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JOURNAL  OB  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
October  14,  1897 
There  is  nothing  to  prevent  the  amateur  scientist  from  ]ilaying 
pranks  with  Nature  if  it  please  him  to  do  so,  and  ci|ually  theie  is 
nothing  to  stand  in  the  way  of  his  devising  a  variety  ot  strange  and 
mysterious  concoctions  if  it  conduce  to  his  amusement,  but  jilain  men 
who  have  made  canf.er  one  of  the  studies  of  tlieir  lives  will  need  no 
assurance  that  their  case  is  not  hopeless,  even  it  the  sulphates  and  the 
sulphides  and  the  carbonates  are  beyond  their  reach.  What  you  have 
got  to  do  is  first  of  all  to  recognise  accomplished  facts,  and  then  yon 
are  in  a  fiiir  way  of  being  able  to  dispense  with  lens,  microsi  ope,  and 
every  “  ate  ”  and  “  ide  ”  there  is  in  the  catalogue  for  compiering 
canker.  u  • 
Our  canker  remedy  never  fails.  T  am  going  to  pit  it  boldly  a':ainst 
all  the  linicl<ing  or  chemically  imposing  and  memory  torturing 
remedies  which  ^Ir.  Abbey  or  anyone  else  can  bring  forward,  and  I 
am  simply  going  to  ask  that  it  shall  have  a  fair  trial.  _  It  is  based  on 
Nature  — on  helping  the  tree  to  throw  off  the  blighting  influence  which 
has  fastened  upon  it  in  preference  to  attempting  to  destroy  the  blight 
itself.  You  may  use  barrels  of  wash,  and  squirt  to  your  heart  s 
content,  or  discontent,  and  you  can  never  effect  ra<lical  cures  unless 
you  do  something  else  as  well,  and  that  is  to  take  under  your  care  the 
vital  force  for  good  which  is  working  deep  down  in  the  heart  ol 
every  plant  and  tree,  ever  striving  to  throw  off  evil,  and  rise  to  better 
things. 
Mr.  Abbey  talks  of  the  efforts  made  by  the  tree  to  drive  out  the 
intruder,  resulting  in  the  latter  becoming  firmly  seated  in  the  tissues 
until  the  tree  becomes  girdled  “and  then,”  he  significantly  adds, 
“comes  the  end.”  No,  there  is  no  such  finality.  I  admit  that  it  the 
girdling  becomes  complete  the  tree  is  doomed,  but  that  is  not  because 
the  efforts  of  the  tree  to  force  away  the  disease  have  resulted  in  the 
secure  embedding  of  the  latter.  It  does  not  matter  how  firmly  and 
deeply  embedded  the  diseased  tissue  may  be,  it  is  still  possible  for  th<' 
tree  to  be  brought  back  to  perfect  health.  Why,  so  far  is  it  fiom 
being  true  that  the  recuperative  efforts  of  the  tree  have  any  hastening 
effect  on  its  own  end,  that  1  know  ot  trees  which  have  woven  a 
complete  coating  of  new  bark  over  huge  masses  of  dead  wood,  and 
engulfed  them  for  ever.  There  is  no  “end”  to  the  tree;  on  the 
contrary,  it  enters  on  a  new  lease  of  life  from  the  time  its  efforts  at 
exclusion  were  so  successful  that  it  was  able  to  bury  the  encmv  in  the 
pit  itself  had  dug.  I  could  show  Mr.  Abbey  trees  in  almost  every 
stage  of  this  fierce  life  struggle,  some  with  huge  gaping  wounds,  oyer 
which  the  new  rolls  of  bark  are  just  beginning  to  run,  others  in  which 
the  concpiering  folds  have  half  hidden  the  malignant  or  dead  matter, 
and  yet  others,  again,  in  which  but  a  small  slit  remains  to  bo  seen, 
by  peeriirg  through  which  the  last  vestiges  of  the  useless  wood  may 
be  discerned.  There  are  pounds  upon  pounds  of  these  hard  and 
lifeless  lumps  within  the  internal  economy  of  some  ot  the  larger  trees, 
and  the  latter  go  on  as  placidly,  as  comfortably,  as  fruitfully,  as  it 
every  ounce  of  them  was  wholesome,  healthy,  growing  tissue. 
And  what  is  the  secret  ?  Just  manure  and  tar.  The  former  is 
not  the  miserable  stuff  which  comes  down  from  the  London  vestries  ; 
but  rich  invigorating  matter  from  stable  and  cowhouse,  where  the 
animals  have  good  food  to  eat  and  sweet  air  to  breathe.  '1  he  tar  is 
plain  Stockholm  tar.  The  manure  is  put  on  in  the  form  of  a  liberal 
coating,  reaching  out  to  the  uttermost  spread  of  the  branches,  and  the 
tar  is  brushed  on  after  as  much  as  possible  of  the  diseased  parts  have 
been  cut  away.  It  is  a  plain  process  from  beginning  to  end,  but 
commend  me  to  it  in  preference  to  all  the  chemical  washes  wdiich  the 
wit  of  man  could  devise. 
