the no days, from March 4th to June 22nd, was 
077 in. Mr Symons, our best authority on the 
question of droughts, enumerates eight droughts 
which have been recorded during the present century. 
Of these, the longest-continued was 105 days, from 
March nth to June 23rd, 1844; and thus the drought 
of the present year is the greatest in the British 
Island authenticated by meteorological records.— 
Nature. 
nearly the same period had elapsed before Mr. 
Fortune gave us the male plant. By means of its 
fecundating powers the female has borne berries, 
and from these have come numerous varieties, some 
green, others variegated, all differing more or less in 
the density and size of the blotches and in the shape 
of the leaves. Nature seems to have created this 
family for the special adornment of our cities and 
towns ; for the members flourish in a smoky area as 
well as in the open of the public park. Will any 
other Evergreen stand the shade and drip of trees 
like this charming Aucuba ? And have we any 
other that will compare with it for beauty and 
utility ?— R. D. 
- - I -- 
DELPHINIUMS. 
These, among the most charming of herbaceous 
flowers, are now out of bloom, and may be propa¬ 
gated very readily from cuttings. It is much best to 
do so in the autumn, as you then get a well-rooted 
plant ready for planting out next season. You also 
avoid removing any of the early growths that would 
produce splendid spikes of flower, and in this respect 
alone autumn propagation is far preferable to spring. 
They will also root more freely. Delphiniums are 
easily propagated by seed and division of their roots; 
but where one wishes to increase a certain variety, 
it is absolutely necessary to do so by cuttings or 
division. 
As these flowers do not produce such grand 
clumps when divided, it is far better to seize the 
present opportunity to increase the stock of desired 
varieties. Cut down the old stems close to the 
ground, when the roots will soon produce short 
growths from the crown. These may be removed 
as soon as they are 3 in. to 4 in. long. If cut off as 
close to the crown as possible, there will be a better 
chance of successful striking. Use small pots of 
about 72 to a cast, and a compost of leaf-soil, loam, 
and sand in about equal proportions. Place them 
in a close frame ; it is not necessary that it be 
heated in any way. They will soon strike root and 
may remain in the frame until the following spring. 
If planted out early, and upon good ground, they 
will bloom fairly well during the summer, and will 
be in full vigour and beauty the following year.— 
Experience. 
(Meant tuts fU'ttt the IDmrltr 
of Srience. 
A Plague of Caterpillars.— A contemporary 
recently gave a report of a terrible plague of cater- 
AUCUBA JAPONICA. 
Having in my forecourt garden, which is on a north 
aspect, some large bushy plants of Aucuba japonica, pillars which are devastating the romantic canton of 
and finding they, from being too tall, shaded the 
windows on the basement floor, I early in spring cut 
them down close to the ground. They remained 
quiet for a time, but during the past two months 
they have broken into fresh growth, the leaves being 
beautifully variegated. As the plants occupy a 
rather shaded spot they had become some¬ 
what drawn and the stems lanky. Now the bases of 
the plants will be a dense mass of foliage, and in a 
season or two quite a vigorous fence of the Aucuba 
will be formed, and though occupying a sunless spot 
the leaves are always bright and effective Aucubas 
differ in this respect, and perhaps mine is a seminal 
variety with a greater dash of variegation, and it is 
worthy of note that the Aucuba appears to adapt 
itself to all soils and positions. I have seen it 
thriving in places where many other shrubs would 
die, and though the plants may have no attention 
bestowed upon them, they thrive and minister to 
man in supplying bold and handsome leafage upon 
which to feast his eyes. Indeed, amongst the beau¬ 
tiful plants which tropical and temperate climates 
have given to Britain, perhaps none are more 
valuable for towns than the varieties of the Aucuba 
japonica. 
Robert Fortune has well described them as he 
saw them growing near Yokohama and Yeddo, with 
profusion of scarlet fruit contrasting with deep green 
foliage, as worthy a voyage from England to witness 
their beauty. It has been stated that he went from 
China to Japan to look for varieties of this plant, and 
the first he saw was in a garden at Yokohama. Soon 
afterwards he found many varieties in their native 
beauty in the woods near Yeddo. 
It is a curious fact that though Aucuba japonica 
was introduced from Japan more than a century ago, 
Uri, the home of Tell and his exploits, in Switzerland. 
After describing the destruction of everything green 
by them, the foul odour filling the air, and the 
campaigns organised by the Swiss to destroy 
the mischevious pest, the report goes on to 
say that the Swiss savants state that the species of 
caterpillar is the Noctua graminis of entomologists, 
and that it is a native of Northern Russia, Finland, 
and Norway. They suppose also that a number of 
eggs must have dropped from a consignment of goods 
on its way to the Gothard railway, and, aided by the 
extreme heat, have pullulated (sic), with extraordin¬ 
ary rapidity. By this time, according to their 
predictions, the air will be filled with swarms of 
butterflies. 
