212 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
March 11. 1905. 
Liverpool Botanic Gardens. —Spring flowering plants are 
now well represented in the Botanic Gardens, Edge Lane, Liver¬ 
pool. Amongst the more prominent subjects are Camellias, 
Azalea mollis, A. indica in variety, Lilacs, Primulas, and 
Cinerarias. Amongst bulbs spring flowering subjects, such as 
Hyacinths, Tulips, and Daffodils, are also very plentiful and 
attract large numbers of visitors. 
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, 11 The Gardening World," 37 and 
38, Shoe Lane, London, E.C. 
Grub in Apple Branch. 
I enclose a piece of branch of an Apple tree with a large boring 
in it. Could you give me any idea of the animal which has 
done this, and how to prevent it? (A. M. B) 
The best way of making sure what the culprit may be is to 
get possession of the enemy, ihere are only two borers at all 
common of the size indicated by the boring, so that it must be 
either one or other of these. ' Possibly the boring had been 
vacated by its tenant last year, or, at all events, before you 
made the discovery of the tunnel. Both of them make borings 
of very large size, but in this case it would seem to be the W ood 
Leopard Moth (Zeuzera Aesculi). The grub is a large one, 
about li> in. in length if full grown, and of a pale yellow colour 
thickly marked with black spots. The fully-developed moth is 
also handsomely spotted with bla-ck on a- white ground. The 
other moth to which we refer is the Goat Moth (Cossus ligni- 
perda), but the caterpillar of this is three or four inches long 
when fully grown, and prefers the stem to the branch of a tree, 
as it lives a number of years and makes very large galleries. 
The remedy in either case would be much about the same. When 
the weather gets a little warmer you should look over your plan¬ 
tations of trees and notice whether any sawdust-like chips are 
being pushed out of the stem or branches of any of them. Fresh 
chips would be a sure indication that there is a caterpillar 
inside. After clearing out the mouth of the tunnel you should 
get a piece of pliable wire and bend it round at the end so as 
to form a small hook. By this means you might be able to 
remove the caterpillar, or, at all events, to crush it in the hole. 
Having made sure of this, the mouth of the tunnel may be 
closed with cement to keep out the rain, which would cause 
injury to the tree. In some cases it may be difficult to get at 
the caterpillar if the hole is crooked, and in that case you might 
squirt some paraffin into the hole by means of a syringe or 
make a cup round the mouth of the tunnel with plastic clay 
and pour in some paraffin. 
Upright Growing Poplar. 
A kind of Poplar with upright stems and branches is some¬ 
times used for making tall hedges in a short time. Please let 
me know the name of it in The Gardening World. (E. A. S.) 
You no doubt refer to the Lombardy Poplar, which is occa- - 
sionally used for the purpose you mentioned. The correct 
name of it is Populus nigra pyramidalis. Other names are, how¬ 
ever, given to it, and you may be able to obtain it under the 
name of P. clilitata, P. fastigiata, or P. pyramidalis, for these 
and other names have been given to it by gardeners and botanists. 
The English name, however, should be sufficient to determine 
it in most nurseries if you mention the habit of the tree. 
Austrian Copper Rose. 
In a neighbouring garden are some plants of the Austrian 
Copper Rose, pruned like other bush Roses, but they seldom 
produce any flowers. What reason might be given for this '> 
(D. L.) 
Austrian Roses do not require much prailing, and they should 
certainly never be pruned in the same way as you would a hybrid 
perpetual intended for exhibition purposes. You can practi¬ 
cally only get Roses from the Austrian Briers by letting the 
shoots grow without pruning till the second or third year ; 
that is, all strong shoots coming from the base of the plant 
The flowers are practically qiroduced from side shoots of the 
third year from the sucker. All the pruning that should be 
given should be limited to cutting out dead and useless wood 
and shortening back any shoots that may be too long, livin ' 
the bush a straggling appearance. It is useless to attempt 
trying to keep this Rose in small space. All the Austrian Briers 
should be planted by themselves, so that they can receive dif¬ 
ferent treatment and not be out of keeping with closely-pruned 
Roses. 
Tomatos Damping Off. 
