486 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
Apiil 1, 1893 
to add some fresh soil as the old is pretty well 
exhausted by the time the clumps get too large for 
their places. Every spring the borders will require 
overhauling and any large clumps to be reduced, 
and the surface of the soil stirred up with a fork. 
If Mushrooms are grown about the place the 
exhausted beds make an excellent top-dressing for 
the border. It may be spread over the ground any 
time in winter, and be forked in about March, when 
most of the bulbs are beginning to peep up and show 
their whereabouts, though it is always the better 
way io have a short stake marking where each clump 
of bulbs is situated, so that you always know where 
to find them. How often do we see a good bulb or 
clump of bulbs cut through and turned up when 
working in a border, when it might be averted by 
this simple precaution. 
Assuming then that the border is gone over in 
March and any large clump reduced, and the ground 
neatly forked over, all that is required is to stake 
the plants as they require it and keep down weeds. 
In staking a very good plan is to put in two stakes, 
one on each side of the plant, and tie the matting or 
string round the stakes gathering the plant inside 
the tying. The stakes too should be put in when¬ 
ever the plants show the least signs of falling, for 
when the plants are allowed to fall to the ground, 
then gathered up and tied to a stake, perhaps, with 
the flowers at right angles or hanging head down¬ 
wards, their beauty is spoiled for the whole season. 
While staking the plants, any that are too thick or 
crowded should be thinned out to a dozen stems or 
so, as such plants as Phloxes, Delphiniums, etc., will 
be found to produce better heads of flower when 
thinned out. 
The planting of bulbs may be taken in hand at 
the back end of the year. Such things as Snow¬ 
drops, Crocuses, Tulips, &c., may be put in in 
October or November, but Liliu.ns and Gladioli are 
better planted in spring. Some lift these bulbs 
every year when the foliage has died down, but this 
plan is not to be recommended, as they succeed well 
when undisturbed. They should be taken up occa¬ 
sionally, however, and replanted, as they have a 
tendency to grow to the surface. When the plants 
have died down to the ground they should be cut 
over, and when there is a danger of the crowns 
suffering from frost, a little sifted ashes spread over 
them will provide sufficient protection during the 
winter. 
If a few tufts of grass are left over the winter a 
few ornamental shrubs planted here and there to re¬ 
lieve the dulness of it during the winter, and a little 
judgment and taste is exercised in arranging the 
shrubs, the herbaceous border if not a thing of 
beauty at all times, may be at least pleasant to look 
at throughout the whole year. 
-- 
INSECTS INJURIOUS TO HARDY 
FRUITS. 
(Conclued from p. 472.) 
The Winter Moth. 
The winter moth (Cheimatobia brumata) is the most 
destructive of all orchard caterpillars, which prey 
upon the leaves, flowers, buds, and young fruit of 
many of our hardy fruits - they do not seem at all 
fastidious as to which. The destructiveness of this 
caterpillar cannot be over-estimated, and the 
desolation of a place after an invasion in which 
everything eatable is cleared can well be imagined. 
The male moths are from an inch to an inch and a 
quarter in the spread of their wings, the fore wings 
are of a brownish-grey colour, distinctly marked 
with several transverse bars of a darker colour near 
the posterior angle, and the hind wings are of a 
greyish colour. The female moths are brown, and 
furnished with four small wings, which are of no 
service to them for flight. The pupa is also brown, 
and hibernates in the soil near the surface. The 
caterpillars are green with a dark stripe down the 
back and three lighter ones on each side, and when 
full grown they are about one inch in length. 
A brief study of the life-history of the winter 
moth suggests to us the usefulness of many reme¬ 
dies. As the pupa hibernates near the surface, many 
could be destroyed in cultivated orchards, by re¬ 
moving the surface soil around the trees. About 
October the female moths come out of the chrysalis 
cases and proceed to ascend the trees to lay their 
eggs on the buds, shoots, or more particularly on the 
end of a branch where a portion has been cut off. 
