e] 
- 
= Corel, 1903 
the winter either as larve or pup, emerge 
from their confinement, pair, and within 
forty-eight hours the females fly from 
apple to apple, depositing an egg in each 
until they have exhausted their stock. 
In from seven to ten days the larva is 
hatched, when it commences at once to 
gnaw a hole and bury itself in the sub- 
stance of the fruit, making a burrow ob- 
liquely downwards so as to avoid the core. 
At this stage it is hardly visible to the 
naked eye. When six days old it measures 
nearly one-quarter of an inch, and is about 
as thick as a fine silk thread. In ten, days 
by the time it has burrowed about 
itis about three-eights of an inch long, and 
three-fourths of the distance to the 
core, its presence may be detected b 
the brown powder it throws out of its bur- 
row. The body of the young caterpillar is 
of a whitish color, and it has a black head. 
The next segment or collar, as also the end 
segment, are darker in color. It has eight 
little black dots or warts on each segment, 
so arranged as to make two rows down, the 
back and one row on each side. From each 
dot proceeds a very fine white hair or 
bristle. The dots and hairs are only to be 
clearly seen with a magnifying glass. It 
has three pairs of true legs (legs with claws 
situated near the head), four pair of ven- 
tral prolegs (legs without claws in the 
centre of the body), and one pair of pro- 
legs at the anal extremity. This arrange- 
ment. of legs is common to a great many 
kinds of caterpillars, and the dots or warts 
are not peculiar to the larya of the codlin 
moth, as the caterpillar which. attacks the 
pepper-tree, as well as several other kinds 
of larvee, have them; but if a caterpillar 
is found inside an apple or pear having the 
foregoing as well as other characteriatics 
about to be described, it may safely be con- 
cluded that it is the larva of the codlin, 
moth. As the larva grows towards matu- 
rity, which it attains in about twenty days, 
the body becomes more or less of a pink 
or flesh color, the dots nearly or quite 
disappear, and. the head, collar, and anal 
segment become lighter in color. In, about 
thirty days’ time the larva is prepared to 
leave the fruit. According to Californian 
authorities, it then gnaws a hole through 
the apple, from which it lowers itself down 
by means of a silken thread, cither to the 
ground or to an intervening branch. Kng- 
lish authorities state that when about half- 
grown it gnaws a hole to the outside for the 
purpose of better expelling the pellets of 
excrement; it then returns toward the 
centre of the apple, when it feeds at its 
case. When within a few days of being full 
fed it enters the core and eats only the pips, 
which causes the apple to fall. 
Vegetable Garden. 
C0) 
OPERATIONS FOR OCTOBER. 
By Gero. Quinn. 
; (Journal of Agriculture. ] a 
On thie open plains countiry the attention 
of the vegetable grower is now turned to the 
sowing and planting of summer crops. In 
the deep gullies of the hills the soil is only 
THE AVSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
13 
sufficiently dry and warm to permit. plant- 
ing similar vegetables to those grown, on 
the plains during the winter and early 
spring. Without appliances, such as glass 
frames, or other warmth-collecting struc- 
tures, being placed around each plant, it is 
little use sowing or planting melons until 
the temperature of the soil begins to rise 
tc an appreciable degree. Melons thrive 
best in soils rich in thoroughly decomposed 
organic matter. A good compost for them 
is mado by throwing all kinds of vegetable 
substances, such as weeds and grass clip- 
pings, mixed with droppings from animals, 
into a pit and allowing the mixture to de- 
cay for a season until it will cut out black 
and firm. Failing this, well rotted farm- 
yard manure should be secured. Melons 
sometimes prove profitable on lands. from 
which a crop of some kind has been taken, 
which received ai heavy dressing of manure 
at its planting time. There are two 
methods commonly adopted in preparing 
ground for melons. One consists of digging 
holes into the soil of which the compost or 
manure is worked. The second consists 
of spreading the manure in strips 5 or 6 ft. 
wide and digging or ploughing it into the 
ground. The seeds are then sown in the 
holes or in drills along the strips which re- 
ceived the dressing of manure. The latter 
method would appear to meet the rambling. 
habits of the roots, because they spread al- 
most as widely as the creeping stems above 
ground. Three or four seeds should be 
placed in each. spot, and these may be from 
3 to 6 ft. apart according to the trailing 
habit of the variety. As soon as the seeds 
are sown they should be covered with bro- 
ken decayed manure or sand, and the sur- 
rounding surface made loose and fine. 
