May  2?,  189?. 
JOURNAL  OP  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
461 
a  long  time  been  trying  to  solve,  but  so  far  I  have  not  yet  succeeded 
in  doing  so.  I  know  that  as  a  remedy  1,  2,  and  4  bushels  of  lime 
have  been  recommended,  but  this  has  been  tried  and  found  wanting. 
Kainit  and  basic  slag  have  also  been  recommended,  but  these  substances 
have  been  tried  with  no  better  result ;  for  this  year  I  applied  to  the 
soil  in  my  Tomato  houses  1  lb.  of  kainit  and  2  lbs.  of  basic  slag  per 
square  yard,  well  mixing  with  the  soil  before  planting,  but  still  some  of 
my  plants  are  dying  with  sleepy  disease.  I  would  strongly  recommend 
your  correspondent  to  read  what  Mr.  Iggulden  says  about  this  disease 
on  page  175,  for  there  he  will  see  that  the  above  writsr  has  found  water 
his  best  remedy,  and  I  can  partly  endorse  that  statement.  Owing  to 
pressure  of  time  I  must  now  leave  the  subject,  but  I  will  return  again  to 
it  in  the  near  future. — W.  Dyke. 
INSECT  INVASION. 
With  eyes  that  are  ever  on  the  watch,  the  presence  of  the  earlier 
aphides,  at  any  rate  in  our  houses,  may  be  detected  and  stamped  out. 
Thrips,  too,  may  be  detected,  and  the  remedy  for  the  aphis  is  equally 
death  to  the  enemy.  But  there  is  a  smaller  pest  which  does  an  infinity 
of  mischief,  and  is  not  so  quickly  discovered.  In  the  houses  this,  since 
I  have  used  the  vaporiser,  I  have  found  far  more  troublesome  than 
aphides — I  mean  red  spider.  I  dread  the  insignificant  little  wretch  far 
more  than  the  aphis,  and  for  this  reason,  that  in  all  probability  you 
never  see  him  until  you  notice  his  handiwork,  and  then  he  is  in  full 
possession. 
There  are  certain  conditions  that  favour  this  pest,  the  most  important 
being  a  hot  dry  atmosphere.  Amateurs  like  to  have  their  greenhouses 
dry  underfoot;  a  sloppy  moist  floor  does  not  give  a  pleasant  footing  to 
friends,  and  this  kina  of  house  red  spider  enjoys.  Nurserymen,  I  fancy, 
suffer  from  this  plague  far  less  in  proportion  than  we  amateurs  do,  the 
secret  of  their  success  being  the  thorough  soaking  the  houses  get  at 
night  and  morning,  making  a  moist  atmosphere  almost  perpetual,  which 
our  little  enemy  dislikes.  To  keep  the  rascal  in  check,  this  thorough 
soaking  is  a  great  assistance.  Sulphur  on  the  hot-water  pipes  also 
disagrees  with  the  mites,  but  then  this  needs  most  careful  handling 
by  the  tyro,  and  who,  while  he  may  settle  his  enemy,  may  also  settle 
many  a  plant  that  the  spider  had  not  touched. 
I  once  had  a  Peach  tree  three  or  four  years  old  covered  with  a  glass 
roof,  the  end  of  which  was  perfectly  open .  I  found  the  tree  badly 
attacked  by  red  spider.  The  stem  of  this  tree  was  2  inches  in  diameter 
and  6  feet  high,  so  that  the  branches  running  on  wires  under  the  glass 
were  at  least  8  feet  off.  I  thought  I  would  quickly  rout  the  intruder, 
and  placed  two  or  three  small  patches,  not  larger  than  a  shilling,  of 
flowers  of  sulphur  on  the  ground,  and  lighted  these,  the  end  of  the  place 
remaining  open.  What  the  spider  thought  of  it  I  cannot  say,  but  the 
tree  simply  gave  the  battle  up  and  died  at  once.  If  this  happened 
under  glass  that  had  plenty  of  vent,  with  one  end  completely  open,  it  is 
easy  to  see  how  excessively  careful  one  need  to  be  in  employing  such  a 
remedy  with  closed  doors  and  windows. 