Hence the usefulness of grease bands, to prevent the 
female moths getting up the tree. Grease proof 
paper should be used to prevent the grease soaking 
into the bark, and the grease should be laid on about 
four inches wide. This has been found to effectually 
check the ascent of the female moth. It is very 
important to have good grease so as not to damage 
the trees, and which will remain sticky for some 
time. There is sometimes aspring brood (probably of 
Hybernia defoliaria) therefore the grease bands must 
be kept in order until the end of March. It is essential 
to apply the bands early in the autumn. 
Small Ermine Moth. 
The caterpillars of the Small Ermine Moth are most 
destructive to the leafage of many trees. They are 
commonly known as social caterpillars on account 
of their living together in great numbers. Of late 
this pest has been very troublesome in some districts ; 
many trees have been completely stripped of their 
leaves as if they had gone through a fire. This 
caterpillar seems to have a particular liking for the 
leaves of the common Hawthorn. Many hedges 
have been entirely stripped of leaves in a very short 
space of time, and all that is left is the dirty remains 
of the webs. The eggs are laid in round patches on 
the small twigs, and very ingeniously covered with a 
gummy substance. The caterpillars are hatched in 
the autumn, but remain under the protection of the 
gum during winter, and come out when the young 
leaves begin to expand in spring. They feed on the 
leaves and spin webs in which they live in companies. 
When full grown each caterpillar spins itself into a 
cocoon inside the web, or elsewhere. The moths are 
usually hatched about the end of June, and are about 
three-quarters of an inch in the spread of their wings. 
The fore wings are whitish dotted with dark spots, 
and the wings are darker. The most effectual 
remedy is hand picking the webs ; but on a large 
scale this would be impossible, and where a good 
supply of water can be had they can be washed down 
with a hose, or any good insecticide syringed into' 
the nests of caterpillars would kill numbers. 
The Lackey Moth. 
Bombyx Neustria, in the caterpillar state is inju¬ 
rious to many forest trees as well aslhe Apple. It is 
not at all difficult to recognise the caterpillars of 
this moth, as they are very highly and distinctly 
coloured, and when full grown (which is about mid¬ 
summer) they are about i| inches long, very hairy, 
and decidedly ornamental in appearance. The eggs 
are laid in clusters or bands round the small shoots 
late in summer; the caterpillars are hatched and 
cover themselves with a web. At this period they 
live socially, as many as 100 to 200 sometimes being 
found together ; they go out from these nests to feed 
on the leaves, returning at night or in wet w : eather. 
At the least sign of danger they let themselves down 
by a silken thread to the ground, or sometimes hang 
suspended in the air until all danger is past. When 
full grown they separate, and each spins a cocoon in 
any convenient hiding place, and do not seek pro¬ 
tection in the soil like so many others. Towards the 
end of summer the moths come out, and vary con¬ 
siderably in colour, but are usually of a brownish 
tinge and from ij to i£ in. across wdth the wings 
expanded. It is reported that this pest has done 
very serious damage on the Continent. The first 
remedy which suggests itself is cutting off the 
shoots bearing the eggs, and destroying any cocoons 
which can be found. But this is not always practic¬ 
able, therefore the webs must be destroyed as soon 
as they appear, by cutting off the small twigs con¬ 
taining them. 
Spraying, as recommended for the winter moth, is 
of service in preventing the destruction caused by 
the lackey moth. 
The Apple-blossom Weevil, 
Anthonomus pomorum, is a most destructive little 
pest; it devours the essential organs of the flowers 
while still in the bud. The method of life of this 
beetle is for the female to pierce a hole in the flower 
buds and deposit a single egg in each, closing the 
hole before leaving it, to repeat the operation on 
another bud. Egg-laying may continue for two or 
three weeks, or in fact as long as the buds remain 
closed. The grub when “hatched eats the stamens 
and pistil, the loss of these of course is total disap¬ 
pointment to the cultivator. The weevil is said to 
attain perfect development within a month from the 
laying of the egg. After the blossoms open, the 
perfect weevil feeds on the leaves for the remainder 
of the season, and hibernates in the same way as 
American blight, therefore the remedies applied for 
the destruction of the latter would be of service in 
preventing attacks of this weevil. The grease bands 
are also of use, as the females rarely fly,but crawl up 
the stem. 