By  attempting  to  kill  fungi  and  insects  we  are  engaged  in 
thwarting  Nature  ;  by  arming  a  tree  against  them  we  are  working  in 
harmony  with  her  own  beneficent  designs. — W.  Pea. 
HARMFUL  AND  HARMLESS  GARDEN  MOTHS.— 9. 
About  this  time,  when  Ivy  is  putting  forth  its  green  bloom,  the 
honey  of  which  invites  a  crowd  of  insects  both  by  day  -and  night, 
those  who  ai-e  cutting  its  sprays  for  autumn  decoration  may  come 
upon  a  caterpillar  of  dingy  grey,  looking  like  a  little  bit  of  stick,  but 
marked  on  each  side  with  a  yellow  line.  It  may  have  taken  to  the 
Ivy  for  food,  but  more  probably  it  has  sheltered  there  to  await  another 
spring,  hybernating,  as  do  several  kindred  species.  We  may  have 
made  its  acquaintance  in  September,  when  the  caterpillar  now  and 
then  feeds  on  the  leaves  of  Poses,  and  it  has  been  found  on  Plum, 
Birch,  and  Oak,  but  is  not  an  abundant  insect.  The.  moth  emerges 
in  June  or  July,  and  has  been  called  the  willow  beauty,  also  Boarmia 
gemmaria,  the  popular  name  implying  that  it  has  been  bred  Irpin 
Willow,  and  that  somebody  thought  it  handsome.  J’hc  colours  are 
not  bright,  certainly — black,  brown,  and  grey;  yet  the  markings  are 
elegant  if  examined.  Some  specimens  occur  nearly  blac  ,  as  if  in 
mourning.  Another  in  the  genus  that  I  have  seen  about  the  gardens 
of  Surrey  is  the  mottled  beauty  (B.  repandata),  which  has  really  a 
good  title  to  its  name,  though  a  variable  moth  usually  lighter  in 
colour,  the  waved  markings  being  upon  a  ground  of  grey  and  orange. 
We  notice  it  on  a  summer  evening,  but  1  have  observed  it  Hying  by 
day.  During  May  the  caterpillar,  which  is  light  yellow  dotted  with 
black,  may  be  ta'^en  on  Plum,  Birch,  or  Hawihurn  in  gardens.  On 
Wimbledon  Common  it  eats  the  Bramble  and  Ling;  about  the  North 
the  Bilberry  is  frequently  selected  for  food. 
The  waved  umber  (Ilemmerophila  abruptaria)  we  mostly  see  in 
a  position  of  repose,  spreading  its  wings  on  a  paling  or  outside  a  house. 
It  is  a  moth  so  distinctive  wi  h  its  pretty  lines  and  spots,  that,  though 
the  colours  are  not  bright,  we  cannot  well  for>jet  it  when  once 
recognised.  There  is  nothing  particularly  “abrupt”  about  this  insect, 
but  it  is  a  moth  we  associate  with  the  arrival  of  spring.  Later  in  the 
season  its  caterpillar  is  one  of  the  many  that  are  feeders  upon  the 
Pose;  we  know  it  by  its  being  a  “  looper,”  dark  brown,  having  a  white 
ring  behind  the  head,  and  I  could  hardly  expect  a  gardener  to  spare  its 
life,  or  dismiss  it  to  seek  other  food.  It  is  stated  also  to  eat  Privet 
and  Lilac,  and  is  a  familiar  species  of  London  suburbs.  Around  the 
metropolitan  district,  but  earlier  on  the  wing  than  the  preceding,  the 
small  engrailed  moth  (Tephrosia  crepuscularia)  visits  on  April  evenings 
the  flowers  of  beds  and  borders.  It  is  found  in  most  English  counties, 
also  in  Ireland.  The  name  was  given  because  part  of  the  pattern  on 
the  wings  seemed  to  resemble  what  is  called  an  engrailment  in 
heraldry,  wavy  lines  of  black  crossing  the  grey  ground  colour.  A 
variety  of  food  suits  the  brown  caterpillars.  Fir,  Oak,  Elm,  Poplar, 
Birch,  and  other  trees  or  shrubs.  Some  years  there  is  a  second  brood 
of  moths,  succeeded  by  autumn  caterpillars. 
