m2G 
JOUni^AL  OP  HORTTCULTURP  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
February  10,  1898. 
REMARKS  ON  PEACH  TREES. 
For  a  long  time  I  have  observed  that  Peach  trees  have  their 
length  of  days  and  well-doing  much  affected  by  the  way  in  which 
they  have  been  budded  and  trained  in  nurseries.  Trees  ordered  and 
obtained  from  nurseries  are  usually  dwarfs,  half-standard,  and  standards 
or  riders,  and  have  stems  of  about  1  foot,  2i  feet  to  3  feet,  and  5  to 
6  feet  respectively. 
The  method  generally  adopted  in  budding  to  produce  such  trees  is 
to  bud  the  stocks  at  the  various  heights  named,  and  from  that  point 
of  union  commence  the  training  of  them.  Some  considerable  shortening 
of  the  first  growtiis  takes  place  near  to  this  point,  with  the  view  of 
laying  the  foundation  of  the  head.  More  of  this  knife  work  than  is 
necessary  is  resorted  to,  and  it  too  often  lays  the  foundation  for 
corruption  and  decay.  A  great  enlargement  takes  place  at  tlie  point  of 
union,  which  enlargement  becomes  unhealthy,  and  transmits  its 
unhealthiness  to  the  branches. 
In  a  long  experience  I  have  seen  it  to  be,  I  think  I  may  say, 
invariably  the  case,  that  when  the  head  of  the  tree  starts — not  from 
the  union  of  the  bwd  with  the  stock,  but  from  the  top  of  an  extension 
of  the  bud  and  right  away  from  the  union — the  life  and  general 
health  of  the  tree  has  been  more  prolonged,  and  altogether  more 
satisfactory.  In  other  words,  when  a  half  and  a  full  standard  have 
their  heads  started  2  or  3  feet  above  the  union  of  the  bud  with  the 
stock  they  are  less  subject  to  gangrene  and  decay,  whether  grown 
under  glass  or  outdoors. 
In  reference  to  open-air  trees  tl^t  have  no  protection  at  any  time 
from  glass,  it  has  recently  been  asserted  that  there  is  no  reason  why 
good  healthy  and  productive  Peaches  should  not,  with  good  manage¬ 
ment,  be  grown  in  every  part  of  Great  Britain.  I  should  say  there  are 
few  gardeners  who  have  had  the  experience  necessary  to  prove  this 
assertion  to  be  correct.  It  has  been  our  lot  to  attempt  the  culture  of 
Peaches  on  open  walls,  where  most  seasons  they  remained  semi-ever¬ 
green  all  winter.  Under  such  circumstances  it  would  be  interesting 
to  know  how  success  could  be  secured.  No  cultural  attempt  could  be 
more  futile,  and  it  is  best  described  by  a  waste  of  time  and  means. 
Having  referred  to  the  ripening  of  wood,  I  once  had  a  most 
striking  example  of  the  fact  that  upon  the  proper  ripening  of  the  wood 
depends,  more  than  on  anything  else,  the  success  of  outdoor  Peach 
growing.  In  carrying  out  some  re-arrangements  at  Archerfield  in 
1858  I  moved  from  under  glass  to  the  Peach  wall  a  tree  of  Violette 
Ildtive  Peach  that  I  judged  to  be  quite  twenty  years  old.  It  was 
perfectly  ripened,  and  it  was  the  only  tree  on  the  avail  that  bore  a  crop 
of  fruit  in  1869. — D.  Thomson. 
HARMFUL  AND  HARMLESS  GARDEN  MOTHS— 15. 
To  a  small,  but  very  distinct  family  of  moths,  some  members  of 
which  are  noticeable  in  gardens,  has  been  given  the  formidable  name 
of  the  “  daggers  suggested,  however,  only  by  the  form  of  certain 
markings  visible  on  the  aviugs  of  most  species.  But  it  so  happens,  as 
ave  discover  by  individual  names,  what  some  people  think  dagger-like, 
appears  to  other  eyes  to  be  of  a  different  shape.  In  the  state  of 
caterpillar  all  these  are  distinguished  by  the  fact  that  they  are  hairy, 
whereas  the  bulk  of  Noctuas  come  from  smooth  caterpillars.  We 
cannot  have  a  better  specimen  of  the  group  than  the  species  called 
from  its  commonness  the  dagger  (Acronycta  Psi),  or  its  relative  the 
dark  dagger  (A.  tridens),  though  really  as  to  darkne.ss  of  colour  the 
difference  is  slight;  the  two  species  closely  resemble  each  other. 
