118 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
August 1 , 1897. 
them ? Mr. Douglas sends seed out to all parts of 
the world, and receives many flattering testimonials 
from various sources of the good things that have 
resulted from the Edenside seed. 
Among the novelties in Carnations raised by 
Martin R. Smith, Esq., Endymion is one of the very 
best. It is a bright salmon-scarlet self of wondrously 
fine form, and smooth petals. Mr. Martin Smith 
considers it to be one of the best seifs he has ever 
raised, and this flattering commendation is not too 
high. May Yohe has very large rosy-pink flowers, 
and is noticeable for its very vigorous habit. Mrs. 
McRae is a fine bright scarlet, and entirely supersedes 
the well-known Hayes Scarlet. Nox, appropriately 
enough is a deep maroon, very nearly black, and by 
far the darkest Carnation in existence. Plants of 
this superb variety were scattered here and there 
throughout the houses, and were always most con¬ 
spicuous. The Bard exhibits a curious shade of buff 
yellow, a hue that up to the present has not been 
strongly represented. Lady Hindlip is the latest 
addition to the crimson-scarlet seifs, and a grand 
variety A very pleasing and distinct gradation of 
colour is formed by placing Endymion, Mrs. McRae, 
and Lady Hindlip together. Gilda is a magnificent 
primrose-yellow self. 
Mr. Martin Smith's yellow grounds are equally good. 
Perseus has a ground colour of rich yellow with an 
edging of lilac, splashed here and there with orange 
red. Don Juan is a first-class exhibition fancy 
variety. The ground colour is buff-yellow, curiously 
flaked and streaked reddish-purple. 
Of those raised by Mr. Douglas himself Vesta is 
one of the very best. It is the finest white self we 
have yet seen, rather larger than Mrs. Eric Hambro, 
of equally good form, and much superior habit. 
Cassandra is a huge pale blush flower that at first 
sight might easily be mistaken for a Malmaison. 
Mopsa exhibits a peculiar shade of yellow-apricot, 
and is of great value on that account alone. The 
form is also good, and the petals smooth and of great 
substance. A batch of the rich carmine-rose, Mrs. 
James Douglas arrested our attention, not only for 
the merit of the individual flowers but on account of 
its habit, which is the type of what a bedding variety 
should be — free, dwarf, and vigorous. 
Dragoon is a fine yellow-ground fancy heavily 
barred and edged with red-purple—a large flower, 
and of good form. This, in common with all the fore¬ 
going, is new. 
Standard varieties are by no means neglecied. 
Lady Nina Balfour, a very pretty blush flower, is 
perhaps better known in the northern counties than 
in the southern. Other good self varieties, such as 
Her Grace, Waterwitch, Bendigo, Garville Gem (the 
best heliotrope-coloured flower), and King Arthur 
were all in grand condition ; and fancies like Phoebus, 
a recently sent out form, were also well represented. 
Picotees were equally as good as the Carnations, 
and the only difficulty is in the number of good forms 
that were to be seen, for in the space at our disposal 
we cannot hope to enumerate them all. The follow¬ 
ing are all new yellow grounds. Stanley Wrightson 
is a very handsome and large flower, heavily edged 
with scarlet. It is one of the best Mr. Douglas has 
yet raised. Badminton (Martin Smith) is margined 
with deep scarlet-red on a clear yellow ground. The 
flower is large, and the petals broad and well formed. 
Empress Eugenie, another of the Hayes seedlings is 
clear yellow bordered with rose. Dervish (Martin 
Smith) makes up a trio of as good flowers as could 
be wished for. In this case the ground colour is 
primrose yellow, edged with lilac-rose—a very 
delicate and charming shade. 
Such standard varieties as Florrie Henwood, 
Harlequin, Mr. Nigel, all of Mr. Douglas’s raising, 
and Golden Eagle (Martin Smith) are standard 
yellow ground varieties, the value of which has been 
demonstrated at many shows, both local and central. 
One great feature to be observed in all the Carna¬ 
tions and Picotees at Edenside is the strength and 
stoutness of the calyx. Pod bursters at one time 
were the rule rather than the exception, and Carna¬ 
tion growers used to bewail this tendency on the part 
of the plants, but this defect has been very largely 
remedied, and although a very heavy flower is almost 
sure to burst its calyx, the majority of flowers do not 
do so. 
