546 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
December  12, 1895. 
trench  a  good  coating  of  farmyard  manure,  which  must  be  dug  in  as 
deeply  as  possible.  On  this  place  another  dressing  of  the  same 
material  ;  then  remove  the  top  soil  from  the  next  4  feet  of  ground 
and  place  on  top  of  the  manure,  trenching  and  manuring  in  this 
way  until  the  whole  of  the  ground  has  been  gone  over.  About  the 
first  week  in  February  the  ground  will  be  improved  by  a  good 
sprinkling  of  soot,  salt,  and  wood  ashes,  the  whole  being  forked 
lightly  in.  Of  course,  in  some  soils  trenching  can  be  done  to  a 
depth  of  3  feet,  and  manure  worked  in  accordingly ;  but  on  land 
with  a  clay  subsoil  it  is  best  broken  up,  manured,  and  left  there. 
The  seeds  should  be  sown,  not  later  than  the  first  week  in 
February,  in  boxes  properly  drained  and  filled  with  compost  from 
an  old  Cucumber  or  Melon  bed.  Have  the  surface  of  the  soil  made 
firm  and  even  in  the  boxes.  After  sowing  the  seeds  place  the 
boxes  in  a  cool  vinery  or  on  shelves  in  the  greenhouse,  and  if  the 
soil  is  fairly  moist  at  the  time  of  sowing  (as  it  should  be),  and  the 
boxes  covered  with  slates  or  glass  with  paper  to  shade  them,  no 
water  will  be  required  until  germination  has  taken  place.  Careful 
watch  must  be  kept  for  the  appearance  of  the  seedlings,  upon  which 
covering  should  be  removed,  it  being  also  essential  that  the  plants 
be  kept  as  near  the  glass  as  possible  with  an  abundance  of  air. 
As  the  young  plants  gain  in  size  and  strength  a  cold  frame  in 
a  sunny  position  is  the  best  place  for  them,  admitting  air  by 
degrees  until  the  lights  can  be  altogether  dispensed  with.  During 
the  last  week  in  April  they  should  be  transplanted  to  their  final 
position  in  rows  16  inches  apart,  allowing  a  foot  between  each 
plant.  If  the  ground  is  very  dry  at  the  time  of  planting,  a  good 
'Watering  may  be  given,  and  in  case  of  continued  drought  a  light 
mulching  of  spent  Mushroom  bed  manure,  sifted  leaf  soil,  or  any¬ 
thing  that  will  prevent  the  moisture  evaporating  from  the  soil  too 
quickly  ought  to  be  applied. 
When  the  plants  are  thoroughly  established  frequent  small 
applications  of  some  of  the  many  excellent  chemical  manures 
advertised  in  the  Journal  may  be  given  with  advantage,  but  care 
and  judgment  must  be  exercised  in  their  use,  or  more  harm 
than  good  may  very  quickly  be  done.  The  amount  of  sunshine 
during  June  and  July  must  be  some  guide  as  to  feeding  with 
liquid  manure  from  the  farmyard,  and  also  in  the  use  of 
chemicals,  for  if  over-fed  in  dull  weather  the  result  will  be  a 
crop  of  thick-necked  unsightly  bulbs. 
There  are  now  large  numbers  of  superb  Onions  especially 
suitable  for  exhibition  purposes,  and  it  is  a  difScult,  if  not  an 
impossible  task,  to  say  which  are  really  the  best,  but  if  I  were 
confined  to  only  two  varieties  I  should  have  Ailsa  Craig  and 
Sutton’s  Al.  Anyone  who  grows  these  thoroughly  well  will  have 
bulbs  fit  to  exhibit  at  any  show  of  vegetables  in  the  country. — 
"C.  Foster,  Aheijjergiom  Garde^is,  Glyn  Neath. 
SOME  WINTER  WORKERS  IN  WOOD. 
By  the  time  December  has  arrived  the  change  of  temperature 
and  other  causes  have  killed  off  hosts  of  insects,  and  those  that  are 
to  hyberuate  have  taken  up  their  winter  quarters,  where  they  sleep 
till  spring.  Possibly  this  repose  may  be  interiupted  by  the  effects 
of  rain  and  wind  where  their  shelter  is  only  partial,  also  by  the 
researches  of  some  predatory  beetles,  birds  and  gardeners.  For 
•either  above  ground  or  below  there  are  certain  beetles,  carnivorous 
in  habit,  that  are  more  or  less  active  during  the  colder  months. 
