April 1, 1893. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
487 
The Pear Slug, or Slugworm, is often found on the 
Cherry. 
The Peach Scale, 
Lecanium persicae, is another troublesome pest, 
and one which it is rather difficult to stamp out. 
The insects live on the buds and branches of the 
trees, and by their continued suction of the sap 
weaken the trees considerably. The eggs are not 
laid, but remain in the body of the female which dies. 
When hatched the larvae move about for a short 
time, and then fix themselves in position on the 
branches from which place they never move. As 
they increase in size, their structure is altered con¬ 
siderably, the body assumes a rounder form, the 
legs and antennae on the body almost entirely 
disappear ; the bodies are of a brown scale-like ap¬ 
pearance. 
Remedies.—The best remedy of all is to thoroughly 
scrub the trees in the winter, using a stiff brush kept 
moist with some insecticide, and syringing the trees 
in summer with a soft-soap mixture at the rate of 
8 lb. to 12 gallons of water and adding a gallon of 
tobacco water. There are various other remedies 
which would be serviceable,such as Fir tree oil, Gis- 
hurst Compound, &c. A good remedy is hot water 
(145°) with which to wash the trees in winter. 
Green fly (Aphis amygdali) is frequently very 
troublesome on the young growing shoots of the 
Peach, and it is generally when the trees are in 
flower and the shoots from two to three inches long, 
that it does most damage. The aphis is very minute 
in size, soft bodied, long legged, and the antennae 
long and slender. It is the growing points of the 
shoots which they attack, completely crippling them 
if not checked. 
They increase with astounding rapidity. The 
eggs are laid in autumn, lie dormant during the 
winter, and are hatched out with the warmer days of 
spring. The larvae originating in this way ulti¬ 
mately produce viviparous individuals which go on 
multiplying their species at a surprising rate ; the 
progeny are possessed of the same wonderful power, 
hence the enormous number which are produced in 
one season. It is said that in a few weeks many 
millions of young might be produced from one 
individual. The same remedy as advised for the 
Plum aphis we have found very servicable in this 
case also. 
The Gooseberry. 
The Gooseberry and Currant sawfly (Nematus 
ribesii). The mischief done by the caterpillars of 
this fly is too well known to every gardener. The 
insects appear in April, and lay their eggs on the 
underside of the young leaves, mostly in .the angle 
formed by the midrib and the blade of the leaf; the 
larvae are hatched out in about a week, and com¬ 
mence operations by eating holes in the leaves, and 
, continue devouring them until they have completely 
demolished everything except the veins. 
When full grown, the caterpillars are a pale green, 
with a black head and tail; and the two segments 
next the head, and the one at the tail, are a bright 
yellow; the whole body is also spotted with black. 
When they are full fed they descend to the ground 
and bury themselves near the surface, where they 
change to the pupa state in about three weeks. The 
perfect insects then appear and go on with their work 
of egg laying again. The late broods remain in the 
soil during winter and appear when the young leaves 
come out in spring. 
Various means are employed to destroy the cater¬ 
pillars, such as hand picking, dusting the leaves when 
damp with flower of sulphur, soot, lime and various 
other dry dressings. But the most effectual plan is 
to remove the surface soil from under the bushes in 
winter fully two inches down. It should be taken 
away and buried, and numbers of the cocoons will 
in this way be destroyed. 
The Magpie or Gooseberry Moth, 
Abraxas grossulariata, often proves destructive to the 
leafage of Gooseberries, Currants, and sometimes 
Apricots and Plums. The eggs are laid on the leaves 
towards the end of summer, and the caterpillars 
appear towards the end of August and in September 
They feed on the leaves until they fall, and then And 
shelter either in rolled up leaves hung by a thread 
from the branches, or on the ground. They pass the 
winter in this state and then recommence to feed on 
the young leaves in spring till full fed, till about the 
end of May or beginning of June. The perfect in¬ 
sects appear as above stated and lay their eggs soon 
after (ten legs). Where this moth is prevalent all 
leaves should be swept up and burnt, and any hang¬ 
ing from the branches removed. A lot of the 
caterpillars are sure to be destroyed in this way, and 
the caterpillar may also be thinned by dusting the 
bushes with soot, lime or sulphur. 