Both  species  bear  upon  the  wings  figures  which  have  been 
compared  to  the  Greek  letter  psi,  or  to  a  trident,  black,  upon  dark 
grey  or  brown,  also  there  are  additional  black  markings.  The  first  of 
these  is  seen  everywhere  in  June  and  July,  even  about  London  and 
other  large  towns,  resting  by  day  on  trees  or  walls  ;  the  second  is  more 
local,  but  distributed  over  our  islands.  During  August,  September, 
or  even  as  late  as  October,  the  conspicuous  caterpillar  of  the  common 
dagger  is  feeding  upon  Hawthorn,  Elm,  and  Lime ;  it  also  occurs  upon 
fruit  trees,  especially  Pear  and  Plum.  It  is  yellow  and  black,  with  a 
shining  head,  and  a  coating  of  grey  hairs.  In  the  middle  of  the  back 
is  a  slender  upright  horn,  and  a  broad  hump  upon  the  last  segment 
but  one.  The  cocoon  is  spun  up  in  a  crevice,  and  the  chrysalis 
remains  there  through  the  winter.  We  find  the  caterpillar  of 
A.  tridens  about  the  same  time  on  various  trees  and  shrubs.  In 
appearance  'it  differs  from  the  commoner  kind  considerably,  being 
chiefly  black,  ornamented  with  orange  and  white  spots.  It  has  not 
the  horn  on  the  back,  but  one  at  the  last  segment,  pointing  backwards ; 
it  is  also  slightly  humped  ;  the  head  is  very  hairy. 
Quite  a  cockney  insect  is  the  Sycamore  dagger  (A.  Aceris),  frequent 
about  London  and  in  the  south  and  east  of  England.  The  moth  flies 
in  June;  the  caterpillar  occasionally  salutes  us  by  falling  upon  us  from 
a  tree  when  a  strong  wind  prevails  in  August  or  September,  or  we  see 
a  full-fed  one  in  the  act  of  crawling  down  to  make  its  cocoon  near  the 
surface  of  the  soil.  Named  after  the  Sycamore,  it  is  more  often,  I 
think,  a  dweller  upon  the  Horse  Chestnut,  and  rarely  upon  the  Oak. 
Certainly  a  handsome  caterpillar ;  the  greyish  body  exhibits  a  series  of 
snow-white  spots  edged  with  deep  black;  the  ornamentation  is  com¬ 
pleted  by  pencillings  of  orange-yellow  silky  hairs.  There  is  nothing 
showy  about  the  moth ;  it  is  some  shade  of  grey,  having  lines  and 
streaks  of  a  smoky  tint;  the  dagger-like  markings  are  indistinct. 
The  Poplar  dagger  possesses  the  Latin  name  of  A.  megacephala,  in 
allusion  to  the  somewhat  large  head  of  the  caterpillar,  which  I  have 
frequently  taken  off  Poplars  in  the  west  of  London  ;  it  seems  to  occur 
generally  throughout  England.  This  caterpillar,  when  not  feeding, 
reposes  on  a  leaf  in  a  bent  posture,  the  head  being  drawn  round  to 
touch  the  tenth  segment.  Upon  the  white  head  are  two  black 
blotches  and  a  triangular  mark ;  the  body  is  very  dark  brown  relieved 
by  red  and  white  spots  placed  in  pairs.  It  is  full  grown  in  August ; 
the  moth  appears  in  June,  and  closely  resembles  the  preceding,  only 
its  colours  are  rather  lighter. 
The  coronet  moth  is  now  and  then  noticeable  upon  a  garden  wall 
in  July,  the  brown  wings,  having  a  decided  tinge  of  green,  also  two 
white  spots,  and  some  dark  mottling.  Why  it  should  be  called  by 
this  name  is  not  obvious ;  certainly  the  thorax  is  crowned  with  a  crest 
of  brown  and  white,  but  it  is  not  more  remarkable  than  those  which 
many  other  Noctuas  show.  Though  the  Latin  name  of  Acronycta 
Ligustri  associates  the  species  with  Privet,  it  is  more  common  to  find 
its  caterpillar  upon  the  Ash.  It  has  a  head  of  delicate  green,  almost 
transparent;  the  body  is  of  a  sea-green  colour,  glossy,  having  narrow 
white  stripes  and  a  few  soft  bristles  on  each  segment.  Another  species 
of  the  tribe  which  is  common  about  gardens,  and,  in  some  seasons, 
does  a  little  mischief  to  cultivated  plants,  is  designated  the  Knot-grass 
moth,  or  A.  Pumicis. 