Wonders of Railway Travelling. —We cannot 
be surprised that the peasants should imagine the 
root and rise of the present plague should have been 
effected by the railway, to which many wonderful 
doings have been and are ascribed even in this 
country ; but we are surprised that the Swiss savants 
should have given rise to such a theory. Insect eggs are, 
no doubt, carried about upon goods such as hay, fruit 
trees,and other plants; but supposing that suchwas the 
origin of the unfortunate distribution of the insect 
under notice, it would take a number of years for the 
insects to increase to such an alarming extent as to 
eat up all the vegetation and fill the air with a con¬ 
taminating stench. The wording of the report, 
however, would give one to understand that the 
increase has all taken place this summer. "Aided 
by the extreme heat (the eggs), have pullulated with 
extraordinary rapidity,” is the wording. Now the 
word "pullulate” means to sprout or germinate, but we 
have never known entomologists to use such a term. 
Besides it is utterly impossible for a number (the 
exact number is not stated), of eggs, caterpillars, or 
pupae to give rise to a greater number by sprouting 
or germinating, no matter what the amount of heat 
or other favourable circumstances. In the case of 
this insect, one egg, one caterpillar, is the law of 
nature. It would have required a truck-load of eggs, 
probably, to effect the destruction stated. 
Not Butterflies at all. — Entomologists would 
laugh at the idea of a swarm of butterflies arising 
from the eggs of Noctua graminis, which is a species 
of moth. There is no Noctua graminis native to 
Britain, but there are numerous others belonging to 
the Noctuina, section Genuinae, to which the same 
destructive effects might be attributed. Amongst 
them there is Charaeas graminis, otherwise known as 
Cerapteryx graminis, which lives concealed at the 
’ roots of grasses, feeding upon them. The 
insect in this case attains the perfect form in July, 
August, and September. There are also several (at 
least six), species of Agrotis belonging to the same 
group of moths which feed on grasses, including 
Agrotis segetum, which often does great harm to corn 
in this country, particularly in the north, where it is 
known as the Tory Worm. Several of the true 
species of Noctua also feed upon grass. Many of 
these moths are common both in Britain and upon 
the continent, so that it is possible a number of 
species, and not merely one, is at work in Switzer¬ 
land. 
From whence come the Caterpillars.— 
Whenever any country or part of a country becomes 
infested with caterpillars of one kind or other it is 
usual to ascribe it to their migration from some 
other country.sometimes across seas many miles wide, 
and all this notwithstanding the fact that the same 
insect may have been known to entomologists as a 
true native for a century or more. When Switzerland 
or any other country becomes infested with insects 
which are natives, is it not reasonable to suppose 
that they have been bred there, just as easily as any¬ 
where else ? When the conditions are favourable, 
and food abundant, as it is generally made by the 
processes of horticulture and agriculture, certain 
insects increase rapidly until they become a veritable 
plague. This solution of the question is seldom 
adopted. 
Will they appear next year.— This may or 
may not be the case according to circumstances. 
Nature works in a mysterious way, and for lack of 
observation, the inhabitants of rural districts grope 
about blindly on the wrong track. If they expect to 
see the air swarming with butterflies in Switzerland 
they will be disappointed—agreeably or otherwise, 
according to the way they look at it. The pro¬ 
bability is they will see very little of the real depre¬ 
dator even when it attains the perfect state, for all 
the Noctuina are dull coloured moths and fly in the 
dusk of the evening or when quite dark as a rule, so 
that very little is seen of the real enemy, sowing 
tares as it were in the fields of grass, corn, and other 
economic products. Nature herself often comes to 
the rescue. Heavy and cold showers of rain coming 
at an opportune time often do irreparable injury to 
swarms of caterpillars, so that very little of them is 
seen in succeeding summers, and the terror or the 
lesson it afforded is soon forgotten, or what is often 
more probable, no lesson beyond its remembrance 
is learnt at all. Another aspect of the question 
which has repeatedly presented itself in this country 
is that the enemy may be gradually increasing year 
after year on certain crops and no measures are taken 
to check it till it appears in formidable numbers, 
almost defying human skill to cope with. Hence 
the moral—take measures in good time. 
TIE VEGETABLE GARDEN. 
General Work. 
Any early Potatos that have been left to ripen for 
seed may now be lifted and stored. Many of the 
midseason and late varieties will also be ready much 
earlier than usual on light soils. Schoolmaster is 
very good with me this season and cooks splendidly. 
If the weeds are coming freely again in the 
Asparagus beds, give another dressing of salt ; it 
will stop them while young. Continue to plant Cole- 
worts on any spare ground. Strawberry runners 
that were layered for making permanent plantations 
should be planted as soon as they are well rooted. 
— G. H. S. 