Some young plants of Tomatos 18 in. high show black stripes 
on the stem and leaves as if something were attacking them. 
Can you tell me what is the matter and how to prevent it 1 
(A. C.) 
Your plants appear to be suffering from a close and moist 
atmosphere, as if you were attempting to grow them on rapidlv 
to get plants of large size and fruit early. We should advise 
you to give more ventilation, and on cold days merely to 
apply a little more heat to keep up- the temperature. Tomatos, 
however, do not require a high temperature, while at this 
season of the year, besides a reasonable amount of ventilation, 
they must also be fully exposed to light by being close up 
against the gla.ss. Those plants which are not at present too I 
much damaged will gradually recover by giving more ventila¬ 
tion and keeping the atmosphere in a drier condition. Plants 
that are pushed on rapidly under such conditions can never 1 
fruit well near the ground, the first bunches of flowers usually 
dropping off owing to the rapid growth made by the stems. 
Manure for Potatos. 
I have rather a rich piece of land I intend planting with 
Potatos, using artificial manures instead of farmyard manure. 
What artificial manures would you recommend, giving weight 
per acre? (W. D. S.) 
The three ingredients or elements of plant food in most 
frequent request are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash. These 
are supplied in compound forms, and may be used in different 
quantities according to the defects or otherwise of the soil to 
be planted. We presume that yours has frequently been 1 
enriched with farmyard manure, and that the soil is very rich 
in humus or decaying vegetable matter. In that case you would 
probably get^ a good crop of Potatos without the use of much 
nitrogen. We should recommend using superphosphate of him 
at the rate of 3 cwt. per acre, 1 cwt. of sulphate of ammonia, 
and 2 cwt. of kainit. Lou will thus see that we recommend i 
heavier weights of the superphosphate and kainit than the sul¬ 
phate. Still another formula might be used, such as 21,- cwt. 
superphosphate of lime, 11 , cwt. of kainit, and 1 ^ cwt. nitrate ! 
of soda. The two first ingredients should be applied broadcast 
to the land in February, or as soon after as possible. You 
should not, therefore, lose any time in having them applied to 
the land. The sulphate of ammonia and nitrate of soda might 
with advantage be applied in two dressings, the first when the 
Potatos begin to appear above the soiL and the next three, 
weeks or a month later. Even if the soil should contain a 
certain amount of nitrogen at present it is advantageous to 
apply a little in connection with the other manures, as the weight 
of the crop really depends upon the smallest quantitv of either 
of the necessary plant foods that may be in the soil. 
Cockchafers in Grass. 
Can you give any remedy for destroying cockchafers in Grass? 
We found a number of large fat white grubs when taking out 
the soil to plant a tree on a lawn. I have been told they are 
cockchafers. (T. M.) 
There is no remedy, we are afraid, that could be applied to, 
jiass that would kill the grubs or -cause them to come out of 
the soil. The -only certain means of getting at them at the 
present time would be to have the grass lifted and the ground 
dug or trenched over to a depth of 2 ft. That would be scarcelv 
a practical method, as it would involve a great amount of labour 
with only paitial success. The only thing you can do is to keep 
a good outlook for the beetle in the perfect state, and endeavour 
to reduce its numbers at that period. About the end of May 
and onwards you should keep a- good lookout amongst the trees 
m the neighbourhood of the lawns, and if the May Bugs are 
at all plentiful you will find them hanging to the branches and 
leaves of the trees. The best time to attack them would be 
early m the morning, and particularly on damp mornings which 
make them drowsy and easy to- ‘ catch. If vou find them 
Pf es entm any great numbers upon a tree a tarpaulin or cloth 
should be spread under the tree and the branches well shaken 
oi beaten to cause tbe beetles to drop, when they may be readily 
gatheied up off the tarpaulin or cloth. Starlings are said to be 
very fond of cockchafeis, and it would be worth while to encou¬ 
rage them about the place if these beetles are at all plentiful. 
Another method has been adopted for trapping them. Horse or 
cow manure without the litter should be spread on a square yard 
of giound to the depth of 4 in. or 6 in., and covered with a 
