372 
THE GARDENING WORLD, 
May 30, 1908. 
GARDEN ENEMIES. 
2900. Insect to Name. 
I should be Obliged if you would kindly 
give me the name of the enclosed,, also their 
common name. (E. H., Shropshire.) 
Tlhe specimens you sent were those of- the 
aliay-coloured weevil (Oftiorrhynchus pdci- 
pes), which, is often a great pest in the gar¬ 
den, and and occasionally proves- troublesome 
inside hothouses, where it injures a vaniety 
of -plants. In the larva or grub stage the 
insect feeds upon the roots of quite a variety 
of plants, even those in pots. In the laitter 
case iiit may 'be imported with the soil at 
potiing time, though the eggs may, indeed, 
be laid in the pots themselves. The weevil 
of perfect state attacks the foliage of young 
shoots of various plants. As they work 
chiefly at night,, a good plan is to lay a 
white cloth under the plants, infested some 
tfine during the day. Then at night go in 
with a lantern and suddenly tu-rn the light 
upon the infested plants. The weevils will 
drop and feign to be dead. They should be 
quickly gathered up, however, as they soon 
make off when they have recovered them¬ 
selves. The plants may be tapped to make 
sure of the weevils dropping. You could 
also lay traps consisting of states or pieces 
of board in the house and examine these in 
the morning. Everything in the house that 
would harbour them should be cleared out 
unless absolutely required there, and all 
crevices in the walls should be cemented. 
This will do much io reduce the pest. Some 
of the more recently introduced insecticides, 
such as " Vaponite ” and “ Kilogrub,” 
might be scattered in their haunts, with the 
object of destroying them or driving them 
away. 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
2901. Gardener Wanted. 
Mr. A. H. Louis is requiring a trained 
gardener—no Orchids, no Grapes at present, 
and no hothouses. Tlhe wages are 30s., with¬ 
out cottage. Preferably he should attend to 
hoots and knives, -but on-liy for two in the 
family. If this w<»re objected to, however, 
a boy could be kept. A skilful, willing man 
is required. There is, of course, a cool 
house (heated, 21 ft by 12 ft.), and half an 
acre of ground well kept. Could Garden¬ 
ing World help him? (Middlesex.) 
At present there are many gardeners who 
would be wi'ill'ing to accept that amount of 
wages, and be glad to get it. The case has 
only, therefore, got to be made known, and 
you would, no doubt, have plenty of appli¬ 
cations. The best plan would be to advertise 
in The Gardening World, or some of the 
other gardening papers, to bring -it to the 
notice of those who are in want of places 
or better ones than they have already got. 
2902. Preserving Fruits. 
Last year I tried, with great success, a 
recipe from your paper for preserving 
Plums for winter use. Can all kinds of 
fruit -be preserved In the same manner ? 
Could you also -please tell me how to pre¬ 
serve Green Peas in bottles without drying 
them? (Housewife, Essex.) 
Your queries ought more properly to be 
addressed to some authorities upon cooking 
and preserving rather than a gardening 
paper. Without seeing the particular recipe 
which you say you have tried with great 
success it would be impossible to state as to 
whether the same process could be applied 
to all kinds of fruit. We have no doubt that 
with -the necessary modifications, which de¬ 
pend upon the character of the fruit,, that 
it might he. We presume that the method 
which you enquire about for preserving 
gTeen Peas in bottles is that which is gene¬ 
rally known amongst preservers, both fn this 
country and on the Continent, as the Ap- 
pert method. The Peas have first to be 
shelled and cleaned, then put into gfass 
bottles and covered over with water with or 
without a little salt. Cork the bottles and 
boil them in a bath of concentrated brine, 
in which they are put upright as fully im¬ 
mersed as possible. The bath must ,be heated 
very slowly, otherwise the bottles will crack. 
To bring them up to 100 deg-s. Centigrade— 
that is, 212 degs. Fah.—-will require about 
two hours. Then bring the brine to the boil, 
and the -contents of the bottles will also 
boil. In about ten minutes cool off the bath 
to about 60 degs. Centigrade (140 degs. 
Faih.). Then drive the corks firmly into .the 
bottles,, for before that they should only be 
lightly inserted. Pour melted paraffin wax 
or some other article which will exclude air 
over -the corks, and the Peas will keep as 
long as the air is kept from them. 
NAMES OF PLANTS. 
(A G.) 1, Alyssum saxatile; 2, Calitha 
palustr's flore ple-no; 3, Arabis albida flore 
pleno; 4, Primula denticulata; 5, Aubnietia 
deltoidea var. 
( 1 C. B. West) 1, Kerria japonica flore 
pleno; 2„ Pyrus flori-bunda; 3, P.ieris flori- 
bunda; 4, Ribes sanguineum; 5, Amela-n- 
chier canadensis; 6, Viburnum Tinus. 
(H. D. M.) 1, Aqui.legia vulgaris ; 2, Do- 
Ironicum pflantagimeum; 3, D-ielytm for- 
mosa; 4, -Slaxifraga Geuin; 5, A-sperula 
Odorata; 6, Scil'la hispanica rosea; 7, Soi-lla 
festal-us. 
