278 
JOURriAL  OF  HORTIGUUlURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
September  19,1895. 
same  way  many  of  our  native  deciduous  flowering  shrubs  surpass  exotics 
in  beauty,  of  which  none  can  excel  in  beauty  the  Hawthorn,  the  Gean, 
and  the  Sloe. 
We  ought  to  add  flowering  shrubs  of  other  climes  in  order  to  increase 
the  variety,  and  to  give  more  interest  to  grounds,  but  these,  though 
beautiful,  are  only  secondary  to  Laburnums  and  other  plants  already 
named.  In  Scotland  many  flowering  shrubs  succeed  in  the  open,  and 
of  Spiraeas  there  is  quite  a  lengthy  list.  Then  there  are  Deutzias,  Lilacs, 
Weigelas,  Ghent  and  other  hardy  Azaleas,  Roses,  Honeysuckles,  Escal- 
lonias.  Fuchsias,  Olearia  Haasti,  Amygdalus  Davidiana  and  its  white 
form,  Prunus  Pissardi,  Pyrus,  Cydonias,  hardy  Heaths,  Daphnes, 
Currants,  Hydrangeas,  Garrya,  Genista,  Daboecia  polifolia  in  variety, 
Strawberry  Trees,  Rubus.Philadelphus,  Viburnum,  Kalmias,  Calycanthus, 
Hypericums,  Leycesteria  formosa,  Berberis,  and  others.  In  addition  there 
are  the  shrubs  that  bear  ornamental  fruits,  including  Elders,  black  and 
red  berried.  The  common  Barberry,  Mahonia,  Roses,  particularly  Rugosa, 
Crab  Apples  in  variety,  the  Sea  Buckthorn,  the  Strawberry  Tree,  the 
Snowberry  and  the  “  Wineberry  ”  or  Japanese  Bramble,  which  has  been 
covered  with  shining  red  fruits. 
A  not  uncommon  mistake  perpetrated  by  purchasers  of  new  shrubs 
is  selecting  them  much  too  large.  If  a  shrub  is  healthy,  though  small, 
and  well  rooted,  it  is  not  unlikely  to  overtake  larger  plants  that  cannot 
be  removed  a  distance  without  suffering.  It  may  also  be  remarked  that 
new  shrubs  ought,  if  possible,  to  be  planted  directly  on  arrival.  It  is 
dangerous  to  leave  them  unplanted.  In  cases  when  newly  bought 
shrubs  cannot,  on  arrival,  be  put  in  permanent  positions,  it  is  much 
better  to  let  them  remain  until  the  ensuing  summer,  when  without  any 
■fear  of  danger  whatever,  replanting  can  be  effected.  I  re-arranged 
portions  of  two  Yew  hedges  in  the  end  of  May,  and  it  was  not  possible 
at  any  time  to  point  out  the  difference  between  those  lifted  and  those 
left.— R.  P.  B. 
SEPTEMBER  SPIDERS. 
August  and  September  are  the  months  when  spiders  are  abundant 
about  gardens  and  plantations  ;  probably  there  are  more  in  August  than 
September,  though  that  haa  its  particular  species,  which  come  not  till 
the  autumn  glow  has  arrived,  and  the  air  is  tolerably  calm.  Workers 
in  gardens  cannot  fail  to  make  acquaintance  with  these  insects  —  if 
insects  they  are,  for  naturalists  do  not  agree  as  to  their  position  amongst 
the  smaller  creatures — not  only  by  seeing  them  and  their  webs,  but  by 
feeling  their  movements  over  the  person.  Stray  spiders  frequently 
crawl  upon  our  skins  or  our  clothes,  coming  on  us  accidentally,  and 
anxious  enough  to  escape.  Why  they  should  rouse  a  feeling  of  dislike  in 
so  many  persons  is  singular,  unless  it  is  to  be  accounted  for  by  the  retention 
of  foolish  ideas  or  apprehensions  originated  during  childhood. 
There  is  nothing  really  repulsive  about  any  of  our  native  spiders, 
nor  is  a  bite  from  them  to  be  dreaded,  as  in  hotter  countries,  where  the 
poison  of  some  species  is  highly  injurious,  or  even  fatal.  I  have  heard 
of  a  very  few  instances  where  a  spider,  crawling  upon  someone’s  neck 
or  arm,  perhaps  causing  a  hand  to  be  hastily  applied  to  the  part  tickled, 
has,  in  self-defence,  pierced  the  skin  with  its  fang.  The  worst  result 
that  has  followed  has  been  a  swelling,  somewhat  like  that  produced  by 
a  gnat  bite,  the  irritation  passed  off  in  a  few  days  ;  but  this  is  a  thing 
that  seldom  happens,  even  to  gardeners.  We  have,  however,  much  more 
serious  objections  to  the  presence  of  spiders  in  gardens,  especially  the 
web-spinners,  their  insect  traps  spread  upon  plants  and  shrubs  being 
unornamental,  several  of  the  smaller  species  also  roll  up  or  fold 
leaves,  as  temporary  hiding  places,  and  for  the  purpose  of  covering  their 
•egg-bags. 