In conclusion we can only say that anybody who 
knows anything about Carnations will find in a visit 
to Edenside a measure of enjoyment, full, pressed 
down, and running over, 
FAMILIAR GARDEN INSECTS. 
A paper on “ Familiar Garden Insects,” by Mr. W 
D. Drury, was given at the meeting of the Royal 
Horticultural Society on Tuesday, July 27th. Dr. 
Bonavia occupied the chair. In the absence of Mr. 
Drury, the paper was read by Mr. J. Weathers. 
There was a fair attendance. 
In his opening remarks, the essayist touched upon 
the important part that insects play in the garden, 
and with relation to our various crops. This part is 
but indifferently understood by the gardener both 
amateur and professional, although in such a case 
even a little learning would be of service. A great 
deal of gross ignorance prevails, and not a few 
gardeners look upon everything that creeps or flies 
as an enemy that is to be exterminated on the first 
opportunity. For instance, only sixty years ago at 
Reading the parish officials were asked to help in 
clearing away a visitation of lady birds. We have 
improved a good deal since then, but even now are 
far behind our American cousins in matters entomo¬ 
logical. Even in the secondary schools in Germany, 
too, biology is taught, but this is most exceptional in 
this country. 
Many amateur and professional gardeners, too, 
may know greenfly and wireworm when they see 
them, but know nothing of their history. Every¬ 
thing is an insect to them from a woodlouse to a 
slug, and yet an insect is well defined. Beetles par¬ 
ticularly are looked upon as being dangerous, and 
thus many useful ones are killed. 
Horticulture and entomology, said Mr. Drury, are 
very closely connected, and in order to obtain 
success in the one it is necessary to have more than 
a passing knowledge of the other 
Dealing first with the Coleoptera, the essayist took 
first the Carabidae. The ground beetles are wiih 
two or three exceptions animal and insect feeders. 
There are three species common to gardens, viz., 
Carabus nemoralis, C. violaceus, and C. monolis. 
None of them can fly, but only run rapidly. The 
insects are nocturnal, and are provided with powerful 
jaws in which they crush vegetable feeding molluscs 
or beetles. The larvae, which are black and elon¬ 
gated, are also provided with strong jaws, but little 
is known about them. C. ornatus is common on the 
continent, where it is valuable on account of its kill¬ 
ing cockchafers. Harpalus ruficornis loves the 
bright sunshine, but is also nocturnal. It occa¬ 
sionally lives on a vegetable diet. It is oblong in 
form and black in colour, with reddish legs and 
antennae. The Tiger Beetles (Cicindela) are very 
swift-moving insects. They are green in colour with 
spots of white, or yellow and white. Cicindela cam- 
pestris is a most ferocious creature. Two of them 
will fight with each other on the least provocation, 
and until one is killed. They are beneficial to the 
gardener. The Devils Coach-horse is at once the 
ugliest,the most useful and the most persecuted beetle. 
It is, in fact, the incarnation of beetle ugliness. It 
has short powerful wings, and wages war against 
the strongest insect without fear. 
The glow-worm is not often regarded by amateurs 
as a beetle. It is the only British light-bearing 
insect. The larvae differ little from the perfect 
female insects in appearance. Glow-worms kill 
snails and other creatures injurious to vegetation. 
Lady-birds, as ought to be commonly known, kill 
aphides, and the larvae are very voracious. 
All the above are friends to the gardener, but the 
following foes are to be found in the Coleoptera. 
Wireworms are the larvae of several skipjacks, such 
as Agriotis sputator, and A. obscurus. Many peo¬ 
ple have a curious idea of what wireworms ate, and 
centipedes, millipedes, etc., are often received for 
them. Millipedes are slow moving, and vegetarians, 
centipedes (myriapoda) are active and not vegetable 
feeders. The Asparagus Beetle, too, is a common and 
injurious insect. 
In the Orthoptera are found the largest insects; 
also earwigs and cockroaches. The latter do great 
mischief in plant houses, and are fond of the young 
fronds of Ferns, the young growths of Orchids, 
Vines, etc. Our common cockroach is not a native 
of this country, but an importation. The cockroach 
takes a long time to arrive at maturity, five years 
being necessary to complete its cycle of life. It 
deposits its eggs in hermetically sealed capsules. 
