March  30,  1899. 
265 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
Weevil  and  Maggots  (^Parvo). — The  “beetle”  is  the  destructive  weevil 
Otiorhynchus  sulculus,  and  the  grubs  are  its  larvae.  These  devour  the 
roots  of  many  kinds  of  plants,  and  the  weevils  eat  the  leaves  of  Vines, 
Ferns,  Roses,  and  other  plants.  Several  may  be  caught  at  night  with 
the  aid  of  a  bull’s-eye  lantern  suddenly  turned  on  them.  For  dealing 
with  the  larvae  see  reply  to  a  correspondent  on  page  130,  February  16th. 
Your  letter  arrives  too  late  to  be  more  fully  answered  this  week. 
Imported  Orchids  (Sw^scnW).— Nearly  all  the  principal  nurserymen 
can  supply  newly  imported  Orchids  at  the  proper  season  for  each  species, 
and  the  following  occur  to  us  as  specialists; — Messrs.  Sander  &  Co.,  St. 
Albans,  Herts,  and  Hugh  Low  &  Co.,  Bush  Hill  Park,  Middlesex.  Messrs. 
Prolhero  &  Morris  are  always  open  to  buy  on  commission,  and  in  your 
own  neighbourhood  you  have  the  Leeds  Orchid  Company.  If  you  are 
only  growing  six  species  you  could  not  do  better  than  choose  from 
the  deciduous  group  of  Dendrobiums,  all  of  which  are  fine  for  cutting  for 
buttonholes.  Si.x  of  the  finest  are  D.  Wardianum,  D.  crassinode,  D. 
Ainsworthi,  ID.  Pierardi,  D.  Devonianum,  D.*Dearei  ;  the  last  is  a  late 
summer  flowering  species,  but  one  of  the  very  best.  We  do  not  under¬ 
take  to  reply  to  que.«tions  by  post,  and  moreover,  you  did  not  enclose  a 
stamped  directed  envelope. 
Black  Flies  from  Manure  ( T.  E.). — A  number,  sometimes  swarms,  of 
small  black  flies  appear  from  fermenting  beds  in  houses,  and  they  spread 
over  the  plants,  no  matter  of  what  kind,  in  the  structure.  We  have 
not  found  them  develop  into  “  maggots,”  w  hich  is  the  wrong  way  about, 
nor  have  we  known  the  least  harm  accrue  from  them.  They  are  only  too 
glad  to  get  into  the  fresh  air  ;  but,  of  course,  the  weather  lately  has  been 
of  such  nature  as  to  prevent  the  admission  of  air,  hence  they  swarm  over 
the  .plants  in  the  house.  As  you  have  found  maggots  they  must  have 
come  from  eggs,  but  you  neither  send  flies  nor  maggots.  These  may  or 
may  not  be  of  an  injurious  nature,  but  the  flies  certainly  succumb  to 
fumigations,  and  the  maggots  must  live  on  organic  matter,  but  whether 
on  dead  or  living  we  cannot  say,  yet  we  think  you  are  needlessly  alarmed. 
For  destroying  red  spider  on  the  Strawberries  clear  soot  water,  made 
from  fresh  soot,  is  excellent.  Spidicide  has  a  very  decisive  effect  on  red 
spider,  but  it  can  hardly  be  used  on  the  fruits,  and  similar  remarks  apply 
to  insecticides  generally.  A  peck  of  soot  to  30  gallons  of  water,  stirred 
well  every'  day  after  mixing  at  first,  not  leaving  any  to  float  on  the  top 
of  the  water,  for  four  days  or  a  week,  then  allowed  to  clear,  will  give  a 
good  account  of  the  red  spider,  using  it  on  the  under  side  of  the  leaves, 
and  keeping  it  from  the  fruit, as  much  as  possible.  Even  syringing  with 
clear  ram  water  has  a  good  effect,  and  is  in  most  cases  sufficient  to  keep 
the  pests  under. 
Pruning  Newly  Planted  Climbing  Hoses  {Mrs.  Mason). — Assuming  the 
Roses  you  planted  several  weeks  ago  were  dug  from  the  open  ground,  the 
closer  in  reason  you  cut  the  6  feet  long  stems  back  the  better  the  growth 
will  be  this  year,  and  the  sooner  the  plants  will  produce  the  hoped-for 
masses  of  flowers.  DVe  planted  some  climbing  Rosrs  in  the  autumn. 
They  had  grown  vigorously  in  the  nursery,  producing  stems  from  5  to 
8  feet  long,  but  the  roots,  in  consequence  of  digging  up  the  plants,  were 
not  a  foot  in  length.  To  have  expected  such  a  paucity  of  roots  to  support 
such  long  stems  and  produce  healthy  growth  in  ad  lition  would  have  been 
futile  ;  we  therefore  cut  the  stems  down  to  2  feet  or  less  at  the  time  of 
planting,  and  now  the  top  buds  on  the  shortened  stems  are  pushing  from 
half  an  inch  to  an  inch  in  length.  As  there  would  be  danger  of  these 
precocious  growths  being  crippled  by  frosts  still  to  come,  we  shall,  in  the 
course  of  a  week  or  so,  cut  the  stems  back  still  further  t(  bold  dormant 
buds  from  6  inches  to  a  foot  from  the  ground.  By  concentrating  the  root 
force  on  these  few  and  later  buds,  we  shall  expect  them  to  produce 
strong  growths  during  the  season,  whereas  had  the  last  year’s  stems  been 
left  their  full  length,  as  yours  are  now,  puny  growths,  or  none,  would 
have  been  the  result  It  is  not  necessary  to  cut  back  so  closely  Roses 
that  have  been  grown  in  pots  for  a  season,  because  practically  all  the 
roots  can  be  preserved  when  planting,  but  even  then  cutting  back  some  of 
the  stems  rather  closely  is  in  most  cases  advantageous. 