On  the  other  side,  some  things  may  be  said  in  favour  of  spiders, 
besides  the  good  character  given  them  by  moralists,  as  examples  of 
diligence  and  perseverance  in  the  face  of  diflSculties  and  dangers. 
Spiders  generally  are  great  destroyers  of  other  insects,  and  since  they 
kill  multitudes  of  those  that  are  damaging  to  our  crops  in  some  stage 
of  their  existence,  we  must  account  them  so  far  beneficial  to  us  that 
they  should  be  protected  when  it  is  possible.  Their  appetites  are 
voracious,  and  their  activity  constant,  the  number  of  victims  to  webs 
placed  in  favourable  positions  is  astonishing.  We  have  an  instance 
of  it  just  now,  swarms  of  craneflies  or  Tipulas  are  on  the  wing,  and 
large  captures  of  them  are  made  by  spiders  to  our  advantage,  for  the 
grubs  rank  amongst  our  very  injurious  insects.  Even  while  they  are 
•quite  juvenile,  and  too  small  to  form  webs,  I  believe  the  common 
garden  spiders,  of  which  we  see  yellow-bodied  troops  marching  about 
during  the  spring,  feed  upon  aphides,  poduros,  and  various  creeping 
tiny  insects  till  they  can  secure  bigger  prey. 
Growers  of  Grapes  in  some  parts  of  the  Continent  allow  a  species 
of  Theridlon  to  form  its  webs  on  the  bunches,  which  it  is  apt  to  do, 
they  thinking  that  the  Grapes  are  thus  protected  from  the  attacks 
of  other  insects.  Again,  spiders  have  some  repute  as  weather  prophets, 
for  it  has  been  noticed  that  if  they  are  busy  repairing  their  webs 
early  in  the  day  after  a  wet  night,  an  improvement  of  the  weather  is 
very  probable.  Mr.  Murray  tells  us  that  in  several  low-lying  districts 
of  the  west  of  England  a  bolus  of  rolled-np  spider’s  web  is  still  taken 
for  the  ague  occasionally  prevalent,  and  its  efiSicacy  vouched  for. 
Another  use  of  this  web  is  that  of  arresting  the  flow  of  blood  from 
a  cut  or  abrasion,  which  it  usually  will  do. 
At  the  period  when  every  natural  object  received  a  pronoun  expressing 
sex,  the  spider  was  “  she  ”  (even  yet,  in  some  parts  of  the  west  of  England, 
most  things  are  “  he  ”  or  “  she  ”),  I  suppose  from  its  spinning  propensities, 
not  because  our  worthy  ancestors  had  observed  that  the  females  were 
more  in  evidence  than  the  males.  Amongst  some  of  our  garden  species 
they  do  apparently  predominate,  or  at  least  are  chiefly  conspicuous,  the 
smaller  males  placing  their  webs  in  less  noticeable  positions.  It  has, 
indeed,  been  suggested  that  male  spiders  generally  are  lazy  fellows  who 
sneak  about  to  steal  food  from  the  webs  of  their  companions.  We  do 
know  that  courtship  with  them  is  apt  to  have  its  dangers,  and  the  case 
is  not  uncommon  of  a  female  Epeira  seizing  a  male  that  is  cautiously 
approaching,  securing  him  to  her  web,  and  then  devouring  him. 
Judged  fairly,  the  large  and  abundant  spider,  formerly  called  the 
cross  spider,  from  the  yellow-and-brown  adornment  on  its  back, 
resembling  a  triple  cross  or  tiara,  is  handsome  rather  than  ugly ;  it  is 
also  named  E.  diadema,  and  frequently  sits  conspicuously  in  the  centre 
of  the  web,  head  downwards ;  but  occasionally  it  hides  close  by  under 
a  leaf.  Though  many  of  the  webs  are  spread  over  bushes  and  plants, 
some,  as  we  may  observe,  are  placed  near  the  grounl,  which  secure 
low-flying  insects,  or  those  about  to  settle  on  the  earth. 
These  Epeiras,  or  geometric  spiders,  capture  more  flies  than  insects 
of  any  other  order,  but  they  also  get  butterflies  and  moths,  occasional 
caterpillars,  and  even  beetles  ;  of  course,  some  of  the  Hymenopterous 
order,  such  as  ichneumon  flies,  bees,  wasps,  and  even  hornets  have  been 
found  in  their  webs,  the  spider  showing  both  agility  and  cleverness 
when  it  has  one  of  these  dangerous  captives,  and  generally  manages  to 
enwrap  them  without  getting  stung  ;  it  then  leaves  them  to  struggle  till 
exhausted.  Small  spiders  of  the  genus  Linyphea  that  are  common  in 
gardens,  along  hedges  or  clumps  of  herbage,  mostly  black  or  grey,  have 
a  peculiar  method  of  arranging  their  webs.  One  of  these  is  in  the  form  of 
a  horizontal  sheet  of  fine  silk,  from  which  numerous  lines  branch  off  to 
surrounding  objects  ;  these  serve  a  double  purpose — they  support  the 
web,  and  insects  striking  against  them  are  often  precipitated  on  to  the 
sheet,  where  the  watchful  spider  waits  for  its  expected  victims. 