Currant Bud Mite, 
Phytoptus ribis, is a small oblong, four-legged .mite 
infesting the buds of Black Currants. Its presence 
is easily detected by the abnormal swelling of the 
buds in early winter, giving the bush the appearance 
of coming into leaf about midwinter. It is an ex¬ 
cessively minute little creature, with a white fleshy 
body and bristles on each side. The mites find 
their way in the buds and destroy the embryo leaves, 
causing the buds to swell to a great size. In bad 
cases the leaves never expand, and the bushes be¬ 
come useless. The only effectual remedy is to cut 
off the affected parts and burn them, or in bad cases 
to grub up the bushes and burn them. 
Canker, 
Though not an insect enemy, a short reference to it 
here can be hardly misplaced, as it is one of the 
most deadly enemies of the Apple and Pear. 
Much has been written regarding canker, its cause 
and cure, but much still remains to be done before 
we can say that we have got to the bottom of it. 
The investigations carried on by many practical 
men have done much to enlighten us on the subject, 
but they have not reached that stage yet ; its 
appearance still gives grave cause for anxiety on the 
part of the fruit grower. Our authorities are not at 
all agreed as to what is the cause of it; but many say 
“ sudden checks to the vegetation of the tree,” “ de¬ 
rangement of the flow of sap,” bad pruning and 
bruises, or the roots getting down into unsuitable 
soil, all of which may contribute to the spread of the 
disease. According to Goethe and our chairman it is 
caused by a fungus (Nectria ditissima).— T. Waugh. 
Lettuce. 
In a large majority of private establishments a good 
and regular supply of Lettuces during the spring and 
summer months is looked for. In the market 
gardens round London tens, or I might say hundreds, 
of thousands of White Cos are now being planted 
for the first crop. These plants were sown last 
Autumn in cold frames close to the glass, and with 
the protection of litter during severe weather, and 
are now of a good planting size. It is the general 
practice in private places, where only a few plants 
are required at one time, to sow in heat and harden 
off, but I have found the plants that have been 
growing cold all through the winter grow away faster 
than those raised in heat. After the first lot in the 
open it is much safer to sow very thinly and let the 
plants grow where they are sown, especially the 
Cabbage varieties, but neither are so liable to run to 
seed prematurely during hot dry weather. It is best 
to sow at least once every fortnight all through the 
summer, and then, with ordinary care, no scarcity is 
likely to occur.— G. H. S. 
Carrots. 
The first week in April is about the best time for 
sowing the main crop of Carrots. Some French 
Horn and Summer Favourite may be sown on a 
warm border for an early supply, to follow those in 
a frame. Now as to the main crop, the most sandy 
soil in the garden should be chosen, and if perfect 
specimens are required the ground should have been 
trenched to a depth of 2 ft., the drills may be about 
2 in. deep, and to render the seed easier for sowing it 
can be thoroughly mixed with dry sand. The drills 
if 15 in. apart will be a good distance. In many 
kitchen gardens great difficulty is experienced in 
growing good Carrots, and I have found a great 
difference in the quality of the crops even in the 
same garden. Any kind of burnt refuse will help bad 
Carrot ground, and lime will also be helpful to check 
insects.—G. H. S. 
-—*»- 
Ijafdeiieif Ipiprolepiept jlppociatiopp. 
Woolton. —On Friday evening, the 24th ult., the 
members of this society had an opportunity, by the 
kind invitation of R. J. Harvey Gibson, Esq., M.A., 
of inspecting the Liverpool University Building, and 
more especially the teaching apparatus in connection 
with the botany division. A large number of micro¬ 
scopes with instructive sections had been arranged, 
the various instruments used in preparing sections, 
models of flowers, pictures, dried specimens, and the 
valuable herbarium were open for the enjoyment and 
instruction of the visitors. The courteous host 
kindly explained specimens of exceptional interest so 
that details might be thoroughly grasped. The 
noble pile of new buildings, including the magnificent 
Hall, the commodious and beautiful “ Tate ” Library, 
etc., were seen and greatly admired. A hearty vote 
of thanks was tendered to Mr. Gibson for this most 
enjoyable treat. 