As  a  rule,  if  we  turn  up  beetles  when  digging  at  this  season,  and 
are  not  sure  what  the  species  is,  the  probability  is  that  they  are 
feeders  upon  larv«  or  molluscs,  and  we  may  spare  them.  Indeed 
the  Rev.  J.  G.  Wood  thought  so  highly  of  the  services  rendered 
by  the  ground  beetles  that  he  advised  people  to  make  about  their 
gardens  little  shelters  of  tiles  or  slates  raised  on  pebbles,  under 
which  they  might  hide  when  they  were  inclined . 
But  there  are  insects  in  the  larval  condition  that  feel  com¬ 
paratively  little  of  the  season’s  changes,  because  they  live  secluded 
from  the  air.  These  are  the  various  larvae,  some  of  them  specially 
hurtful  to  the  trees  of  our  orchards  and  shrubberies,  which  pass 
their  life  in  the  trunks,  branches  or  roots,  feeding  upon  the  solid 
wood.  Nothing  is  likely  to  harm  them  that  may  happen  in  winter, 
unless  the  frost  be  so  intense  as  to  split  open  the  wood  of  some 
trees,  which  seldom  happens.  Sundry  smaller  species,  however, 
are  in  more  peril  during  the  winter,  their  habit  being  to  reside 
between  the  bark  and  wood  or  just  -within  the  latter,  heavy  rains 
may  kill  some,  or  birds  detect  them  through  cracks.  A  gardener 
who  is  fond  of  natural  history  was,  he  told  me,  puzzled  to  under¬ 
stand  how  caterpillars  could  manage  to  breathe  while  enclosed  in 
wood  ;  there  is  no  doubt  they  obtain  some  air,  and  those  leading 
a  subterranean  life  also  do,  though  they  may  not  require  much. 
The  sap  of  a  tree  contains  water,  from  which  oxygen  and  other 
gases  are  separated  in  the  process  of  growth,  and  a  wood-eating 
larva  is  able,  not  only  to  inspire  by  its  stomata  or  breathing  pores, 
but  can  expire  too  what  may  need  to  be  removed. 
It  is  singular  that  four  of  the  wood-eaters  that  are  conspicuous 
and  well-known  species  should  be  named  after  quadrupeds — the 
goat  and  leopard  moths,  the  stag  and  musk  beetles.  When  a  tree 
is  badly  infected  we  may  detect  the  presence  of  goat  caterpillars 
some  distance  off,  but  the  smell  is  not  exactly  like  that  of  the 
quadruped,  though  very  unpleasant,  and  caused  by  a  fluid  that  the 
insect  emits,  presumably  to  soften  the  woody  fibre.  On  the  whole, 
it  is  the  most  injurious  of  all  the  wood-boring  caterpillars.  The 
prolific  female  of  Zyleutes  cossus  lays  several  hundred  eggs,  and 
the  larval  state  continues  for  three  or  even  four  years.  Amongst 
orchard  trees  they  frequently  select  the  Apple  and  Walnut ; 
amongst  others  the  Elm  and  Willow  are  specially  attacked.  It 
has  been  stated  that  this  caterpillar  is  torpid  during  the  winter, 
and  specimens  have  been  found  encased  in  a  sort  of  nest,  chiefly, 
however,  of  large  size,  therefore  nearly  adult.  From  my  observa¬ 
tions  I  incline  to  the  view  that  they  frequently  feed  through  a 
good  part,  if  not  all,  of  the  colder  months.  Some  have  recom¬ 
mended  operations  against  this  insect  in  winter,  such  as  probing 
the  holes  connected  with  its  mines  with  strong  wires,  and  injecting 
forcibly  into  these  paraffin  or  similarly  poisonous  fluids,  but  their 
success  is  doubtful,  and  harm  to  the  tree  may  result.  But  what 
may  be  done  now  anywhere  is  to  select  those  trees  notably  infested, 
cut  them  down,  and,  having  split  them  open,  destroy  the  cater¬ 
pillars. 