Then  we  have  another  remarkable  variety  of  web  in  that  constructed 
by  the  genus  Ciniflo,  a  loose  irregular  net,  which  has  usually  a  dirty 
appearance,  even  when  not  particularly  soiled.  The  threads  are 
flocculent  and  compound,  more  or  less  twisted  ;  under  the  microscope 
they  have  a  distinctly  blue  tint.  It  will  be  noticed  by  gardeners  that 
a  Ciniflo  web,  if  handled,  adheres  closely  to  the  fingers.  Allied  to  these 
are  the  Agelense,  which  spin  on  banks  or  low  bushes,  thick,  compact, 
white  webs  having  a  tube  or  tunnel  at  the  inner  end.  Somewhat 
similar  is  the  web  of  a  Tegenaria,  found  in  houses,  occasionally  in 
conservatories,  with  a  little  tube  or  nest  at  one  angle. 
There  are  still  a  few  Theridions  about,  though  most  have  disappeared 
for  the  season.  On  many  plants  we  see  during  the  summer  the  small 
cocoon  of  T.  pallens,  of  a  pearly  white,  rounded,  but  having  little 
points  on  its  surface.  It  is  said  that  in  this  genus  the  females  sometimes 
watch  over  their  young  progeny  for  a  good  while,  providing  ants  and 
other  insects  as  food.  Here  again  we  have  another  type  of  web.  That 
of  a  Theridion  is  composed  of  a  number  of  fine,  distinct  threads,  which 
cross  each  other  in  all  directions.  The  medium-sized  T.  tepidariorum, 
brown,  with  a  pale  abdomen,  black  streaked,  is  chiefly  found  in  hot¬ 
houses,  and  is  presumed  to  be  a  naturalised  foreigner.  It  should  be 
spared  when  possible.  September  is  the  month  for  a  display  of  “  silvery 
gossamers  ”  spreading  a  film  of  web  over  acres  of  common  or  meadow 
land.  Some  of  these  spiders  rise  in  the  air,  floating  a  long  distance. 
Other  spiders  tolerably  abundant  in  gardens  make  no  webs,  but 
chase  insects  by  running  after  them,  or  leap  on  them  with  a  tiger’s 
spring,  such  as  the  black  and  white  Salticus  scenicus.  Well  known, 
too,  is  the  longlegged  fellow  called  the  harvest  man  or  daddy  longlegs, 
Pholcus  phalangoides.  In  justification  of  the  spider  race,  I  must  add 
that  the  “  red  spider  ”  is  not  truly  a  spider,  but  a  mite  like  the  harvest 
bug,  which  has  been  rather  annoying  this  season. — Entomologist. 
JUDGES’  DUTIES. 
Evidently  there  is  a  varied  opinion  affecting  the  duties  of  judges 
at  horticultural  shows  if  the  comments  which  have  appeared  of  late  in 
the  Journal  may  be  taken  as  evidence.  Certainly  there  are  times  when 
the  course  taken  by  “  A.  D.”  from  an  exhibitor’s  point  of  view  would 
be  welcopaed,  and  that  of  the  other  correspondents  equally  acceptable, 
according  to  the  position  one  may  happen  to  be  placed  in.  It  is,  how¬ 
ever,  quite  an  established  fact  that  judging  will  never  be  done  to  please 
everyone,  and  the  same  argument  holds  good  in  the  leniency  displayed 
by  judges  towards  those,  who  by  sheer  accident,  place  too  many  or  too 
few  specimens  in  a  dish  of  fruit  or  vegetables. 
There  are  many  exhibitors  who  cannot  help  displaying  nervousness 
when  staging  fruit  or  vegetables,  and  often  where  the  mistake  is  made 
of  placing  too  many  fruits  is  in  providing  an  extra  one  in  case  of  accident. 
It  is  not  unusual  in  the  unpacking  of  soft  fruits  on  the  morning  of  the 
show  to  find  one  out  of  the  number  required  for  a  dish  showing  signs  of 
decay,  the  staging  of  which,  should  the  competition  be  keen,  would 
quickly  decide  the  case.  I  am  sure  very  many  ot  your  readers  who  are 
exhibitors  will  support  the  views  held  out  by  “  A.  D.,”.  who  is  apparently 
fighting  his  cause  single-handed,  and  I  hope  that  the  same  spirit  will  be 
found  in  those  adjudicating  on  the  merits  of  fruits  or  vegetables  in 
collections  in  the  future. 
At  the  same  time,  it  must  be  admitted  that  judges  are  not  called  on 
to  favour  anyone  in  the  manner  suggested  ;  but  such  action  as  that 
displayed  by  “A.  D.”  certainly  demands  respect  from  exhibitors 
generally.  I  was  once  disqualified  in  a  collection  of  fruit  by  having, 
for  some  unaccountable  reason,  one  Morello  Cherry  in  a  dish  of  a  dessert 
kind  of  a  similar  colour,  and  this  one  of  the  judges  happened  to  taste 
and  at  once  decided  to  disqualify,  because,  as  they  stated,  I  had  seven 