Blatta orientalis, B. australasica, and B. americana 
are all very destructive. Phosphorus paste laid 
about is very effective in getting rid of them, for the 
cockroaches greedily eat it and pay the penalty. 
Earwigs are well known as injurious insects, but 
they are not strictly vegetarians. Two species only 
are common, Forficula auricularia and F. labia minor; 
the other five species are scarce. Earwigs are the 
only insects which take care of the eggs when laid. 
The exact purpose of the hook at the end of the body 
is unknown. Occasionally it is used for helping to 
fold the wings—perhaps also for biting. 
Of the Neuroptera there is none hurtful in Britain. 
Dragon Flies are beneficial insects They devour 
moths, butterflies, etc., although only the body is 
eaten. There are fifteen species of Lacewing fly in 
this country, but only two or three are useful. Chry- 
sopa vulgaris has golden eyes and long slender 
antennae. The larvae are not unlike those of the 
ladybird. 
In the Hymenoptera which contains the ants, 
bees, and wasps, we find the highest standard of in¬ 
telligence. There are seven species of social wasps. 
These destroy the larvae of noxious insects, but with 
one exception, heavily discount their value in the 
destruction they deal to fruit crops. The hornet is 
the exception. Are ants injurious or not ? is a ques¬ 
tion that is often asked, and perhaps it ought to be 
answered that they are, for they make unsightly 
heaps on the lawns, and encourage the honey secret¬ 
ing aphides 
Amongst the parasitic Hymenoptera the larvae of 
the Ichneumon flies do a great deal of good. They 
keep in check the Cabbage fly, and their cocoons 
should therefore, never be disturbed. Saw-flies are 
also held in check by some of the parasitic Hymen- 
oplera. 
Butterflies are the most familiar of the Lepidop- 
tera. Except the ordinary white butterfly none of 
the sixty species is numerous. The larvae of some 
moths prey on fruit, the Codlin Moth, and Plum 
Moth being specially destructive, Leaf-rollers are 
also troublesome. 
Included in the Diptera are such foes of the 
gardener as Crane-flies and Leather Jackets. None 
is more useful than the Hawk-flies, the larvae of 
which feed upon aphides. 
The Hemiptera are divided into two divisions 
according to the structure of the wings, viz , Heter- 
optera and Homoptera. Here we find the scale 
insects so common in our plant houses, the dreaded 
Phylloxera and the Aphides. Of the latter 200 
species are known, all of which are destructive. 
Their tastes are omnivorous, and they increase at a 
fearful rate. Some of these insects are viviparous 
and multiply at a great speed. 
At the conclusion of the reading of the paper a 
vote of thanks was passed, on the chairman’s motion, 
to Mr. Drury. 
GLOXINIAS AT STANSTEAD PARK. 
The cultivation of Gloxinias has now become very 
popular, the fine state of perfection to which they 
have been brought being sufficient to account for 
this. The strain grown by Messrs. J. Laing & Sons, 
Forest Hill, has been greatly improved within the 
last few years. We recently had a hurried inspection 
of them as grown in their Stanstead Park Nursery. 
The self-coloured, the banded and edged varieties 
are most favoured, and these remarks are simply in¬ 
tended to give a general idea of the strain, most of 
them being seedlings obtained after a number of 
years of careful cross-breeding and selection. Very 
few of them receive special names. Very choice are 
those having velvety-crimson, glowing velvety- 
crimson, and blue flowers, with a white tube and 
throat. Those which have six instead of five 
segments are additionally valuable and showy on 
account of the extent to which the segments over¬ 
lap, thus giving rigidity to the flower. Some are 
crimson fading to rose at the margins ; dark maroon 
with violet edges and six segments ; violet and white 
edges ; purple and violet edges; crimson-red and 
distinct white edges; and others are banded or 
zoned across the middle, that having white flowers 
and a wavy but distinctly defined rose band round 
the flower being choice and pretty. 
A strain of Streptocarpus is also grown in quantity, 
and the flowers are notable for their size, a large 
proportion of them having blue flowers in various 
shades. 
- 4 ®.-- 
The profits of Banana plantations in British 
Honduras are said by Dr. Morris, of Kew, to vary 
from £12 to £15 per acre after a lapse of 18 months. 