I  notice  that  Willows  and  other  trees  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
some  orchards,  deeply  burrowed  by  this  insect,  are  now  and  then 
allowed  to  remain  as  centres  of  infection.  The  moth,  again,  is  so 
large  that  it  may  often  be  detected  at  night  about  midsummer  or 
soon  after,  and  the  female  prevented  from  laying  her  eggs.  A 
small  beetle  called  Scolytus  destructor,  the  cause  of  great  destruc¬ 
tion  of  trees  in  the  Continental  forests,  and  which  lives  in  the 
inner  bark,  sometimes  completes  the  ruin  of  those  that  have  been 
previously  attacked  by  the  goat  caterpillar.  But  this  seldom  visits 
fruit  trees,  and  chiefly  confines  its  operations  to  the  Elm,  a  tree 
which  has  suffered  severely  from  it,  especially  about  London.  The 
late  Edward  Newman,  whose  knowledge  of  natural  history  was 
very  extensive,  stated  at  first  that  the  Scolytus  only  infested  trees 
that  had  begun  to  decay,  but  subsequently  he  admitted  that  sound 
ones  were  also  visited.  Indeed,  this  has  been  proved  by  the  com¬ 
plete  cure  of  trees  that  were  operated  upon  in  summer,  and  the 
rough  outer  bark  scraped  off,  the  surface  being  then  dressed  with 
lime  and  cowdung.  A  more  tedious  method  is  that  of  enlarging 
by  a  bradawl  the  holes  made  when  the  parent  beetle  enters,  and 
injecting  with  a  syringe  diluted  Gishurst  compound.  This  is 
recommended  by  Miss  Ormerod.  During  the  winter  the  species  is 
in  the  pupa  state,  before  which  the  grubs  form  a  little  chamber, 
just  under  the  wood  usually,  so  that  they  are  not  easily 
discovered. 
Many  gardeners  are  well  acquainted  with  the  leopard  moth 
(Zeuzera  sesculi)  from  the  caterpillar’s  doings  in  fruit  trees, 
especially  the  Pear,  also  on  numerous  ornamental  trees,  such  as 
the  Ash,  Birch,  Lime,  or  even  the  Holly  ;  but  it  is  by  no  means  a 
frequent  pest  to  the  Horse  Chestnut,  though  bearing  its  name. 
This  caterpillar  is  presumed  to  live  nearly  two  years  —  that  is, 
through  two  winters  ;  and  I  believe  it  feeds  almost  uninterruptedly. 
It  is  a  curious  fact  that  not  only  is  the  moth  spotted — hence  the 
English  name — but  the  caterpillar,  too  ;  it  is  smaller,  and  far  less 
muscular  than  the  goat,  nor  does  it  often  kill  trees  of  any  size, 
though  it  does  occasionally  destroy  saplings.  The  moth  at  one 
time  was  esteemed  such  a  rarity  that  specimens  were  sold  at  lOs. 
each,  but  a  very  little  research  would  have  produced  plenty  if 
made  at  the  right  period.  But  some  check  upon  its  increase  is 
the  eagerness  with  which  it  is  hunted  by  the  common  sparrow  and 
some  bats. 
There  is,  seemingly,  a  stimulus  given  to  the  fruit-bearing 
power  of  some  trees  by  the  presence  of  the  leopard,  but  it  is 
sooner  or  later  succeeded  by  exhaustion.  Injections  of  poisonous 
fluids  have  been  tried  against  this  foe,  and  the  blowing  of  sulphur 
fumes  or  tobacco  smoke  into  their  holes.  Another  moth  cater¬ 
pillar,  of  much  less  bulk,  the  red-belted  clearwing  (Sesia  myopse- 
formis),  feeds  all  the  winter  in  the  trunks  or  branches  of  Apples 
and  Pears,  doing  little  harm  ;  the  moth  flies  about  in  June,  and  is 
not  short-sighted,  but  much  on  the  alert.  Then  the  Currant 
clearwing  (S.  tipuliformis)  is  well  known  as  an  injurious  insect  to 
that  shrub.  This  caterpillar  seems  to  live  two  years,  and  in  winter 
lurks  near  the  base  of  branches  or  twigs.  The  stag  beetle,  already 
mentioned,  lives  on  the  wood  of  Oak  and  Elm  principally,  and  the 
Musk  beetle  on  Willow  wood.  As  yet  I  have  not  succeeded  in 
obtaining  the  grub  of  the  Rose  beetle  (Cetonia  aurata),  but  from 
the  presence  of  the  imago  about  orchards  and  other  circumstances  I 
think  it  resides  in  the  larger  roots  of  fruit  trees,  probably  doing 
some  mischief. — Entomolodist. 