Latterly  I  have  tried  the  suggestion  of  our  friend  Mr.  W.  Taylor,  and 
when  I  use  the  XL  vaporiser  I  add  to  the  liquid  a  half  teaspoonful 
(I  am  feeling  the  way)  of  sulphurous  acid — mark  it  is  sulphured  acid, 
not  sulphuric,  which  is  what  a  person  hesitating  about  the  name  would 
be  almost  certain  to  have  given  him  if  at  a  chemist’s.  On  some  plant 
that  I  do  not  care  about  losing  I  mean  to  try  a  diluted  acid,  spraying  it. 
Certain  plants  seem  to  favour  the  advent  of  red  spider.  Setting  aside 
Melons  and  Cucumbers  and  the  Vines,  I  have  found  Fuchsias,  Salvia 
Halleri,  Tuberoses,  Bouvardias  (badly),  Tecoma  Smithi,  Roses,  and 
Abutilons  invite  the  pest ;  this,  at  least,  is  my  experience. 
But  how  many  amateurs  know  red  spider?  I  have  seen  the  scarlet 
spider  often  seen  on  plants  out  of  doors,  about  ths  size  of  two  fat  green 
flies  rolled  into  one,  called  red  spider — well,  red  he  certainly  is,  but  this 
is  not  the  enemy  I  am  now  speaking  of.  I  know  some  people  who  can 
see  red  spider  on  a  leaf  with  the  naked  eye  ;  I  might  have  been  able  to 
do  so  in  days  long  since  gone  by,  but  not  now.  However,  I  always  have 
my  magnifying  glass  in  my  pocket,  and  submit  a  doubtful  leaf  to  the 
strictest  scrutiny  by  its  aid.  So  far  as  I  have  seen,  and  I  have  seen  many 
more  than  I  wanted,  comparatively  few  of  these  gentry  merit  the 
adjective  red  ;  most  of  them  are  yellowish,  and  the  larger  may  have  a 
darker  spot  on  each  side  of  the  body  ;  they  are  mostly  on  the  under  part 
of  the  leaf.  If  the  plant  is  much  infected,  and  in  the  angles  formed  by 
the  stem  of  the  leaf  something  like  a  web  may  be  seen,  I  think  the  case 
very  bad.  Sometimes  no  spider  is  visible,  but  over  the  under  surface  of 
the  leaf  are  a  number  of,  as  it  were,  microscopic  drops  of  water,  little 
shining  greenish  pearls.  Are  these  the  eggs  ?  I  think  they  are,  for  at 
times  I  seem  to  have  caught  the  moment  of  hatching,  and  have  seen  the 
pearly  drop  still  glistening,  but  now  furnished  with  legs. 
No  plant  can  be  long  healthy  that  red  spider  inhabits.  Its  leaves  lose 
their  green  colour,  look  sickly,  and  are  thickly  spotted  with  very  small 
white  spots.  Those  who  have  once  seen  and  marked  such  a  leaf  would 
easily  recognise  it,  and  without  searching  for  the  pest  give  a  verdict  of 
red  spider.  If  the  plant  be  in  bloom  you  cannot  syringe  all  blooming 
plants  without  injuring  the  flowers  ;  but  it  may  pay  to  syringe  them 
night  and  morning,  for  with  red  spider  in  abundance  the  bloom  cannot 
be  good.  The  pest  is  so  diminutive  that  I  do  not  know  of  any  other 
insect  that  thinks  it  worth  while  to  feed  on  it.  I  wish  there  were  many. 
