570 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
arcuatum, A. Leonis, Cypripedium barbatum 
Warned, C. niveum, and C. concolor. A fine plant 
of the latter, which has been here since 1893, has 
yellow, spotted flowers. A smaller plant is carrying 
three flowers on one spike, a very rare occurrence. 
We have never seen so many before on one scape, 
and must compliment Mr. Young upon his success. 
—-4.- 
BLIGHT AND BLESSING. 
Professor Fred. Enock has delighted many British 
audiences by his interesting and lucid descriptions of 
the insects and insect life of this country, and the 
Royal Horticultural Society was fortunate in 
securing him for a lecture on the 12th ult. The 
end ot the Drill Hall where the lectures are usually 
given was enclosed by canvass, and a dark room was 
thus improvised to enable the audience to have the 
benefit of the numerous lantern slides which the 
professor brought with him. These illustrations 
were taken from drawings and photographs of the 
various insects dealt with, and it would be difficult 
to overpraise them for accuracy and detail of finish. 
Every member of the audience must have gone 
away with a very faithful idea of the structure and 
qualities of some of the insect friends and foes he 
meets with, thanks to these admirable illustrations 
and the Professor’s not less admirable descriptions. 
Mr. Me Lachlan occupied the chair. 
In his opening remarks, the lecturer spoke of the 
ubiquity of “blight ’’ or green fly. In his humorous 
way he said that green fly was not always green, but 
was sometimes black and brown and white. This fly 
bred so rapidly that unless something else preyed 
and lived upon it everything would soon be com¬ 
pletely covered, and we should never be able to grow 
plants at all. He then proceeded to enumerate some 
of the insects which preyed upon the fly or blight, 
and were, therefore, to be regarded by the gardener 
as friends. 
First of all came the Wasp Fly or Hoverer. There 
were twenty or thirty of these flies belonging to the 
genus Syrphus. They all fed upon the green fly 
and laid their eggs amongst it; in fact he had 
counted 500 on a single leaf. The maggot of the 
wasp fly hatched after a few days, and straightway 
began to feed upon the green fly. These maggots 
could easily be identified by the way in which they 
fixed themselves to the midrib of the leaf by their 
anoclaspers and waved their bodies about, seizing 
the green fly with their hooked mouths. One of 
these maggots could destroy as many as 15c green 
flies in an hour, and they kept this up for thirteen or 
fourteen days. In the chrysalis stage this insect 
resembled the bud of a tree to whose bark it was 
affixed. The eye of the wasp fly had 11,000 facets, 
or 22,000 for the two eyes, each facet being capable 
of receiving a distinct image. Some capital slides 
were shown illustrating all stages of the wasp fly’s 
existence. 
Nearly every fly, continued the professor, had its 
own parasite, the one insect preying upon the other, 
and this hyperparasitism was often carried to the 
third degree. 
Speaking of the Black Currant Gall mite which had 
done so much damage to the Black Currant industry 
in various parts of the country, more particularly in 
Kent, the lecturer showed how the mite, which was 
a torpedo-shaped insect barely one-four-hundredth of 
an inch long, took up its quarters in the bud and 
eventually destroyed it. The only way to get rid 
ot them at present known was to pick off all the galls 
and burn them. He had discovered, however, that 
this mite had a parasite which preyed upon it, and 
perhaps something might be done by cultivating the 
parasite. 
Professor Enock next turned his attention to the 
Willow Gall, which was to be seen in such quantities 
upon Willows. These galls were the work of the 
Willow Sawfly (Nematus gallicola). He had never 
yet found a male of this Sawfly, and the flies were 
really not plentiful. The eggs are laid generally in 
the month of April, and the leaf feels the effects of 
the piercing of its epidermis and the insertion of the 
egg within an hour. He had cut open the galls and 
found the maggots hatching. The Willow Sawfly 
also had its parasites which pierced the body of the 
maggot and thus paralysed it, so that it would form 
a means of subsistence for the maggots hatched from 
its own eggs, which it subsequently laid within the 
gall. 
The Devil's Coach-horse Beetle was described as 
one of the most useful of the insects that were to be 
found in a garden. It preyed upon all sorts of 
caterpillars that were injurious to vegetable life, and 
on that account should be spared whenever it was 
found, and not, as was too frequently the case, 
destroyed. 
