August  1,  1901. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
99 
number  of  the  winged  females  seem  to  leave  the  bushes  at  the  end  of 
-July,  but  som9  always  remain.  This  aphis,  besides  feeding  on  the 
Red,  B  ack,  nd  White  Currant,  also  attacks  the  Gooseberry,  and  it 
has  been  f  uml  in  the  Guelder  Rose  (Viburnum  opulus),  the  Nipple 
Wort  (Lapsaua  vulgaris),  and  the  S  >w  Thistle  (Sonchus). 
(II.)  Nyzus  ribis ,  Linn. — Tnis  plant-louse  can  easily  be  told  from 
the  lormer  by  its  olive,  not  black,  head,  and  its  black  cornicles  and 
irr<  gularly  black  ornamented  abdomen  in  the  winged  female.  It 
occurs  from  April  to  August,  especially  in  the  Black  Currant  and 
■Gooseberry,  but  also  on  the  Red  Currant  ;  it  is  said  to  cause  blis'ers 
similar  to  (L).  It  often  causes  the  leaves  at  the  apex  of  the  shoots  to 
curl  and  twist  up.  It  is  apparently  the  Rhopalosiphum  ribis  of  Koch. 
The  apterous  or  wingless  female,  which  appears  in  the  spring,  is 
shiny  yellowish  green,  with  dark  green  mottlings,  elongated  oval  in 
form,  and  with  curious  capitate  nairs  in  front;  the  cornicles  and  legs 
are  pale  green,  and  the  eyes  reddish.  The  lice  or  larvae  are  pale  green. 
When  the  leaves  lose  their  sap  they  turn 
to  put  ae,  and  then  to  winged  females. 
The  pupa  of  this  species  is  shiny  yellowish 
grren,  with  two  horny  spots  on  the  occiput. 
The  winged  viviparous  female  is  bright 
green,  with  pde  olive  head,  brown  thorax 
with  an  olive  band  across  the  prothorax, 
irregular  trausverse  hands  and  spots  on  the 
abdomen,  and  four  or  five  dark  lateral 
spots ;  the  deep  olive  gr6en  to  black 
cornicles  are  cylindrical  in  form,  and  the 
deep  gret  n  legs  have  olive  tarsi.  The  eyes 
are  again  red  in  colour  in  the  larvae. 
Towards  July  many  leave  the  Currants, 
■but  as  in  the  lormer  species  some  always 
remain,  and  give  rise  to  viviparous  females 
and  males,  the  former  depositing  their  long 
brown  eggs  under  the  exfoliated  rind, 
attaching  them  to  it  by  a  gummy  ex¬ 
cretion  ;  here  they  remain  until  the  spring, 
when  they  give  rise  to  larvae,  which  soon 
grow  into  the  ‘‘mother  queens.”  The 
wingless  female  is  smaller  than  the  former 
species,  being  little  more  than  one-twelfth 
of  an  inch  loDg.  It  also  occurs  on  the 
'Gooseberry,  and  it  has  been  noticed  to  curl 
up  the  leaves  and  deform  the  shoots  more 
often  than  the  former  species.  Lintner 
also  relers  to  it  as  contorting  the  leaves. 
Natural  Enemies. —  The  larvae  and 
adults  of  the  two-spotted  ladybird  (Adalia 
bipunctata)  ere  often  to  be  found  feeding 
amongst  tne  colonies  of  lice,  and  do  in¬ 
estimable  good  in  keeping  them  in  check. 
Larvae  of  several  species  of  hover  flies 
(Syrphidae)  also  feed  on  them,  their  leecb- 
like  repulsive  green  or  dull  red  larvae 
living  amongst  the  lice  in  the  blisters  or 
curled  leaves,  and  each  devouring  as  many 
as  twenty  lice  in  a  day.  Ichneumons  do 
not  aipeir  to  be  parasitic  on  either  of 
the-e  species,  nor  do  the  lace-wiDg  or 
golden-eye  flies  (Cnrysopi)  seem  to  feed 
on  them. 
and  quassia  wash.  Paraffin  emulsion  is  prepared  in  the  following 
way  : — Mix  equal  portions  of  boiling  softsoap  solution  and  paraffin 
together,  then  churn  them  up  by  means  of  a  force  pump  until  a  creamy 
emulsion  is  produced.  When  required  for  use,  mix  the  concentrated 
softsoap  and  paraffin  solution  with  twenty  times  its  bulk  of  soft  water. 
Quassia  wash  may  be  substituted  for  paraffin  emulsion,  but  it  is  rather 
more  troublesome  to  prepare.  The  usual  formula  is  as  follows  : — 
Extract  of  5  lbs.  to  10  lbs.  of  boiled  quassia  chips;  6  lbs.  to  8  lbs.  of 
softsoap;  100  gallons  of  water.  Trie  quassia  should  be  boiled  separately 
tor  two  hours  in  just  sufficient  water  to  keep  it  liquid.  The  softsoap 
should  be  dissolved  in  water  and  then  added  to,  and  well  mixed  with, 
the  quassia,  the  whole  being  then  pl  ced  in  and  mixed  with  100  gallons 
of  soft  water.  If  the  fruit  is  fairly  forward  it  is  not  advisable  to 
employ  the  paraffin  emulsion,  as  it  might  affect  the  flavour. 