— Y.  B.  A.  Z,  _ 
Your  sprightly  correspondent,  who  arranges  his  alphabetical  in 
such  a  fanciful  way,  “Y.  B.  A.  Z,”  (page  437),  cannot  understand 
“if  the  pest  be  aphides  what  can  be  done  as  a  preventive.”  Well, 
if  the  aphides  are  already  there  the  “  preventive  ”  stage  is  obviously 
past.  It  would  then  be  a  case  of  destruction,  not  simply  of  prevention, 
and  I  have  always  found  it  better  to  prevent  than  destroy  even  insect 
life — easier,  cheaper,  and  more  merciful. 
It  has  fallen  to  my  lot  to  have  been  nearly  killed  myBelf  in  trying  to 
kill  hordes  of  insects  which  had  been  allowed,  if  not  encouraged,  to 
swarm  on  plants  and  trees  under  glass.  I  was  in  a  subordinate  position 
then.  If  the  same  sad  experience  of  being  nearly  killed  in  the  work  of 
butchery  should  recur  now  I  should  say  it  would  serve  me  right.  It 
would  be  the  penalty  of  neglect,  lack  of  observation  and  promptitude  in 
action  ;  or  of  mistakes  in  management  or  errors  in  cultivation. 
Our  friend  seems  very  well  able  to  kill  aphides,  also,  no  doubt,  other 
insect  pests  ;  and  he  gives  good,  but  not  the  best,  advice  when  he  says 
“  The  presence  of  a  few  pests  should  be  the  signal  for  immediate  fumi¬ 
gation,  or,  as  he  seems  to  prefer,  vapourisation.”  I  have  not  had  occasion 
to  try  the  punishing  power  of  the  last-named  operation  on  aphideB,  as 
they  have  been  easily  enough  mastered  in  the  old  way,  and  with  the  old 
means — i  e ,,  prevented  ;  and  if  instead  of  waiting  till  he  could  see  even 
a  “  few  insects  ”  (and  fail  to  see  ten  times  more  that  would  probably  be 
not  far  distant)  he  had  fumigated  or  vapourated  before  they  were  there, 
he  would  then  perhaps  not  be  able  to  see  any  insects  at  all,  because  there 
would  be  none.  If  he  were  to  pursue  the  practice  of  light  periodical 
fumigation  when  his  plants  or  trees  were  thoroughly,  healthy  and  clean 
he  would  find  a  saving  in  material,  and  need  not  give  himself  the  lease 
trouble  about  cooking  “  aphis  eggs,”  because  without  a  “  few  aphides  ” 
he  would  have  no  eggs  to  cook. 
The  ruminations  of  “  Y.  B.  A.  Z.”  on  turning  plants  out  of  green¬ 
houses  at  this  time  of  the  year  for  scrubbing  and  cleaning  to  rid  us  of 
green,  brown,  blue,  and  black  aphis  are  beside  the  mark.  The  insects 
need  not  be  there,  and  would  not  be  there  if  a  man  have  the  means  at 
hand  to  prevent  them ;  and  if  our  alphabetical  friend  were  a  gardener, 
as  presumably  he  is  not,  as  he  tells  us  he  is  “  an  ignoramus”  (which  is 
not  quite  the  way  of  gardeners),  and  moreover  if  he  were  my  gardener  and 
reared  such  a  varied  assortment  of  aphides  on  my  plants  as  he  enume¬ 
rates,  I  should  be  apt  to  think  the  best  way  of  dealing  with  them  would 
be  by  getting  rid  of  him. 
Some  persons  appear  to  be  in  their  glory  among  insects,  which  they 
seem  to  tend  so  lovingly  and  write  about  so  entertainingly  prior  to  the 
slaughter — if  they  ever  do  slay  them — that  I  should  not  be  very  much 
surprised  to  hear  of  some  of  them  sending  samples  for  the  Editor  to 
grow  in  his  garden,  and  then  make  experiments  in  killing  them.  I  am 
not  made  in  that  way,  but  prefer  growing  plants,  Peaches,  and  Grapes 
without  an  insect  on  them.  This  is  actually  the  case  with  many  at  the 
present  moment,  and  will  be  throughout  the  season,  the  direct  result  of 
taking  action  before  any  insects  ‘appear.  Perhaps  “  Y.  B.  A.  Z.”  will 
now  better  understand  the  theory  and  practice  of  prevention. — W. 