The Apple Mussel Scale, 
Aspidiotus conchiformis, is so called on account of 
its resemblance in shape to the half of a mussel 
shell; it attacks the bark of both Apples and Pears, 
and when allowed to increase, the tree becomes weak 
and unhealthy. The injury is caused by the little 
scales inserting their proboscis into the bark 
and withdrawing the sap. The eggs are not laid, but 
hatched in the dead body of the female when fixed 
to the bark. The only way to get rid of the scale 
is by scraping or brushing it off with a stiff brush 
kept moist with some good insecticide, or by spray¬ 
ing the trees with some of the insecticide washes 
about the time the larvae leave the body of their 
mother to disperse themselves over the tree in quest 
of fresh positions on which to settle down. 
The insects which infest the Pear are not quite so 
numerous as those which prey upon the Apple. 
Several of the moths mentioned when dealing with 
the Apple are also found on the Pear ; and the 
Apple mussel scale also attacks the Pear, but to a 
less extent. It has a near ally in the Oyster Scale, 
Diaspis ostreaeformis, which is confined to the Pear. 
Like the mussel scale it derives its name from the 
resemblance of the covering of the female to an 
oyster shell. The damage it does, and its habits, are 
identical with the mussel scale. 
The Slugworm, 
Eriocampa limacina, or Selandria cerasi, is often very 
destructive to the leafage of many Rosaceous plants, 
especially Pears. They usually appear after mid¬ 
summer, and feed on the upper surface of the leaves, 
gnawing away great patches of the epidermis, caus¬ 
ing the leaves to turn b own and drop. They derive 
their popular name from the resemblance to minia¬ 
ture slugs ; they are covered with a black slimy ex¬ 
cretion till the last moult, when they change to 
yellow. They then drop to the ground and seek a 
shelter in the soil, in which they pass the winter, 
appearing again in the perfect state the following 
summer. 
Remedies.—Handpicking, though wearisome, is the 
effectual remedy, soap-suds, tobacco water or caustic 
lime will easily destroy them if used in the usual 
way. As they hibernate in the surface soil,'that is 
another way open to us to destroy them. 
The Pear Gall Mite, 
Phytoptus pyri, often causes considerable damage by 
piercing the leaves and feeding on the young tissue, 
which causes blisters to arise and eventually brown 
patches on the leaves. 
This mite is rather difficult to get at, the only v 7 ay 
is to remove all affected leaves and burn them. In 
the winter they hibernate in the buds of the tree. 
The leaves should therefore be gathered w-hile still 
quite young, so as to make sure of destroying the 
mites before they have left their feeding quarters. 
The Plum. 
The insect most generally found on the Plum is 
Aphis pruni, the Plum Aphis, and in some seasons 
it proves very destructive, closing up the pores of the 
leaves by their excretions, and the mealy exudations of 
their bodies, which attract numerous flies, ants, etc., 
to the trees, and these in their turn attack the fruit, 
causing considerable loss. This aphis increases at 
an amazing rate ; the wingless females bring forth 
living young of various shades of colour, from green 
to brown, and these again multiply the same season. 
The eggs are laid in autumn and hatch out the fol¬ 
lowing spring. 
They are very hard to get at with any w’ashes, on 
account of being so curled up in the leaves ; a good 
plan is to pinch off the infested shoots and burn them. 
A good remedy for all green fly to be syringed on 
is half a pound of soft soap dissolved in a pint of 
w 7 arm milk, add to this two quarts of paraffin, and 
use at the rate of a quarter of a pint to two gallons 
of water. 
The Cherry. 
The Cherry Aphis (Aphis cerasi) frequently causes 
considerable damage to the young shoots and leaves 
of the Cherry ; it is generally called the black fly. Its 
life history resembles that of the Pium aphis, and 
the same means should be employed for its destruc¬ 
tion. Where the trees are growing on walls, the in¬ 
fested shoots could be dusted with tobacco powder. 