Grass  under  Trees  (B.  A.).— Grass  does  not,  as  a  rule,  grow  well  under 
trees,  partly  from  the  shade  and  drip  of  these,  and  partly  through  the 
drymess  and  poorness  of  the  soil.  We  have  found  it  an  excellent  plan  to 
give  the  ground  under  trees  a  good  dressing  of  a  mixture  in  equal  parts, 
by  measure,  of  air-slaked  chalk  lime,  soot,  and  wood  ashes,  apply’- 
ing  a  peck  of  the  mixture  per  rod  (30J  square  yards),  and  afterwards 
placing  on  a  light  dressing  of  rich  compost,  not  much,  but  just  sufficient 
to  lightly  cover  the  ground,  and  admit  of  raking  without  leaving  a  soily 
appearance.  The  lime,  soot,  and  wood  ash  mixture  is  l>est  given  in 
February,  also  the  top-dressing  of  rich  compost,  such  as  rubbish  heap 
debris,  leaf  mould,  thoroughly  decayed  manure,  or  a  mixture  of  the 
three,  in  March,  raking  well,  and  at  the  end  of  the  month  or  early  in 
April  sowing  on  it  grasses  that  succeed  fairly  well  in  the  shade,  such  as 
Poa  nemoralis  sempervirens,  Festuca  rubra,  and  Aira  flexuosa,  with  an 
equal  proportion  of  Lolium  perenne.  These  grasses  have  given  fair  results, 
and  a  good  turf  where  not  greatly  overhung  by  trees.  The  proportions  to 
use  are  equal  parts  by  weight  of  the  first  three,  say  2  lbs.  each,  collec¬ 
tively  6  lbs.  ;  then  sow  separately  the  same  weight  of  the  Lolium  perenne 
or  Perennial  Ryegrass,  which  grows  quickly,  “  tillers  ”  well,  and  protects 
the  other  grasses.  Rake  lightly  after  sowing  and  roll  well.  It  is 
important  to  sow  rather  early  and  get  the  grasses  up  before  the  trees 
come  into  leaf.  For  ordinary  renovation  the  mixture  suffices  for  an  acre  ; 
if  the  present  grass  is  thin,  use  double  the  quantity,  and  if  there 
is  scarcely  any  grass,  double  again,  or  48  lbs.  of  the  mixture  in  the  pro¬ 
portions  given  per  acre.  M'e  have  used  as  much  as  (50  lbs.  per  acre,  and 
even  on  a  small  scale,  to  get  a  good  turf  quickly,  ^  lb.  per  rod. 
Names  of  Plants  (./.  T.). — 1,  Pteris  a*pericaulis  tricolor  ;  2,  Blechnum 
brasiliense  ;  3,  Lomaria  gibbx  ;  4,  Maranta  (Calaihea)  zebrina  ;  5,  San- 
iieviera  zeylanica  ;  6,  next  week. 
GARDENERS’  CHARITABLE  AND  PROVIDENT 
INSTITUTIONS 
The  Gardeners’  Royal  Benevolent  Institution. — Secretary., 
Mr.  G.  J.  Ingram,  175,  Victoria  Street,  S.W. 
United  Horticultural  Benefit  and  Provident  Society. — 
Secretary,  Mr.  W.  Collins,  9,  Martindale  Road,  Balham,  London,  S.W. 
Royal  Gardeners’  Orphan  Fund  —  iSecrefari',  Mr,  Brian  Wynne 
COYENT  GARDEN  MARKET.— March  29th. 
Apples,  i  sieve . 
Grapes,  lb . 
Asparagus,  per  100  ... 
Beans,  J  sieve  . 
Beet,  Red,  doz . 
Carrots,  bunch . 
Cauliflowers,  doz.  ... 
Celery,  bundle . 
Coleworts,  doz.  bnchs. 
Cucumbers .  ... 
Endive,  doz.  . 
Herbs,  bunch  . 
Leeks,  bunch  . 
Lettuce,  doz . 
Mushrooms,  lb . 
FRUIT. 
8.  d. 
8.  d. 
8.  d. 
8. 
d. 
1  3  to  3  6 
Lemons,  case  . 
30  OtoGO 
0 
1  6 
2  6 
St.  Michael’s  Pines,  each 
2  6 
5 
0 
VEGETABLES. 
B.  d. 
8.  d. 
s.  d. 
B. 
d. 