-- 
GARDENING fflSCELLANY. 
EARLY SPRING FLOWERS. 
In my note on early spring flowers, p. 418, I recom¬ 
mended Sedum pulchellum as a carpet in which to 
plant Leucojums ; being not sure of the name I con¬ 
sulted a first-class authority, who looked at his book 
and named it. Since then 1 showed pieces of the 
Sedum to a great authority. He believed it to be 
S. Ewersii, but as there still seemed some doubt, a 
third was consulted, who provisional ly named it 
S. hybridum [? S. lydium], but required to see the 
flowers. These Sedums are very puzzling. With 
your permission I will send the name when finally 
settled, and meantime ask to correct the name S. pul¬ 
chellum. Since my note another lovely Iris, I. 
Rosenbachiana, bloomed on the 10th March in a 
hill bed, and about the same time several plants of 
Tecophyllea cyanocrocus, both the blue and blue and 
white forms, all beautiful. We succeed better with 
both of these plants in the open air than under glass. 
Rhododendron prascox superbum, shown in the Kew 
collection at the last R.H.S. meeting, lasted well this 
year for some time, but then the hard frost caught 
the blossoms. This plant should, I think, be grown 
more, and be placed both in sun and shade, so that 
some would escape, owing to the different times of 
flowering, the short frosts so common at this season. 
Our largest plant is 5 ft. high and 5 ft. wide, and 
owing to the habit of free-flowering was very beauti¬ 
ful. Shortia galacifolia in light, peaty soil in shade 
has grown and flowered well.— George F. Wilson, 
Heatherbank, Weybridge Heath, March 24 th. 
THE WEATHER IN THE ABERDEENSHIRE 
HIGHLANDS DURING 1892 . 
Mr. James Aiken, banker, Braemar, who has 
the charge of the meteorological instruments and 
the observatory at Castleton of Braemar, Aberdeen¬ 
shire, has just completed his annual detailed state¬ 
ment of records of the weather during the past year, 
and from his carefully compiled document the 
following few notes are taken :—The observatory 
stands in latitude 57 0 north, longitude 3 0 24 min. 
west; and the elevation of the station above sea 
level is 1,114 ft- It may here be noted that the 
instruments in the observatory are of the very best 
description, and were the gifts of the late Prince 
Consort, and are now maintained by the Queen. 
They were made by Negretti & Zambra, of London, 
and have been compared with the standard subjects 
by Mr. Glaisher, from whose tables the hygro- 
metrical deductions have been obtained. Sunshine 
is computed by Jordan’s photographic recorder, and 
the rain gauge has a receiver 8 in. in diameter, and 
is placed' on the ground. 
The instruments at Castleton are read twice 
daily by the observer—at 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. 
Beginning with the thermometer, which is placed in 
air and protected, June has the highest reading, 76*; 
July, 74 9 ; August, 71 0 ; and September, 61 0 ; while 
the lowest occurred in February, 2 0 below zero. 
The highest mean temperature of the year was 6o° 
in July ; August had 59 0 ; September, 54° ; and June, 
58°. In sun the maximum records were July, 136° ; 
June, 135 0 ; August, 133 0 ; May, 121 0 ; September, 
118 0 ; and October, 106°. The direction of the 
wind for the year was principally south-westerly and 
west, which may account largely for the continued 
wet and damp weather experienced during harvest 
time. From due north the wind blew for seventeen 
days, and from due south for fifteen days, while from 
south-west and west its course extended over 222 
days, and from north-east and east 112 days. The 
highest mean pressure per square foot, 132 in., was 
realised in January. For the year the total rainfall 
was 28 in., being 6 in. below the previous year, and 
11 in. under 1S90, so that taking it all over it was a 
