282 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
March 28, 1893. 
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 
The Editor invites enquiries for reply in this column. These, 
enquiries may cover any branch of gardening. Questions should be 
put as briefly as possible, and written on one side of the paper only ; 
a separate sheet of paper should be used for each question. 
Readers are also invited to give their fellow gardeners the benefit 
of their experience by sending supplementary replies. 
Replies cannot be sent by post, even if a stamped, addressed 
envelope is enclosed, and the return of specimens cannot be undertaken. 
Anonymous communications are treated in the usual editorial manner. 
Address letters: The Editor, “The Gardening World,” 37 and 
38, Shoe Lane, London, E.C. 
Black Fly on Black Currant (Northern). 
The specimens of Black Currant you sent us were densely 
covered with the eggs of Myzus R-ibis, the black aphis of the 
Ciara nt. Before we had examined them most of the aphides 
were hatched out, so that the eggs were represented mostly by 
mere shells. A number of. the insects themselves were, how¬ 
ever, present, and about two days old before we noticed them. 
We cannot say whether the hatching out was due to the higher 
temperature in our district than they would be with you. We 
presume, however, that before many weeks have gone they will 
be hatching out with you, so that you should be prepared to 
deal with them at the earliest stage of their existence. You 
could more easily exterminate them when still quite young, 
and the bushes bare, than if you were to allow them to be fully 
established and the bushes covered with leaves. We should 
advise you to syringe, the bushes with a decoction, made from 
lib. of coarse shag steeped in boiling water, and afterwards add 
more water to make it up to 4 gallons. Dissolve 2ozs. of soft 
soap, and add that to the wash. Syringe with this, and it will 
sicken- the insects even if it does not entirely destroy them, 
and you should follow this up on the following morning with 
a good washing by means of a garden engine, using clear water 
only. Black fly is difficult to kill, but by attacking it in a young 
state you will be more successful in exterminating it than 
afterwards. 
Books (J. Cameron). 
The most up-to-date work on gardening of a comprehensive 
kind is the “ Gardener’s Assistant,” in six volumes, at 8s. each. 
It is published by the Gresham Publishing Co., 25, Farringdon 
Avenue, London, E.C. There are several other books which deal 
with the subject more or less in sections, but for a man in New 
Zealand we think that “Vegetables and Flowers from Seeds in 
Tropical, Sub-tropical, and Temperate Climates” would suit his 
purpose. The price is probably 5s., but you could ascertain 
from the publishers and authors, Messrs. Sutton and Sons, 
Reading. “ Open-air Gardening,” published by L. Upcott Gill, 
London, might suit. Price 6s. Concerning irrigation, we may 
state that there is something on the subject in a book entitled 
“ The Complete Text Book of Farm Engineering,” by Professor 
John Scott. It contains over 600 illustrations, is priced at 12s., 
and published by Messrs. Crosby Lockwood and Son, 7, 
Stationers’ Hall Court, Ludgate Hill, London, E.C. If other 
books on irrigation come under our notice, we shall call your 
attention to them. 
Large Leeks in Sandy Soil (A. R.), 
In -order to get Leeks of the largest size in light sandy soil 
it would be necessary to sow them early under glass, and in the 
meantime have the ground prepared for them in the same way 
as for Onions. You cannot manure the ground too heavily for 
Leeks, more especially in light and -over well-drained sandy 
soils like that you mention. The roots of Leeks really go down 
an enormous depth provided the soil is sufficiently fertile to 
encourage them, so that you must trench deeply and manure 
heavily. Previous to planting out seedlings after they have 
been properly hardened, you should take out a trench as for 
Celery, then dig in some well-decayed manure in the bottom of 
this, and place 4in. of soil on the top of it. Plant the Leeks, 
and gradually earth them up as they grow. Give copious 
supplies of water during hot weather. 
Maize for Green Cobs (X. Y. Z.). 
Ask your seedsman for the earliest varieties he can recom¬ 
mend. They are usually of dwarfer habit than the late kinds, 
and on that account sooner come into bearing in our climate. 
When yon obtain the seeds sow them at once in heat, harden off 
the seedlings properly, and plant them out in a sheltered place, 
fully exposed to sunshine, and in rich, well-drained soil. This 
should be done about the same time as bedding plants are being 
put out, and they will reach a useful state during the course 
of the summer. « 
Winter Moth Caterpillars (T. W. Wilson). 
