THE GARDENING WORLD 
December 12, 1908. 
77 1 
CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 
; 457 . Black Fly on Chrysanthemums. 
The shoots of my Chrysanthemums are 
Covered in some instances with black fly. 
ire these injurious, and how can I get rid 
f them? (S. Sturt, Middlesex.) 
Black fly, if present in any numbers, is 
ertainly very injurious to Chrysanthemums, 
'ou do not tell us in what stage your Chrys- 
nthemums are. If there is black fly on 
lants that have finished flowering, the 
asiest way of getting rid of it would be 
> cut them down to the base leaving only 
i.ung shoots intended for cuttings. If the 
|y is on shoots of late flowering Chrys- 
"nthemums then you must get rid of the 
lack fly. This could be done by fumiga- 
ion with “ XL-A 11 ” or with tobacco 
owder. In the latter case if you have got 
distributor then have the tobacco powder 
town into the buds or crowns of leaves 
i-here the black fly hide. This will very 
luickly sicken the black fly and make them 
all down. If anything is necessary to 
•ake the powder adhere, then the plants 
ould be lightly syringed before applying 
he tobacco powder. 
VEGETABLES. 
:458. Vegetables on an Allotment. 
Would you kindly tell me in your next 
ssue the best vegetables, etc., to plant in my 
.llotment, which is 50 ft. by 10 ft. Not hav- 
ng an allotment before, I do not know what 
o plant or when to plant them. I am un- 
ble to get stable manure. Will sulphate of 
mmonda answer the same purpose, and how 
bould I use it? (F. G. S., Essex.) 
You can raise practically any of the com- 
non vegetables on allotment of the size you 
nention. It therefore depends upon the 
•■egetables that would be most useful to you 
is to which you should grow. In the mean- 
ime, we should recommend you to trench 
*our allotment, or as much of it as you can 
luring the winter. If the subsoil is had, 
hen it should be merely dug over and left 
n the bottom of the trench so that the best 
oil could be still kept on the top. You 
hould trench it 2 ft. to 2^ ft. in depth. This 
vill give the vegetables greater root run, 
md hold the moisture better in summer. In 
he way of Cabbages you can sow Flower of 
ipring in August, to be planted out in 
■utumn, and give you Cabbages in spring 
.nd early summer. Enfield Market may be 
own in March to give you a late supply, 
iarly London and Autumn Giant Gauli- 
lowers may be sown in March in the open 
;round to give you a succession. Brussels 
iprouts may be sown at the end of March, 
’’wo very good varieties are The Wroxton 
md Scrymgour’s Giant. A few short-horn 
'arrots may be sown in March to give an 
arlv supply, but Red Intermediate Carrot 
hould be sown about the middle of April 
;or the main crop. Sow Parsnips as early 
n March as you find the ground in suit¬ 
able condition. Either Hollow Crown or 
'tudent would be a suitable variety. Onions 
nay be sown at the same time as Parsnips 
n March. Ailsa Craig is a very large 
arietv, and James’ Keeping Onion keeps 
veil for a late supply. At the end of April 
■nd again in the middle of May, you could 
nake sowings of Runner Beans, using either 
lest of All or Giant Scarlet. In the wav of 
^eas, if you desire to grow such, English 
Yonder for the very first crop might be 
own in February or beginning of March, 
iradus would make a good succession sown 
f the end of March, and Duke of Albany if 
own at the same time or at the beginning of 
Ipril would give you a succession. Unless 
'our soil is very fertile you cannot expect 
jeavy crops of vegetables without farmyard 
tanure. If the soil is fairly heavy, you 
ould, no doubt, manage splendidly with 
artificial manure. Sulphate of ammonia 
might be used at the rate of ^ lb. to the rod 
—that is, 305 square yards. This will only 
supply nitrogen, and to get phosphates you 
may use basic slag 3 lbs. or 4 lbs. to the 
rod, and for potash use kainit 2 lbs. or 
3 lbs. to the rod. It is not necessary to com¬ 
mence trying to grow all the vegetables that 
we mention, but you can select those you 
would like best. 
FRUIT. 
3459. Green Fly on Victoria Plum. 
Last summer a Victoria Plum on a wall 
was covered with green fly, although 
syringed repeatedly. Should it be treated in 
any way during winter or spring to prevent 
a recurrence? (S. Sturt, Middlesex.) 
More than one species of aphis attacks the 
Plum, and some of them cause the leaves to 
become curled, after which it is impossible 
•to get at the fly by syringing. The Plum 
aphis proper (Hyalopteris Eruni) is covered 
with a taeally exudation that makes clean 
water quickly run off them. Your best plan 
would be to watch for the first commencement 
of the green fly and syringe the trees at 
once, using about 2 ozs. of soft soap to a 
gallon of water, 2 ozs. of quassia chips 
boiled in a similar amount, and to this mix¬ 
ture add 1 oz. of Paris green. The full 
amount would then be 10 ozs. of the soft soap 
solution, 10 ozs. of quassia chips, and 1 oz. 
of Paris green to ten gallons of water. If 
you notice the fly sufficiently early, possibly 
the quassia and soft soap would prove suffi¬ 
cient if the tree is forcibly syringed with 
clean water on the morning following an 
application of the insecticide. Repeat the 
operation in the course of a week if neces¬ 
sary. A simple remedy that could be ap¬ 
plied in spring before the flower buds ex¬ 
pand would be soft soap and water at the 
rate of 2 ozs. to the gallon, with a wine-glass¬ 
ful of paraffin added to the solution. This 
must be well stirred all the time you are 
applying it to the trees. A remedy that may 
be applied at the present time for destroying 
the eggs, would be 2^ lbs. of caustic soda, 
2^ lbs. carbonate of potash in 25 gallons of 
water. A smaller amount than that may be 
used, but the proportion should be main¬ 
tained. 