Mr. McLachlan made a few remarks at the con¬ 
clusion of the lecture, mentioning among other 
things, that the chrysalis of the Lace-wing Fly had 
been described as fungi by an Italian botanist of some 
repute, thus showing how easy it was for anyone to 
be led astray. 
A very hearty vote of thanks was accorded to 
Professor Enock at the close. 
■ » 1 «~ 
BELGIAN NURSERIES. 
II.—MM. Louis Van Houtte Cie., Ltd., Ghent. 
The famous nursery of this company is situated at 
Gendbrugge, just beyond the ancient gateway of the 
city of Ghent, known as Port Bruxelles. According 
to the Belgian custom the title of the firm is Society 
anonyme L. Van Houtte, Pere, being named after 
the founder of the firm, the father of M. L. Van 
Houtte. 
Arriving at the nursery during the dinner hour we 
went for a stroll through the grounds, some fifteen 
acres in extent. A considerable portion of the 
ground at the time of our visit was planted with 
spring flowering bulbs such as Hyacinths, Tulips, 
and Daffodils, all of which were remarkably dwarf 
and sturdy. Their dwarf character would no doubt 
be due to the peculiar nature of the soil which con¬ 
sists almost entirely of very fine, gray sand annually 
enriched with applications of farmyard manure or 
leaf soil. The Hyacinths were practically past their 
best, but Daffodils were at their best, including 
breadths of the large trumpet varieties such as are 
grown for commercial purposes. Narcissus odorus 
and its variety N. o. rugulosus were 12 in. to 18 in. 
high and grown in considerable quantity, as was N. 
orientalis, also in full bloom. Beautiful and interest¬ 
ing were the numerous forms of the Due Van Thol 
Tulips, in a brilliant array of colours. Slightly later, 
but still belonging to the section we term early, was 
a great number of sorts of Tulips planted for spring 
bedding in this country. Each variety was grown in 
some quantity, and it only required another week or 
so to set the whole field ablaze with a gorgeous array 
of different colours. The plants were dwarf, but 
evidently at home in the sandy soil of this part of 
Belgium. 
We passed through portions of the nursery planted 
with the stocks of fruit trees. Various ornamental 
shrubs and trees were coming into bloom, including 
Pyrus spectabilis, P. salicifolia, and others. Sweet 
Bays (Laurus nobilis) are grown in great quantities, 
in pots and tubs which cover a considerable area 
of ground. Very fine were the standards, having 
heads 3 ft. by 3 ft. on stems averaging about 4 ft. 
high. Pyramids are equally, if not more, plentiful, 
and were symmetrical specimens varying from 4 ft. 
to 12 ft. in height according to age. The upright 
stems are closely furnished with side branches from 
base to apex. These Bays are grown as we would 
Oranges for ornamental purposes, housing them in 
winter and standing them out as soon as the weather 
gets sufficiently mild in spring 
Various choice hardy plants were growing in 
frames or stood in the open, including terrestrial 
Orchids, both European and Asiatic. Cypripedium, 
Orchis, and Ophrys were some of the genera repre¬ 
sented. Four frames, each about 12 yards in length, 
were filled with the rare and interesting Myosotidium 
nobile, the New Zealand Forget-me-not. 
M. Jules van de Kerckhove now came to our 
assistance, and we passed through the houses which 
number something like ninety-five of all sizes, and 
for various purposes. Most of them are span-roofed 
structures, and well adapted for plant culture. A 
general collection of plants is grown, though perhaps 
they are not so numerous as when M. Louis Van 
Houtte Pere made Belgian horticulture a household 
word in this country many years ago. The times 
have changed, and the aim now is to grow those 
plants chiefly which are of leading commercial im¬ 
portance. Stove and greenhouse plants with orna¬ 
mental foliage are still, however, well represented. 