“Edible podded beans—commonly called 
French beans—should be sown now. These 
like a well-prepared loam formed of a fair 
mixttire of sand, clay, and: organic matter, 
with a fair proportion of lime included. If 
the soil} has become dry, give it a good soak- 
ing several days before digging it. Sow 
in drills say 1 ft. apart, with the seeds drop- 
ped from 2 to 6 in. apart, just according 
to the germinating power of the seeds. If 
a large area is to be sown it may be worth 
while taking a couple of dozen seeds indis- 
criminately from the stock, soaking them 
for several hours in water which was pretty 
hot when poured over them, and then. plac- 
ing the seeds between the folds of a biti of 
damp blanket in a warm room to germi- 
nate. It may be necessary to damp the 
blanket each day. By this test much dis- 
appomtment may be avoided if the seeds 
are of unknown age. The whole of the 
seeds may be soaked if a rapid germination 
is desired. In such a case they should be 
allowed to stand for an hour or two after — 
the water is poured off. This allows the 
testa or skin to toughen slightly, and with- 
outi such a precaution, the seedlobes may 
‘break asunder while being handled from 
seed vessel to the soil. Before sowing the 
seeds sprinkle a little superphosphate in 
the drill to help the plants later on. The 
seeds should be covered with some loose 
compost—a mixture of fine manure and 
sand is good—to a depth of about an inch. 
If the soil is fairly moist no water should 
‘be applied until the plants appear above 
tho surface. 
Among the dwarf kinds suited to the 
_ open dry country the Canadian Wonder is 
still a favorite. It gives a good pod, but 
takes a long time to.come into bloom. The 
Emperor William and Dwarf Caseknife are 
more rapid. It is a good plan to sow a few 
rows of each kind at the same operation, as 
they will then come on in fair rotation. . 
Although tomatoes may be sown, in the 
open ground, such a practice is not ad- 
visable excepting late in the season. The 
young plants when set out should be shel- 
tered from the cold winds. A very inge- 
nious shelter is made by cutting a kerosine 
tin into two parts in a diagonal direction 
and lengthways, leaving the square top of 
the tin on one piece and the bottom attach- 
ed to the other. In the angle a stake is 
nailed which projects below the open end 
or bottom of the tin. This projecting stake 
is forced into the ground and the tin forms 
a shelter wall on two sides and ontop. The 
stake is pulled up gradually as the growing 
top cf the plant rises under the tin. Toma- 
toes do not prove profitable if grown in 
soils very rich in organic matter. A mode- 
rate quantity is valuable, but much in- 
creases the vegetative portions of the plant 
to the detriment of fruit setting. Potash 
and phosphates are valuable, and these 
may be given in the forms of superphos- 
phates, wood ashes, or muriate of potash. 
Tn small gardens in hot, dry localities, 
where water is ayailable for irrigating, sil- 
ver beet may be grown throughout the sum- 
mer. It is a good substitute for spinach or 
cabbage, and’ will thrive at a time of the 
year when these camnot be produced in an 
ordinary garden. Sow the- seeds in drills, 
enriching the soil with organic manures. 
The red beet is also a good summer veget- 
able, and may be produced in most gardens 
throughout the year by making sowings in 
selected spots. The turnip-rocted varieties 
give the best results in the hot months, as 
they grow into a useful size more rapidly 
than the longer and deeper-rooted kinds. 
These like a loose soil which has been dres- 
sed heavily with farmyard manure the 
season, before. Fresh manure causes them 
to send out too many secondary roots. 
Growing crops of potatoes should be 
hilled up, or the soil loosened between. the 
rows. The surface of the soil between all 
growing crops should be forked or hoed up 
as much as practicable to kill weeds and 
conserve moisture. 
Watch all tomatoes and melons growing 
under shelter for the appearance of aphi- 
des. Curled leaves usually indicate their 
presence. If found, spray the under-sides 
with weak soap and tobacco wash, and give 
fresh air and encouragement to the plants 
to make good growth, 
Look ta the saving of seeds from cabbage 
and cauliflower plants. 
Do net be too hard on asparagus beds 
unless the plants are exceptionally strong. 
A. good dressing of superphosphate and 
kainit, covered by a mulch of decayed 
farmyard manure will help the plants to 
make a strong recovery after the cutting 
season. 
Rhubarb plants would be much streng- 
thened by the aiddition to the soil of a good 
dressing of superphosphate, combined with 
a little sulphate of ammonia, more particu- 
larly if in dry places these can) be washed 