[We  know  our  correspondent  as  an  experienced  gardener,  but  did 
not  know  he  was  a  prophet  also.  It  is  a  fact  that  someone  has  sent  U3 
a  box  containing  thousands  of  active  mites,  known  as  red  spider — a 
veritable  swarm,  quickly  thrown  in  the  fire,  and  if  there  were  a  letter  in 
the  box  it  went  there  too.  We  had  seen  quite  enough,  without  searching 
for  more.] 
THE  MELON  AND  ITS  CULTURE. 
The  Melon  is  the  richest  and  most  highly  flavoured  of  all  the  fleshy 
fruits.  It  is  often  said  to  be  a  native  of  the  central  parts  of  Asia  and 
of  Jamaica,  and  to  have  been  first  brought  into  Europe  from  Persia  ; 
but  the  date  of  its  first  culture  is  so  remote  that  there  is  no  certain 
knowledge  on  the  subject.  The  Melons  of  Persia  have  long  borne  a 
high  character.  In  1824  Mr.  Willock,  Ambassador  to  the  Persian  Court, 
sent  a  parcel  of  seed,  and  another  parcel  in  the  spring  of  1826  An 
account  of  ten  varieties  of  these  Melons  was  read  before  the  Horti* 
cultural  Society  in  September  1826,  and  the  individual  fruits  referred  to 
were  the  produce  of  the  Society’s  garden  that  season. 
In  reference  to  present  day  culture,  experience  teaches  that  for  pro¬ 
ducing  abundant  supplies  of  this  lusciou?  fruit  in  succession  from 
early  summer  till  late  autumn,  we  must  have  the  aid  of  light  and 
well-heated  houses.  It  is  not  my  intention  to  treat  on  frame 
culture.  These  houses  are  of  various  styles — lean-to,  span-roof,  three- 
quarter  span,  and  hip-roofed.  I  have  seen  excellent  crops  obtained  in 
houses  built  on  each  of  these  principles  ;  though  the  house  which 
produced  ripe  fruit  in  the  least  time  was  an  old  flattish-roofed  lean-to, 
sunk  some  3  or  4  feet  into  the  ground,  with  sliding  ventilators  in  the 
back  and  front  walls,  with  an  ample  supply  of  4-inch  piping  attached 
to  a  powerful  boiler.  The  gafdener  formerly  in  charge  of  this  house  as 
a  rule  cut  fruit  by  the  10th  of  May,  say  about  eight  to  ten  weeks  from 
planting,  from  seed  sown  about  the  1st  of  January.  A  high,  moist, 
genial  temperature  could  always  be  maintained  in  this  house  with 
comparatively  little  trouble. 
Raising  Seedlings. — Various  methods  are  adopted  for  raising 
plants.  Some  persons  sow  the  seeds  in  square  blocks  of  turf,  but  this 
practice  is  not  recommended,  because  the  tender  rootlets  are  very  liable 
to  injury  by  the  hot  sun  when  they  protrude  through  the  sides  of  the 
turf.  Others  sow  several  seeds  in  a  pot,  afterwards  potting  the  plants 
singly.  But  I  think  the  best  and  most  reliable  method  is  to  place  one 
seed  in  a  3-inch  pot  half  filled  with  loam,  over  a  crock  or  a  bit  of  rough 
material  for  drainage  ;  this  applies  to  the  earliest  plants  raised  in 
January  or  February.  In  the  case  of  later  plants  with  quicker  growth 
and  an  increase  of  sunshine  the  soil  dries  more  rapidly,  then  rough  turf 
alone  suffices  for  drainage. 