Palms, Alocasias, Anthuriums, &c., are grown in 
May 7, 1898. 
quantity. Amongst others we noted Dracaena 
Bruanti, D. Doucetti, Acalypha obovata, Asparagus 
Sprengeri, with its long, drooping sprays ; Claviga 
squamata, and Abutilon Czarwitzi, the latter having 
its leaves almost wholly white. Furcroya Lindeni 
closely resembles an American Aloe with white 
edges to the leaves, and is very distinct. The Rho- 
palas are represented by R. vervaeneana, with rusty, 
woolly stems and paler woolly leaves ; and R. aurea, 
having a clothing of yellow-brown wool. Ficus lan- 
ceolata is an uncommon species, with lanceolate, 
dark green leaves, 6 in. to 12 in. long. The blue 
Amaryllis, A. procera, also known as Empress of 
Brazil, was flowering in the same house as the 
above. 
Fine foliage plants were also the feature of the 
next house entered. A new plant is Alocasia Ker- 
chovei, the large leaves of which are dark green and 
silvered all over, while the under-surface is violet. 
Begonia Otto Foster has velvety olive leaves and 
large silvery blotches. Notable also are Heliconia 
illustris, Pandanus pacificus ,and numerous species 
and forms of Dieffenbachia. The dark and light 
green leaves of D. Rex, covered with large creamy 
blotches, are very handsome. There is a large, 
general collection of Aroids, and Melastomads. 
Dracaena sanderiana and Smilax Sarsaparilla are 
grown in quantity. Globa alba, belonging to the 
Ginger family, has yellow flowers and white bracts. 
A graceful and handsome foliage plant belonging to 
the Myrtle family is Eugenia glazioviana, having 
small rhomboid leaves, and a drooping, twiggy habit 
of growth. 
Crotons are grown to some extent, preference 
being given to the finer varieties. C. caudatus tor- 
tilis has long, twisted, dark green leaves, richly varie¬ 
gated with yellow and having red petioles. Along 
with them the hybrids between Anthurium scher- 
zerianum and A. rothschildianum are very numerous, 
varied and beautiful. 
Numerous houses are filled with Palms of various 
sizes, thousands of them being of a size often 
required for decorative purposes in private establish¬ 
ments, and including Phoenix, Kentias, Cocos, 
Geonomas, Latanias, &c. We passed through a 
large house, really consisting of six built in one 
block, and continuous internally from one side to the 
other. This contains Cocos weddeliana by the thov- 
sand, and of all sizes The same may be said cf 
Kentia balmoreana and K. fosteriana. Aspidistra 
lurida, and A. 1. variegata, in well grown plarfts, con¬ 
stitute the glory of another house. 
Indian Azaleas are so abundant and varied that 
they cannot be ignored. They meet the visitor at 
every turn, in all sizes from the cutting to plants of 
useful market size in full bloom. These latter would 
vary from 15 ins. to 18 ins. in diameter, with stems 
about a foot high, and flat tops so profusely covered 
with flowers as to completely hide the foliage. The 
first house we entered was a curvilinear-roofed 
structure, 180 yards in length, and entirely filled with 
varieties of Azalea indica, planted out in beds of 
leaf soil and making their growth. Flowering speci¬ 
mens of market size were stood at intervals amongst 
them. 
Elsewhere we came upon a block of twenty houses, 
or in other words one huge house covered by twenty 
spans of glass roofing. The same order prevailed as 
already described. Many of the finest varieties in 
commerce were in bloom. The large double flowers 
of Lady Hellington are of a beautiful rosy-purple. 
Deutsche Perle is well known in this country as the 
best white. The flowers of Comte de la Torre are 
salmon, edged with silvery white. Fully double and 
very handsome are the flowers of John T. D. 
LlewellyD, being flesh-coloured, deepening to pink in 
the centre, and white at the edges. Plants raised 
from grafts are ready for market in the course of 
three years. Those which are intended to be grown 
into large specimens are grafted on stems 18 ins. 
high, this height being convenient for growing into 
broad, dome-shaped heads, like the large plants at 
the Ghent exhibition. 
Every preparation was being made for planting 
out the young stock in the open ground. They are to 
be grown in leaves collected in the woods and forests 
last autumn, so that they are yet scarcely at all 
decayed. During hot weather the beds are heavily 
watered every night. Many English visitors crossed 
our path while passing through the houses and 
grounds. 