(D. Woods) 1, Fats-ia japonica (sometimes 
named Castor Oil Plant, but incorrectly); 
2, Saxifraga sanmentosa; 3, Campanula iso-, 
phylila. 
(W. L., Renfrew) i„ New Zealand Daisy 
Bush (Olearia Haastii); 2, Saxifraga (Me¬ 
gasea) cordifaliia; 3, Dicentra for-mosa; 4, 
apparently the common Columbine (Aqui- 
legia vulgaris), but you should wait till in 
bloom before sending, to make sure of the 
species. 
-f+4- 
Telescopic Plant Support. 
A New Invention for Supporting 
Herbaceous Plants. 
Everv year in May and June the ques¬ 
tion arises as to how the plants in herba¬ 
ceous borders may be most neatly and 
effectively supported. Stakes and ties 
very frequently give the plants quite an 
artificial appearance, and it is desirable 
that such plants should appear as natural 
as possible, and also to be supported 
when they begin to require it, whereas 
when they begin to fall about it is im¬ 
possible to make them appear neat after¬ 
wards. 
Messrs. Smith, Fletcher and Co., wire- 
work manufacturers, 172, High Street, 
Edinburgh, have been, giving their atten¬ 
tion to this matter, and are now putting 
on the market a very simple, yet in¬ 
genious, method of supporting plants by 
means of an upright rod bearing a wire 
at the top. This upright rod is pushed 
into an iron sheath, which is driven into 
the ground to the required depth. This 
invention is telescopic in design. The 
upright rod may be shifted up and down 
according to the height of the plant to 
be sunnorted. An iron peg keeps it in 
position at the desired height, this peg 
passing through the sheath and upright 
rod. which is flattened and has holes at 
intervals for fixing it at the position de¬ 
sired. 
These supports are made in different 
sizes, rising from the ground from 12 in. 
to 2 ft. 9 in. j from 12 in. to 3 ft. 6 i - 
and from 12 in. to 4 ft. 3 in. They n 
be used while the plant is still q\. e 
dwarf, and the upright rod shifted up;o 
meet the requirements of the grow a 
plant. By a contrivance the wire tkt 
goes round the plant and is circular n 
outline is held in a horizontal position -c- 
that no tying whatever is necesst.. 
Every part of this support is strong, net, 
and very durable. T he first expense «]’ 
no doubt, be the greatest draw-back 0 
it, but it will last for an indefinite nn- 
ber of years, whereas wooden stakes sm 
require renewing, and are always rottg 
at the place where they enter the grou]. 
They require pointing more or less ew 
year, otherwise it is difficult to die 
them in the ground, especially afteiit 
gets dry. There is none of this w k 
attached to this contrivance, except ie 
driving of the sheath, after which the > 
right rod or prong merely requires 0 
be regulated as the plant grows. It ill 
thus save a deal of labour and expeie 
in the frequent renewing of wooden sta:s 
and in the absence of any necessity ir 
tying. The whole contrivance is so Bit 
that we should like to see it in actil 
operation. 
-- 
‘Perfecta,’ the Slug Killc. 
In these days of science no matter wit 
the subject may be one and all of us i- 
turally like to get as much as possie 
out of anything we undertake, and as lis 
article appertains to gardening, and ;- 
pecially to gardeners in the cultivationf 
plants, etc., under their supervision, a w 
words respecting “Perfecta” will not-e 
amiss. This noted slug and worm ki-r 
is a dry, inodorous, inoffensive, and mi- 
poisonous article, and can be used nh 
perfect safety among the most tenderif 
plants. Unlike some of the preparatiis 
now on the market, “ Perfecta ” does it 
send up from the soil obnoxious, furs 
which are objectionable, but at the sa e 
time it is most deadly to slugs, etc.,n 
its work of destruction. This innocec- 
looking powder of light brown coloui s 
wonderful in its work, and its actions 
both immediate and lasting, clingingo 
the soil for several months. Many nr- 
serymen and growers speak highly of tis 
slug killer, and testify to its power in ,.e 
garden for destroying slugs, worms, 
As it is so handy and cleanly to useit 
should rank as one of the best on the rrr- 
ket. Plants, etc., dressed with “Perfea’ 
are seen to make great headway, thuit 
can be used for more than one purpo: 
It is sold in 3d. boxes, which is sufficiit 
for three or four square yards, a dress g 
of 3 ozs. to the square yard being reco- 
mended. “ Perfecta ” can also be obtai d 
in larger quantities, and can be bouit 
direct from The Perfecta Co., 22, Me;- 
tabel Road, Hackney, London, N.E. 
-- 
A Fertile Moth. 
Each of the Catalpa hawk-mois 
(Sphinx Catalpae), which has been do-g 
such damage to the Catalpa trees in 
Southern States of America, is .capak- 
says a recently issued report of the Unii'd 
States Department of Agriculture, of 1 
ing a thousand eggs in a “clutch.” 
