454 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  November  14,  I90i. 
The  trees  are  never  so  safely  handled  as  when  the  wood  contains 
least  sap,  which  is  as  soon  as  the  leaves  have  fallen,  and  the 
delay  is  taken  advantage  of  by  red  spider,  thrips,  and  other  in¬ 
sect  pests  to  find  safe  retreats.  The  house,  therefore,  should  be 
thoroughly  cleansed,  the  trees  pruned,  readjusted  to  the  trellis, 
and  every  needful  operation  performed,  so  that  a  start  can  be 
made  with  confidence  when  the  proper  time  arrives. 
HOUSES  STARTED  IN  MARCH.— The  trees  in  these  struc¬ 
tures,  and  closed  early  in  March,  will  ripen  their  fruit  in  July  if 
brought  forward  by  artificial  heat ;  but  where  warmth  is  given 
when  the  trees  are  in  blossom,  and  to  secure  the  safety  of  the 
young  fruit  from  frost,  the  fruit  will  not  ripen  until  August  or 
September  if  kept  cool.  The  house  may  be  a  Peach  case  or  glass- 
covered  wall,  with  sufficient  hot-water  piping  to  exclude  frost; 
afford  a  genial  warmth  when  the  trees  are  in  blossom,  accelerat¬ 
ing  the  ripening  as  may  be  necessary,  and  ripening  the  wood  in 
cool  districts.  The  trees  are  now  leafless  where  they  have  been 
subjected  to  artificial  heat  to  ripen  the  fruit  in  August,  and 
should  undergo  the  operations  advised  for  those  in  the  early 
house.  The  roof-lights  should  be  removed,  the  hot-water  pipes 
emptied,  leaving  the  lights  off  until  the  blossoms  show  colour, 
unless  it  is  desired  to  start  the  trees  before.  If  the  roof-lights 
are  fixed,  the  ventilators  should  be  thrown  open  to  the  fullest 
extent,  except  when  frost  prevails. 
LATE  HOUSES. — Make  no  attempt  to  remove  the  leaves 
until  they  part  readily  from  the  trees  by  shaking  them  or  the 
trellis,  but  cut  out  all  the  wood  that  has  borne  fruit,  not  being 
extensions,  and  all  superfluous  growths.  Do  not  allow  the  soil  to 
become  very  dry,  but,  if  necessary,  give  water  to  moisten  down 
to  the  drainage.  Keep  the  house  cool  by  free  ventilation,  clear¬ 
ing  away  the  leaves  as  they  fall.  Trees  that  grow  too  luxuri¬ 
antly  should  be  root-pruned  and  lifted  whilst  the  leaves  are  upon 
TO  CORRESPONDENTS 
•  • 
A  LIGHT  TREE-MOVING  MACHINE. 
them,  but  the  wood  being  unripe,  they  must  not  be  lifted  until 
the  leaves  have  for  the  most  part  fallen,  or  the  unripe  wood  will 
shrivel  and  die.  If  the  wood  does  not  ripen  well,  turn  on  the 
heat  by  day  with  moderate  ventilation,  and  turn  it  off  in  the 
afternoon,  SO'  as  to  have  the  pipes  cool  before  night,  and  then 
open  all  the  ventilators,  unless  frost  prevails,  when  ventilate 
according  to  circumstances,  for  the  sudden  collapse  of  the  foliage 
is  detrimental  to  the  tree’s  health.  When  the  wood  does  not 
ripen  up  to  the  points  of  the  shoots,  a  trench  may  be  taken  out  at 
some  distance  from  the  stem,  and  the  roots  be  cut,  which  will 
check  the  tendency  to  growth,  and  induce  ripening.  After  re¬ 
maining  open  ten  days  to  a  fortnight,  the  trenches  may  be 
closed,  making  the  soil  firm,  and  giving  a  good  watering. 
UNIIEATED  HOUSES. — Although  the  trees  are  generally, 
they  are  not  always  satisfactory.  Sometimes  the  border  is  at 
fault,  and  the  trees  make  late  growth,  not  ripening  the  wood 
well.  Where  that  occurs  the  trees  should  be  lifted,  and  the 
roots  laid  in  fresh  compost  nearer  the  surface.  If  the  drainage  is 
not  good  it  should  be  rectified,  and  the  soil  being  unsuitable,  it 
should  be  removed  wholly  or  in  part,  supplying  or  adding  fresh. 
If  new  trees  are  to  be  put  in,  select  those  just  coming  into  bear¬ 
ing,  say  two  or  three  years  trained  to  walls,  and  lifted  in  the 
year  previous  to  moving.  Carefully  lifted  and  planted  they 
will  bear  fruit  the  first  season,  and  not  being  overcropped,  will 
not  materially  be  hindered  in  extension.  Introducing  new  trees, 
and  the  lifting  and  replanting  of  Peaches  and  Nectarines,  should 
be  effected  as  soon  as  the  trees  are  leafless,  or  nearly  so,  as  upon 
early  removal  depends  success  in  the  following  year. — St.  Albans. 
Trade  Catalogue  Received. 
Little'  ”ancU ’Ballantyne,  Carlisle. — Trees,  Forest  and 
Roses? Shrubs,  Herbaceous  and  Greenhouse  Plants. 
Ornamental. 
UZjk-N'- 
All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should  be  directed 
to  “  The  Editob,”  12,  Mitre  Court  Chamber!,  I*leet  Street, 
Xiondon,  E.c.  It  is  requested  that  no  one  will  write  privately 
to  any  of  our  correspondents,  seeking  information  on  matters 
discussed  in  this  Journal,  as  doing  so  subject!-  them  to  unjuetifk  ble 
trouble  and  expense. 