The most seasonable work in attacking the caterpillars of the 
winter moth at the present season would be to apply some wash 
that would poison the leaves ; and, therefore, destroy the cater¬ 
pillars which eat them. The first application you should give 
at once, and it might be repeated at intervals of ten days or so, 
or especially if you have had rain, so as to make sure of destroy¬ 
ing the young caterpillars. For Apple trees a safe wash would 
be lib. of Paris green to 150 gallons of water. Use a little lime 
in the wash to guard against scalding, but it should be put 
through a coarse bag of some sort, so as to retain all the lumpy 
material, to avoid choking the nozzle of the sprayer. Kerosene 
or petroleum emulsion has also been employed for the same 
purpose with good effect. In addition to the ordinary recipe 
for the making of the emulsion, you should add 20 gallons of 
water to the preparation in order to make a safe wash for the 
young foliage of trees. 
The Cape Gooseberry (J. W. D,). 
I lie Cape Gooseberry is not a hardy perennial, as you have 
been informed, but a half hardy shrubby plant. The proper 
name of it is Physalis peruviana. It succeeds best when planted 
in a greenhouse temperature and fully exposed to sunshine. 
Under such conditions it will keep growing and flowering and 
fruiting during the whole season. It should be planted against 
a hothouse wall or some similar warm structure if planted out 
of doors. The other species you mention, namely, P. Alkekeiigi 
and P. Francheti, are more properly named Winter Cherries 
than Cape Gooseberries, so that it is necessary to carefully 
observe the proper names of plants even when they are rendered 
in English, when that is possible. 
Pruning of Hybrid Perpetual Roses (D. R. M.). 
You can safely prune these Roses now, because by the time 
the buds break into fresh growth the season will be sufficiently 
advanced to prevent the likelihood of severe frost occurring. 
Strong growing varieties should have 6in. or 8in. at the base 
of the shoots left, while those of a weak growing character may 
have the shoots pruned back to 3in. in length. Very small 
weak or useless shoots should be entirely removed, so as to 
confine the energies of the plants to the shoots from which you 
can expect flowers. 
Planting out Pyrethrums (C. Wingfield). 
These will repay liberal treatment, and should be planted 
in deeply-dug well-manured ground. Mulch the old plants as 
soon as they’ are put out, so as to enable them to get a strong 
hold on the soil before the warm and dry weather sets in. As 
they come into bloom at a time when rainfall is usually defi¬ 
cient, mulching with manure is a safeguard. If you would give 
them copious supplies of water during June, if the weather is 
dry, you will certainly be well rewarded. In suitable seasons 
they flower well with a very small amount of attention. In 
making beds of small plants, it- would be well not to half cove.' 
the plant with any mulching matter for a time if you are in 
any way troubled with slugs. The latter pests are particularly 
fond of Pyrethrums, so that it would be well to leave the ground 
bare and to hoe it occasionally in order to disturb these trouble¬ 
some marauders. As the weather gets warmer and dryer you 
could mulch the young plants to advantage. 
Names of Plants. 
(J. P. Dickson) 6, Ilex Aquifolium laurifolia; 7, Ilex Aqui- 
fedium argentea pendula (if a weeper, but if upright call it 
argentea marginata) ; 8, Ilex Aquifolium wateriana.— (C. B. G.) 
The tree was certainly Ailantus glandulosa or Tree of Heaven. 
—(A. B. Middleton) 1, Polystichum angulare ; 2, Pteris semi- 
lata ; 3, Pteris quaclriaurita argyraea ; 4, Asplenium flaccidum ; 
5, Pteris cretica.—(H. B.) 1, Chionodoxa Luciliae gigantea: 
2, Anemona blanda ; 3, Daphne blagayana ; 4, Erica carnea - , 
5, Ribes sanguineum ; 6,- Ribes sanguineum albidum.—(R. M. ; 
1, Acacia Drummondi ; 2, Tillandsia lindeni ; 3, Boronia hetero- 
phylla ; 4, Eupatorium adenophorum ; 5, Chorizema ilicifolia. 
—(T. Jarvis) 1, Prunus cerasifera atropurpurea; 2, Spiraea 
Thunbergii ; 3, Spiraea prunifolia flore. pleno. ; 4, Forsythia 
viridissima ; 5, Elaeagnus multiflora ; 6, Salix cinerea.—(W. D.) 
1, Dendrobium crassinode ; 2, Cattleya Trianaei var. ; 3, Laelia 
digbyana; 4, Dendrobium brymerianum ; 5, Cypripedium 
haynaldianum ; 6, Odontoglossum andersonianum.—'{A. T. W.) 
1, Galanthus elewesii ; 2, Arabis albia ; 3, Iberis gibraltarica ; 
4, Saxifraga crassif-olia ; 5, Saxifraga apiculata ; 6, Narcissus 
Pseudonarcissus -obvallaris (Tenby Daffodil).—(Ch. Bell) 1. 
Acacia platyptera ; 2, Muehlenbeckia platyclada.—(Charles 
Johnston) Laelia glauca. 