Jf  the  caterpillar  confined  its  diet  to  the  plant  first  named,  or  to 
one  or  other  of  the  Docks,  we  should  possibly  consider  it  a  gardeners’ 
friend,  but,  liking  variety,  it  feeds  upon  a  number  of  low-growing 
plants,  keeping  out  of  view  if  it  can.  Should  one  be  dislodged,  it  rolls 
down  curled  in  a  ring,  but  soon  unfolds,  and  gallops  rapidly  over  the 
soil,  seeking  a  new  shelter.  We  have  most  reason  to  object  to  its 
presence  in  Strawberry  beds,  where  it  has  been  found  feeding  about 
the  end  of  June  or  early  in  July.  Newman  states  that  it  is  particularly 
fond  of  the  alpine  varieties,  eating  the  leaves  freely ;  it  cannot  be 
removed  except  by  hand-picking.  This  is  another  handsome  cater¬ 
pillar  of  the  family  we  are  now  describing,  yet  it  does  not  resemble  its 
brethren ;  however,  in  spite  of  its  beauty,  we  may  have  to  kill  it,  or 
pass  on  specimens  to  some  entomologist,  who  can  diet  them  on  Knot¬ 
grass.  The  head  is  small,  black,  varied  with  brown,  and  upon  the 
body  are  arranged  a  series  of  markings,  which  remind  us  of  a  tessel¬ 
lated  pavement ;  the  colours  are  black,  white,  rich  brown,  and  orange 
red.  Also  there  are  on  the  sides  rows  of  warts,  from  each  of  which  is 
a  pencil  of  hairs.  The  cocoon  is  spun  on  the  ground,  and  the  moth 
appears  the  following  May  or  June. 
To  mention  one  more  dagger  moth,  the  scarce  and  local  species, 
A.  auricoma,  is  only  taken  in  Kent  and  Sussex.  There  are  two 
broods  yearly — the  dingy  moth,  which  has  some  faint  dagger-like 
markings,  flies  in  May,  and  again  in  August ;  the  caterpillar  is  taken 
upon  the  Bramble  during  spring  and  summer.  We  pass  now  to  a 
larger  species  of  a  different  habit,  which  visits  the  flowers  of  June,  or 
sips  the  syrup  spread  upon  trees  for  the  benefit  of  thirsty  moths.  It 
is  called  the  frosted  orange  or  Gortyna  flavago.  The  ample  fore 
wings  are  more  showy  than  those  of  any  of  the  dagger  moths ;  the 
ground  colour  divides  exactly  into  two  parts,  bright  yelloAv  near  the 
base,  and  purplish-brown  beyond ;  upon  this  are  numerous  spots  and 
lines.  The  crested  thorax  has  a  purple  disc  and  yellow  sides.  The 
front  pair  of  legs  have  long  woolly  scales  attached  to  them  ;  this 
possibly  suggested  the  adjective  “  frosted,”  applied  to  the  insect. 
One  reason  why  the  moth  may  occur  about  gardens  is,  that  the 
caterpillar  has  been  taken  burrowing  in  the  stems  of  Potato  ;  also,  it 
feeds  on  those  of  Foxgloves  and  Mulleins,  but  its  preference  seems  to 
be  some  species  of  Carduus.  About  midsummer  it  will  be  found 
nearly  full  grown,  while  the  plant  where  it  is  ensconced  is  dying 
down  from  the  destruction  of  its  pith.  This  caterpillar  is  of  a  dull 
yellow  colour,  smooth  and  flattened ;  behind  the  head  is  a  horny  plate, 
and  at  the  tail  there  is  another ;  by  these  it  is  assisted  in  its  mining 
operations.  Though  hidden  within  stems,  it  frequently  falls  a  victim 
to  the  attacks  of  an  ichneumon  fly. 
The  mimicry  of  Nature  is  exhibited  in  the  moth  oddly  called  the 
flame,  or  Axylia  putris,  which  sits  in  June  on  some  flat  surface,  with 
the  wings  folded  round  the  body,  and  so  just  resembles  a  little  bit  of 
stick.  This  deception  is  assisted  by  the  colours  of  grey  and  brown. 
Its  caterpillar  is  also  brown,  having  scattered  spots  of  yellow  and 
white  ;■  it  is  said  to  feed  on  various  low  plants  during  August.  A 
more  conspicuous  moth,  sometimes  light  in  tint,  sometimes  darker,  is 
the  cloud- bordered  brindle,  or  Xylophasia  rurea,  which  does  not,  how¬ 
ever,  restrict  itself  to  country  haunts,  but  appears  in  gardens  throughout 
our  island,  where  the  caterpillar  selects  for  its  food  some  species  of 
Primula,  though  at  a  push  it  can  live  upon  grasses.  It  is  rather  stout, 
reddish,  striped  with  white  and  brown  ;  during  the  autumn  it  eats  a 
little,  then  hybernates  to  become  full  grown  in  May. — Entomologist. 