0  0  to  0  0 
Mustard  and  Cress,  punnet 
0  2  to  0 
4 
0  0 
0  0 
Onions,  bushel . 
3  6 
4 
0 
1  0 
0  0 
Parsley,  doz.  bnchs . 
2  0 
3 
u 
0  3 
0  4 
Parsnips,  doz .  ... 
1  0 
0 
t> 
2  0 
3  0 
Potatoes,  ewt . 
2  0 
4 
0 
1  0 
0  0 
Salsafy,  bundle . 
1  0 
0 
0 
2  0 
4  0 
Scorzonera,  bundle . 
1  6 
0 
0 
0  4 
0  8 
Seakale,  basket . 
1  6 
1 
0 
1  3 
1  6 
Shallots,  lb . 
0  3 
0  0 
0  3 
0  0 
Spinach,  pad  . 
0  0 
0 
0 
0  2 
0  0 
Sprouts,  i  sieve  . 
1  6 
1 
9 
1  3 
0  0 
Tomatoes,  lb.  . . 
0  4 
0 
9 
0  6 
0  s 
Turnips,  bunch . 
0  3 
0 
4 
AVERAGE  WHOLESALE  PRICES.— CUT  FLOWERS. 
Arums  . 
Asparagus,  Fern,  bunch... 
Azalea,  white,  doz.  bnchs. 
Bouvardias,  bunch . 
Carnations,  12  blooms  ... 
Daffodils,  single  yellow, 
bell.  12  blooms  . 
Daffodils,  double,  bunches 
Eucharis,  doz . 
Freesia,  doz.  bnchs. 
Gardenias,  doz . 
Geranium,  scarlet,  doz. 
bnchs . 
Hyacinths,  Roman,  bunch 
Lilium  Harris!,  12  blooms 
.  ,,  longiflorum,  12  blooms 
Lilac,  bunch  . 
Arbor  Vitse,  var.,  doz. 
Aspidistra,  doz. 
Aspidistra,  specimen 
Crotons,  doz . 
Dracaena,  var.,  doz.... 
Dracmna  viridis,  doz. 
Erica  various,  doz.  ... 
Euonymus,  var.,  doz. 
Evergreens,  var.,  doz. 
Ferns,  var.,  doz. 
„  small,  100 
8.  d. 
8.  d. 
8.  d. 
8.  d. 
4  0 
to  G  0 
LilyoftheValley,12  sprays 
0  6  to  010 
2  0 
2  6 
Marguerites,  doz.  bnchs. 
4  0 
0  0 
3  6 
4  0 
Maidenhair  Fern,  doz. 
0  4 
0  G 
bnchs . 
6  0 
8  0 
2  0 
3  0 
Narcissus,  doz.  bnchs.  ... 
1  0 
2  0 
Orchids,  var.,  doz.  blooms 
1  6 
9  0 
0  G 
0  8 
Pelargoniums,  doz.  bnchs. 
6  0 
10  0 
0  4 
0  6 
Roses  (indoor),  doz . 
2  0 
3  0 
2  0 
3  0 
,,  Red,  doz. . 
4  0 
6  0 
2  0 
4  0 
,,  Tea,  white,  doz. 
2  0 
3  0 
4  0 
6  0 
,,  Yellow,  doz.  (Perles) 
2  0 
3  0 
,,  Safrano,  doz,  . 
2  0 
2  6 
6  0 
8  0 
Smilax,  bunch . 
2  0 
3  0 
0  6 
0  8 
Tulips,  bunch . 
0  G 
0  8 
6  0 
8  0 
Violets  doz.  bunches  ... 
0  6 
1  6 
G  0 
8  0 
„  Parme,  bunch 
2  6 
3  0 
3  0 
4  0 
PLANTS 
IN  POTS. 
fl.  d. 
8.  d. 
s.  d. 
8.  d. 
6  0to36  0 
Ficus  elastica,  each . 
1  0 
to  7  0 
18  0 
36  0 
Foliage  plants,  var.,  each 
1  0 
5  0 
5  0 
10  6 
Lilium  Harrisi,  doz. 
24  0 
36  0 
18  0 
24  0 
Lycopodiums,  doz . 
3  0 
4  0 
12  0 
30  0 
Marguerite  Daisy,  doz.  ... 
6  0 
8  0 
9  0 
18  0 
Myrtles,  doz . 
6  0 
9  0 
9  0 
24  0 
Palms,  in  var.,  each 
1  0 
15  0 
6  0 
18  0 
„  specimens  . 
21  0 
63  0 
4  0 
18  0 
Pelargoniums,  scarlet,  doz. 
8  0 
12  0 
4  0 
18  0 
Solanums,  doz . 
6  0 
12  0 
4  0 
8  0 
WHAT  IS  THE  VALUE— 
What  of  the  new  bill  now  before  Parliament  relating  to  the 
adulteration  of  food  ?  That  certain  classes  of  food  are  much  adulterated 
is  beyond  question ;  the  difficulty  is  to  prove  the  adulteration  and  to 
bring  the  culpable  person  within  reach  of  the  law.  It  is  so  unfair  to 
the  public  that  they  should  lay  down  money  (good  money)  for  that 