Early  spraying  of  the  plantations  with  paraffin  emulsion  is  the 
correct  treatment,  and  will  prevent  considerable  loss,  which  cannot 
be  repaired  when  once  the  lice  have 
got  a  firm  hold.  —  (“  Board  of  Agricultuie 
Leaflet,  No.  fi8.”) 
Hints  About  Lilinms. 
Prevention  and  Treatment. 
Little  can  be  done  to  prevent  the  attack 
of  these  Currant  lice.  Black  Currants 
should  be  cut  very  hard  in  the  autumn  after  an  attack,  and  the 
strippings  carried  away  and  burnt.  By  so  doing  many  eggs 
will  be  destioyed.  Probably  some  benefit  would  be  derived  bv  the 
winter  washing  with  caustic  alkali  wash.  The  use  of  this  spray  is 
not  only  to  rid  the  plant  of  vegetal  incumbrances — moss  and  lichens, 
which  shelter  various  hibernating  msects — but  it  also  affects  the  eggs 
of  certain  insects,  such  as  Chermes  and  some  Aphididse.  It  will  also 
remove  me  scales  of  Leucanium  ribis,  often  noticed  on  Currant  and 
Gooseberry  bushes. 
Caustic  alkali  wash  is  prepared  in  the  following  way  : — Dissolve 
1  lb.  of  caustic  soda  and  1  lb.  of  carbonate  of  potash  separately  in 
water,  then  mix  the  two  together  and  add  to  10  gallons  of  soft  water  ; 
then  add  to  this  j  lb.  of  dissolved  softsoap  (Chiswick).  Spray  over 
the  bushes  about  February.  When  aphides  are  present  on  the  bushes 
it  is  most  important  to  spray  early  in  the  year,  directly  the  lice  are 
seen  ;  tnat  is,  before  the  blisters  appear  or  the  leaves  become  curled 
>up  ;  the  lice  can  then  be  readily  reached  by  the  spray,  which  cannot 
•be  done  later  in  the  year. 
The  most  successful  remedies  for  plant  lice  are  paraffin  emulsion 
Campanula  machostyla. 
(See  page  105.) 
Lilium  loi  giflorum,  L.  Harrissi,  aDd 
L.  Krsetzeri  are  perhaps  more  largely 
grown  in  pots  than  any  other  species  and 
varieties,  because  their  pure  white  flowers 
are  always  in  great  demand.  For  this 
reason  any  remarks  which  show  the  way 
to  overcome  defects  of  culture  will,  I 
think,  be  welcomed  by  many.  I  doubt  not 
that  many  cultivators  have,  like  myself, 
noticed  that  sometimes  a  batch  of  plants, 
just  as  they  are  coming  into  flower,  will 
prove  disappointing  in  consequence  of  the 
leaves  turning  yellow  at  the  edges.  This 
does  not  materially  affect  the  quality  of 
the  blooms,  but  it  is  a  disfigurement  to 
plants  intended  for  use  in  pots.  I  was 
recently  somewhat  puzzled  for  a  time  at 
the  behavour  of  two  batches  of  plants. 
The  bulbs  were  obtained  from  the  same 
source,  and  were  potted  in  similar  soil,  yet 
in  one  case  the  foliage  was  perfectly 
healthy,  in  the  other  the  leaves  turned 
yellow  at  the  edges.  Fortunately,  how¬ 
ever,  I  have  discovered  the  cause  at  last, 
and  a  remedy  too.  When  Liliums  are 
potted  a  common  practice  is  to  plunge 
them  over  the  pots  in  ashes  or  cocoa  fibre, 
and  they  are  often  left  in  the  plunging 
material  until  growth  has  advanced  con¬ 
siderably.  The  result  is  that  fleshy  roots 
form  at  the  base  of  the  stem  just  above 
the  surface  of  the  potting  compost.  When 
removed  from  the  plunging  material  the 
young  roots  are  exposed  to  a  dry  atmo- 
spheie,  and  the  leaves  consequently  suffer. 
On  the  other  hand,  those  which  are 
removed  from  the  plunging  material  before 
young  roots  have  formed  above  the  surface 
of  the  soil,  or  others  which  have  not  been 
plunged,  show  not  the  slightest  sign  of  turning  vellow  at  the  edges  of 
the  leaves ;  yet  all  have  in  otner  respects  received  the  same  treatment. 
This  moral  may,  I  think,  be  applied — viz.,  remove  Liliums  from  their 
plunging  material  early,  or  do  not  plunge  at  all;  and  L  should 
perhaps  add  that  if  by  any  chance  they  remained  plunged  till  the 
roots  already  described  have  f  rmed,  stand  the  pots  in  larger  ones,  ana 
add  fresh  soil  to  cover  the  young  roots  before  they  are  exposed  to  the 
dry  atmosphere  of  a  greenhouse  in  summertime. — H.  D. 
Trees  of  the  Cay  City. — Paris,  that  delights  in  everything 
calculated  to  add  to  its  comfort  and  attraoti' eness,  is  reported  to  have 
planted  half  a  million  shade  trees  within  the  past  decade,  and  sho 
spends  £20,000  a  year  to  keep  them  in  order  and  to  plant  new  ones. 
Every  street  for  a  certain  width  is  entitled  to  a  row  of  trees  on  either 
side,  while  every  street  of  a  certain  greater  width  gets  a  double  row. 
The  cities  of  Italy  sometimes  go  further  than  Paris  in  this  matter. 
They  take  infinite  pains  to  train  the  young  growing  trees  in  such  a 
way  as  to  afford  the  largest  possible  area  of  shade. 
