12 4 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
February 16, 1907. 
.eat ihe seed on that. Indeed, they could 
be carried to maturity by such means, if you 
make a hotbed out of doors and cover it with 
a frame. If you cannot do this, then it 
would be necessary to make a bed of fer¬ 
menting manure in the greenhouse, on the 
top of which you could grow the Melon. 
The manure could, of course, be enclosed 
by means of boards. In a frame the stems 
could run over the soil, but in a greenhouse 
the main stem should be trained ,up under 
the roof. Stop the side shoots and the main 
stem when it gets to the top of the roof. Side 
branches should then be produced of an 
equal age all along the stem. The fruit¬ 
bearing flowers should be fertilised all on 
one day, but it will be sufficient if you get 
four or six good fruits on one plant. After 
the fruits are set the side shoots should be 
stopped at the first leaf beyond the fruit. 
Never allow your plant to form a mass of 
interlacing shoots at any time of the year. 
Indeed, you will require no fresh shoots 
after the fruits have been set. If you suc¬ 
ceed in getting four or six fruits to form, 
what you then require is plenty of water at 
the root while making growth and plenty of 
sunshine during the season. Ventilation will 
also be required during the heat of the day, 
but towards the end of the ripening period 
an abundance of ventilation will greatly 
improve the quality of the fruits. Little 
Heath is the best Melon for your purpose, 
as you suppose. 
GARDEN ENEMIES. 
1533. Cure for Maggots in Cabbage. 
Can you tell me a remedy for maggots in 
Cabbage roots? I had a fine number de¬ 
stroyed last year in that way. I know that 
Alphol and Vaporite are both recommended. 
If efficient, can you tell me the better one 
to use (Alphol is advertised as a manure), 
naming the quantity to use and when to 
apply it? (Amicus, Kent.) 
The roots of your Cabbages were no doubt 
destroyed by the Cabbage fly (Anthomyia 
Brassicae), which keeps on developing seve¬ 
ral breeds of maggots through the spring, 
summer and autumn months. The accom¬ 
panying illustration will give you an idea 
of this fly in its several stages. It is some¬ 
times necessary to search around the neck of 
The Cabbage Fly Anthomyia 
Brassicae). 
/, Maggot enlarged ; 2, pupa enlarged; 3, 
pupa>, natural size; 4, perfect fly, natural 
size. 
the plants for grubs in order to save valu¬ 
able early Cabbages or Cauliflower. Vapor¬ 
ite is a recent insecticide or insectifuge, 
which you might well try, as it has been 
well tested by a number cf people. We know 
of no reason why the other should not be 
effective, but it needs testing. There is no 
particular quantity that can be used. Vi hat 
you should do is to sprinkle the ground with 
the powder and rake it in. At the samef 
time be careful not to dust the foliage of 
the plants. As to the time, this. will depend 
largely as to when you are troubled with the 
maggots. You should apply the remedy a 
little in advance of that time, repeating it 
later in the season, of course, as a freshj 
application after some weeks is usually 
necessary. 
r534. Scale on Apple Trees. 
Will you please state what the enclosed 
specimens are, what stage they are in, and 
what wcuild be the best means of getting rid 
of them? (A. Marshall, Kent.) 
The scale on the Apple trees is the Mussel 
Scale (Mvtilaspis pomorum). It is simply 
the fully developed stage of the mother scale. 
The best remedy is kerosene emulsion or 
paraffin emulsion. You will find the descrip¬ 
tion, of its preparation in Question 1476. 
Instead of 2 gal. paraffin, read 1 gal. 
1535. American Blight on Apple Trees. 
I am Just after applying a solution of 
lime, size and black soap to Apple trees 
which were affected with American Blight 
last season. Lest this should not be effec¬ 
tual, should I later on apply petroleum emul¬ 
sion, cr some other remedy ? Also kindly 
say where and the proper proportions. 
(Kingstown, Ireland.) 
You can apply the petroleum emulsion at 
once, or any time before the leaves or flowers 
are developed, say, up to the middle of 
March. You will find petroleum emulsion 
described in Question 1476, and the propor¬ 
tions. We do not consider it necessary to 
syringe the whole tree unless it is old, 
scraggy, and full of swellings and broken 
bark. Usually the American Blight at this 
time of year is confined to certain spots on 
the trees. You might also uncover the roots, 
and if you find any evidence of woolly aphis 
you should soak the roots with strong soap¬ 
suds. Instead of 2 gal. paraffin, read 1 gal. 
SOILS AND MANURES. 
1536. Use of Sand in Soils. 
Do plants derive any benefit from sand 
when mixed with soil other than better 
drainage? My friend states that sand is a 
food, and plants can dissolve it. (Amicus, 
Kent.) 