3460. Growing a Vine in a Tub. 
Would you please be good enough to say 
whether I could grow a Vine in a tub, as the 
floor of my conservatory is paved with tiles, 
and I cannot plant it in a bed or border ? 
Would a Vine grown in an ornamental tub 
be likely to produce fruit, as it would add 
so much to the beauty of the foliage? I 
intend to train it over the roof to give light 
and shade to the house. The glass front and 
ends are 6 ft. high, but I want to train the 
Vine on the roof. (F. Waller, Middlesex.) 
It is possible to fruit a Vine in an orna¬ 
mental tub, but it requires much more atten¬ 
tion and more feeding than if it were planted 
out in a border of the house. If you have 
the convenience to make a border immediately 
outside the conservatory, the best plan would 
be to make the border there, as the Vine 
would be much more manageable than if 
grown in a tub. The feeding of the Vine 
in a tub would probably be objectionable in 
■the conservator}'. A small hole could be 
made through the base of the wall just suffi¬ 
cient to take the Vine rod inside. The Vine 
could then be pushed through this small 
opening and the roots planted in the border. 
If the base of the conservatory is wooden 
then a hole may be bored just sufficiently 
large to take in the Vine rod, but not large 
enough to admit rats or mice, which often 
prove troublesome. If the wall is of brick, 
then a small portion may be cut out with a 
chisel, and afterwards increased in size, if 
necessary, as the Vine grows. 
3461. Grapes Sour and Not Colouring. 
I would be glad if you would tell me why 
my Grapes will not colour up properly. 
Many of the berries are still quite red and 
sour, and the stalks of many of them are 
rotting or drying up. They showed some of 
this last year, but now they are worse, al¬ 
though I have given them careful attention 
and watered them well during summer. 
(H. M. B., Notts.) 
Your description would indicate that the 
berries are shanking owing to a bad con¬ 
dition of the roots. If the same Vines showed 
this badly last year, and worse this year, it 
points strongly to the border being at fault. 
You should, therefore, examine it at once to 
see whether it is in a waterlogged condition, 
and if the roots are in a bad way it would be 
pretty good evidence that the drainage is bad. 
In that case your best plan would be to re¬ 
move all the soil carefully with a fork, lay¬ 
ing the roots aside or tie them up with mats 
so that they will not get injured while the 
border is being got ready. Drainage, con¬ 
sisting of brick-bats or rubble stone of vari¬ 
ous kinds may be placed in the bottom of the 
border and covered with turves, having the 
green side downwards. You should also 
see that the water can drain away from the 
base of this bed, and if the soil is of a nature 
to hold water, then a drain, consisting of 
narrow earthenware pipes, should be laid 
along the lowest side of the border with an 
outlet somewhere. Then you should get some 
good fresh turf, if possible turf that has 
been stacked for some months, to place ; n 
the bottom of the border into which the 
Vines can root. This fresh material may be 
chopped up into lumps about the size of one 
or both fists, and then trodden down firmly 
about the Vines. At the same time you can 
use a bushel of half-inch bones to every two 
cartloads of the fresh soil. The bones 
should,- of course, be well mixed with the 
turf after it is chopped. 
GARDEN ENEMIES. 
3462. Woolly Matter on Vine. 
While cleaning and pruning a Vine in my 
greenhouse I came upon some woolly tufts 
of white matter that seemed alive, though 
rather sluggish. Do you think they are 
harmful, and if so-, what am I to do. I have 
not seen anything like it before, and I want 
to stop it at once before it comes to anything 
if this is necessary. (J. C., Birmingham.) 
Very likely the woolly matter was some 
meally bug which sometimes get into simi¬ 
lar houses, but unless neglected is not likely 
to increase very much. It is very harmful, 
however, and should be tackled whenever 
seen. At the present time you can use a 
very strong solution of Gishurst compound, 
and wash the Vine rod with that after any 
loose bark has been rubbed off with the hands. 
The Gishurst compound would be rendered 
more effective if a little paraffin was well 
churned into the material, making a sort 
of emulsion. The Vine rod could then be 
well scrubbed, using a half-worn brush in 
either of the solutions here mentioned. 
3463. Grubs and Primulas. 
I have a fine lot of Primulas, but as some 
of them were turning yellow I pulled up 
one, and found it eaten away at the roots 
by some white grub. Could you give me 
any idea as to what this might be, and let 
me know how I can get rid of it. The 
house is kept up to 45 degs. at night, which 
I understand is the right thing, and have 
always kept it at this in winter, and nearly 
always get a good show of Primulas. (L. 
Watts, co. Down.) 
The white grub you mention is in all like¬ 
lihood the larva of one of the weevils .which 
often prove troublesome in gardens. The 
one that most often comes indoors is the 
black Vine weevil (Otiorhvnchus sulcatus). 