We  have  all  seen  some  of  the  emerald  moths  about  gardens,  all 
of  delicate  texture,  slight  bodied,  their  green  tints  apt  speedily  to 
fade,  hence  their  beauty  is  not  exhibited  in  a  cabinet  of  moths,  and  a 
rough  wind  often  damages  them  soon  after  emergence.  One  of  the 
smaller  species  is  Geometra  vernaria;  the  wings  are  of  an  exquisite 
green,  crossed  by  two  white  lines,  head  and  thorax  rather  a  paler 
green.  It  is  a  July  insect,  at  least  so  far  as  I  have  observed,  though 
it  would  appear  from  its  name  to  have  been  noticed  in  the  spring.  The 
caterpillar  feeds  on  the  Avild  Clematis  and  on  the  cultivated  species. 
Like  the  moth  in  colour,  the  catertiillar  resting  on  the  leaves  is  not 
easily  seen  ;  its  head  is  curiously  notched  on  the  croAvn.  Another  of 
the  emeralds,  common  amongst  the  gardens  of  Middlesex  and  Surrey, 
Avhere  the  caterpillar  lives  on  the  Hawthorn  hedges,  but  is  seldom 
seen,  is  Hemithea  strigata,  also  a  summer  species.  The  wings  are  of 
a  darker  green,  less  liable  to  fade,  and  have  the  margins  scalloped. 
Smallest  of  the  emeralds  is  the  little  loriis  lactearia,  greenish  white, 
marked  with  white  lines,  which  often  Hits  past  us  in  the  June  twilight ; 
the  caterpillar  is  slender  and  brownish,  its  food  being  the  leaves  of 
Birch. 
The  entomologist  is  familiar  Avith  the  small  group  of  moths  that 
are  called  the  “  waves,”  of  moderate  size,  most  of  them  shoAving 
waved  lines  on  the  wings,  and  the  gardener  cannot  fail  to  notice 
some  of  them  from  time  to  time,  since  they  usually  repose  by  day 
on  walls,  trunks  of  trees,  and  occasionally  on  leaves  of  plants,  not 
being  easily  startled.  None  of  the  species  is  hurtful  to  cultivated 
plants,  though  a  feAV  may  pass  their  lives  within  garden  precincts. 
We  may  just  pick  out  three  that  are  to  be  met  nearly  everyAvhere. 
Of  the  diminutive  species  Ave  have  a  good  example  in  the  pietty  moth 
oddly  named  the  small  fan  foot,  or  Acidalia  bisetata,  having  a  central 
black  spot  on  each  wing,  and  irregular  dark  brown  lines  upon  greyi.sh 
brown.  Its  caterpillar  feeds  low  down  amongst  wayside  or  garden 
weeds,  such  as  the  Dandelion  and  the  Knotgrass.  Larger,  and  perhaps 
the  most  conspicuous  of  the  wave  moths,  is  the  ribbon  wave,  a  mid¬ 
summer  sjrecies,  abundant  throughout  Britain.  Its  apireamnce  in 
gardens  is  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  the  caterpilDr  lives  upon  a 
variety  of  hedgerow  plants,  such  as  Avens,  Bird’s  Foot  Trefoil,  Chick- 
weed,  also  sometimes  iu  the  Ioav  shoots  of  Willow.  This  caterpillar  is 
rough  like  shagreen,  being  covered  Avith  numerous  tiny  warts,  and  is 
dark  brown.  We  at  once  ri  cognise  A.  aversata  in  its  winged  form  by 
the  broad  band  or  ribbon  which  crosses  the  middle  of  all  the  wings, 
and  Avhich  is  of  an  ochreous  colour,  the  rest  of  the  surface  being  a  dull 
yellow.  Then  the  common  white  wave,  Cabera  pusaria,  Ave  seldom 
fail  to  see  every  year  in  gardens  near  ])ai'ks  and  shrubberies,  fer  there 
seems  to  be  a  succession  of  the-e  moths  from  June  to  August.  In 
colour  the  caterpillar  varies  much,  being  grey,  blown,  or  green.  It 
rests  on  a  twig  generally,  Avith  the  body  piessed  close,  and  the  head 
also  flattened,  lienee  it  is  not  easy  to  detect. 
We  pass  noAv  to  a  destructive  species,  which  is  the  cause  of 
annoyance  and  loss  some  seasons,  the  moth  ta  ing  its  Engli.sh  name 
from  the  Currant,  but  in  Latin  Abraxas  grossulariata,  and  the  Goose¬ 
berry,  I  think,  is  jDreferiAd  to  eith'-r  the  Bed  or  Black  Currant  by  the 
caterpilla'S ;  the  ornamental  species  is  seldom  eaten  by  them.  Probably 
its  original  food  was  the  Blackthorn,  and  it  has  been  taken  on  the 
Peach  and  Almond.  All  of  us  know  the  moth  and  caterpillar  too 
well,  both  somewhat  alike  in  their  colour,  if  not  exactly  in  markings. 
The  moth  has  usually  numerous  black  sjrots  scattered  over  the  Avhitish 
yelloAv  surface,  but  very  curious  varieties  occur,  some  almost  entirely 