We are afraid that you cannot directly 
improve your plants by the application of 
sand beyond assisting them in the matter of 
drainage and making the soil mechanically 
more suitable for the roots of plants, as you 
suspect. As to whether plants can dissolve 
sand, it largely depends upon what the 
grains of sand consist of. In the case of 
silicious sand plants cannot avail themselves 
of it until it has been dissolved by some 
other agency; for instance, plants would 
take up this material in the form of silicate 
of potash, silicate of lime, or other double 
silicates. These would, of course, have to 
be applied in the form of soluble silicates, 
quite a different thing from sand as usually 
understood. Plants can, however, oltain all 
the silica they require frem the soil, and 
applications of it are unnecessary. 
1537. Manures for Root Crops. 
I shall be taking possession of a garden 
on 25th March, and as I shall have to de¬ 
pend on artificial manures for the first year 
I shall be glad if you will inform me of 
the best way of using it for On’ons, Par¬ 
snips, and Carrots. I thought of making 
the drills deeper than usually required and 
putting the manure at the bottom, then cover¬ 
ing with soil and sowing seeds on the top 
to cover them. Or would a top dressing be 
best? (Lipson, Devonshire.) 
You can work superphosphates and kainit 
into the top spit of soil, but if you intend 
to take out holes for the Parsnips and Car¬ 
rots to make them fit for exhibition, then 
you could mix these manures with the com¬ 
post for filling the holes. Then, when the 
seedlings are well up, we should give them 
a dressing of some nitrogenous manure, such 
as 'nitrate of soda, ammonium sulphate, or 
dried blood manure. The first two of these 
might be applied as a light dressing when 
the seedlings are up, and give them the re¬ 
mainder as a second application about the 
beginning of June. We should not put these 
manures at the bottom of drills. They 
should be mixed with the soil. The nitrates, 
of course, would form a top-dressing. 
Liquid manure could also be given at that 
stage to advantage. 
MISCELLANEOUS . 
1538. Wholesale Fruit and Vegetable Mer¬ 
chant. 
Would you kindly give me the address of 
a wholesale fruit and vegetable merchant 
in London? ' (J. D., County Cork.) 
The addresses of two important firms are : 
Mr. George Munro, Covent Garden, London, 
W.C.; and Messrs. Jacobs, Sons and Co., 
8-20, Russell Street, Covent Garden, Lon¬ 
don, W.C. 
1539. Place for Hot Water Pipes. 
An expert saw my new gas-heated water 
pipes in greenhouse, which were, as usual, 
a little off the ground (as are all I have 
ever yet seen). He said it was a mistake, 
that they should have been close under the 
glass roof to intercept and warm the down¬ 
ward current of cold air. Please say which 
is right—the expert or the setters up of all 
the greenhouses I ever saw? (An Old Sub¬ 
scriber, Staffordshire.) 
We .should imagine that the expert was 
only so-called by himself. The coldest air 
always finds its way to the lowest part of a 
house and the hot air to the top. If the roof 
is a very high one the hot water pipes may 
be losing their effect before it gets to the 
rcof. Some people, however, put in a more 
slender pipe along the eaves of the rcof for 
the purpose of drying the atmosphere and 
helping to prevent drip in the winter, but 
this second set of pipes is merely subsidiary 
to the main ones, which are always situated 
in the lower part of the house, and rightly 
so. 
NAMES OF PLANTS. 
(Anderson, Falkirk) 1, A hybrid between 
C. villosum ana spicerianum, possibly a 
secondary cross; 2, Seems a cross between 
C. villosum and Curtisii, but like the pre¬ 
vious one it is probably the result of a 
secondary cross. The above have been much 
used as parents, and some of them have 
never* been named.—(C. A.) 1, Daphne Me- 
zereum; 2, Lonicera f ragrantissima; 3, Jas- 
minum nudiflorum.—(T. Sims) 1, Asparagus 
medeoloides; 2, Asparagus Sprengeri; 3, 
Centropogon lucyanus; 4, Eupatorium ri- 
parium.—(G. H. D.) 1, Berberis Aquifolium; 
2, Viburnum Tinus; 3, Azara microphylla ; 
4, Osmanthus Aquifolium ilicifolius; 5, 
Myrtus communis.—(A. Henderson) 1, Abu- 
tilon megapotamicum variegatum; 2, Bo- 
ronia megastigma ; 3, Chorizema cordatum. 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
Frank Dicks and Co., 68, Deansgate, 
Manchester.—Seed List. 
Thompson and Morgan, 5, Carr Street, 
Ipswich.—Catalogue of Choice Seeds. 
Toogood and Sons, The King’s Seed 
Growers, Southampton.—Sow the Best Gar¬ 
den Seeds that Grow. 
W. T. Pratt, Stoneware Works, Welling¬ 
ton Road, Dudley, Worcestershire.—Com¬ 
plete Illustrated Price List of Fanciers’ Ap¬ 
pliances, Flower Pots, etc. 
John Forbes, Buccleuch Nurseries, Ha¬ 
wick, Scotland.—Forbes’ Plant Catalogue. 
A. and E. Moss, 46, King William Street, 
London, E.C.—Catalogue of Vegetable and 
Flower Seeds. 