MOVING  SMALL  TREES  (J.  L.  F.).— Your  request  is  what 
many,  no  doubt,  would  like  an  answer  to  :  “  W  hat  can  I  have  to 
assist  me  in  transporting  small  trees  ?  ”  The  accompanying 
figure  shows  a  very  useful  tree-moving  machine.  The  outline  at 
the  right-hand  side  shows  the  stage  for  carrying  the  ball  of  soil. 
The  central  upright  beam  is  of  Larch.  Two  cross-pieces  and  a 
9-in  board;  laid  parallel  to  and  level  with  the  top  side  of  the  pole, 
will  form  a  sufficiently  strong  stage.  The  thick  end  of  the  beam 
should  be  squared  to  make  it  lie  better  and  to  facilitate  the 
fitting  of  the  supporting  bars.  Anyone  having  an  old  mowing 
machine  and  having  planting  to  do,  cannot  possibly  turn  it  to 
better  account  than  use  it  for  this  purpose.  Two  men  and 
perhaps  a  lad  can  move  shrubs  8ft  to  10ft  high  with  great 
expedition  by  such  aid.  The  shrubs  can  be  prepared  in 
the  ordinary  way,  the  ball  tilted  on  its  side,  the  machine 
then  being  brought  forward,  with  the  rollers  close  to 
the  edge  of  the  hole.  The  end  of  the  stage  can  then  be 
slipped  under  the  ball  by  raising  the  handles.  The  shrub 
is  conveyed  either  uprightly  or  horizontally,  and  de¬ 
posited  as  easilv  as  it  was  lifted. 
INSECTS  FOR  OPINION  (L.  S.).— 1 The  insects  are 
the  beetles  popularly  known  as  “Ladybirds,”  and  the 
particular  species  is  known  to  entomologists  as  Coccinella 
dispar.  It  feeds  (especially  in  the  larval  stage)  vora¬ 
ciously  on  Aphides.  So  far  from  , being  harmful,  the 
“  Ladybirds”  are  of  great  assistance  to  foresters,  farmers, 
and  gardeners,  and  should  by  all  means  be  protected, 
especially  when  they  appear  in  vast  swarms,  which  fre¬ 
quently  follow  on  a  special  outbreak  of  Aphides,  and  in 
which,  to  the  great  injury  of  cultivators,  they  are  liable 
to  be  swept  up  and  destroyed.  The  “  Ladybirds  ”  con¬ 
gregate  in  autumn,  as  you  have  observed,  and  shelter 
in  various  warm  quarters,  frequently  indoors,  even  in 
dwelling-houses.  In  a  semi-dormant  state  they  pass  the 
winter,  and  from  these  quarters  come  out  about  the 
middle  of  April,  earlier  or  later  according  to  season  and  locality. 
They  instinctively  find  out  plants,  shrubs,  and  trees  infested  in 
the  young  growths  with  Aphides,  and  deposit  eggs  amid  the  Aphis 
hosts,  and  the  larvae  from  these  eggs  feed,  as  soon  as  hatched, 
voraciously  on  the  Aphides  for  a  fortnight  or  three  weeks,  then 
change  to  pupae,  curiously  hung  up  by  the  tails,  and  from  this 
stage  the  Ladybirds  appear  in  about  another  fortnight  or  three 
weeks.  Thus  there  are  several  broods  in  a  season,  and  they 
work  incessantly  from  spring  to  autumn  in  the  best  interests  of 
horticulturists. 
GAS  STOVE  IN  GREENHOUSE  (Ryde).— If,  as  you  describe, 
all  the  fumes  arising  from  the  burning  of  the  gas  are  conveyed 
by  a  pipe  into  the  outside  air,  the  stove  may  be  safely  used. 
WIDENING  VINE  BORDER  (Moonshine).— You  may  add 
another  yard  to  the  Vine  border  now.  It  will  not  injure  but 
improve  the  succeeding  crop.  By  all  means  place  the  Straw¬ 
berries  for  forcing  on  the  shelves  in  the  cool  vinery,  especially 
if  they  are  to  be  forced  early.  You  may  stack  them  outside  if 
you  do  not  want  to  force  them  much,  but  they  will  ripen  their 
buds  much  better  in  the  cold  vinery. 
PLANTING  EVERGREENS  (J.  H.).— Spruces  and  such 
fibrous-rooted  sorts  as  the  Arbor  Vitaes  and  Retinosporas  if  taken 
up  now  and  reset  in  the  same  way,  would  stand  a  very  good 
chance  of  living,  but  those  evergreens  with  but  few  small  roots, 
such  as  most  all  Pines,  had  much  better  not  be  planted  at  this 
time.  If  well-rooted  evergreens,  like  the  Hemlock,  Spruce,  and 
Arbor  Vitae,  can  be  got  into  fresh  positions  now,  they  do  very  well. 
HOLES  IN  RHODODENDRON  LEAVES  (E.  W.).— The 
leaves  on  the  shoots  enclosed  are  eaten  or  punctured  through  by 
the  larvae  of  some  insect,  but  what  that  has  been  we  are  unable 
to  tell.  Ants  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  mischief.  Had  you 
looked  at  the  Rhododendron  foliage  in  July  and  August  you  would 
have  found  a  dusky-looking  caterpillar,  about  three-quarters  of 
an  inch  in  length,  feeding  on  the  then  succulent  leaves ;  and  had 
it  been  picked  off  with  the  hand  and  destroyed,  the  mischief 
would,  to  a  certain  extent,  have  been  mitigated. 
