522 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
June  22,  1899. 
All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should,  until 
further  notice,  be  directed  to  “  The  Editor,”  8,  Rose  HlU  Road, 
Wandswortb,  S.W.,  and  NOT  to  12,  Mitre  Court  Chambers, 
Fleet  Street.  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  subjects  them  to 
unjustifiable  trouble  and  expense,  and  departmental  writers 
are  not  expected  to  answer  any  letters  they  may  receive  on 
Gardening  and  Bee  subjects  through  the  post.  If  information 
be  desired  on  any  particular  subject  from  any  particular 
authority  who  may  be  named,  endeavour  will  be  made  to  obtain 
it  by  the  Editor.  Letters  of  inquiry  must  be  accompanied  by 
the  names  and  addresses  of  the  writers,  but  these  will  neither  be 
published  nor  disclosed  when  initials  or  nom  de  plumes  are  given 
for  the  purpose  of  replies. 
Correspondents  should  not  mix  up  on  the  same  sheet  questions  relating 
to  Gardening  and  those  on  Bee  subjects,  and  it  is  c  mveniect  when 
each  question  is  written  on  a  separate  sheet.  All  articles  intended 
for  insertion  should  be  written  on  one  side  of  the  paper  only  ;  and, 
the  name  and  address  of  each  writer  must  be  known  by  the 
Editor,  though  not  necessarily  for  insertion.  We  cannot,  as  a 
rule,  reply  to  questions  through  the  post,  and  we  do  not  under¬ 
take  to  return  communications  which,  for  any  reason,  cannot 
be  inserted. 
Peach  {Ignoramus). — We  are  sorry  to  say  the  fruit  arrived  in  a  smashed 
state,  the  result,  mainly,  of  over-ripeness  at  the  time  of  packing.  Only  a 
small  portion  was  in  something  like  a  normal  state,  and  the  colour,  also 
the  glands  on  the  leaves,  were  the  same  as  those  of  Waterloo.  If  the 
flowers  are  large  we  suspect  that  is  the  name  of  the  variety,  but  if  they 
are  small  it  is  possibly  Early  Louise.  Both  are  first  early  Peaches,  the 
last  named  raised  by  Mr.  Rivers,  the  other  of  American  origin. 
Koth  {Insect), — The  moth  enclosed  is  familiarly  called  the  Humming¬ 
bird  Hawk  (Macroglossa  stellatarum),  for  it  flies  with  a  sonorous  hum, 
and  its  movements  suggest  a  comparison  to  the  humming-birds  of  the 
tropics,  though  it  lacks  their  lively  colours.  It  has  been  seen  nearly 
every  month  of  the  year,  but  its  chief  seasons  are  spring  and  autumn, 
when  it  visits  flowers  both  by  day  and  night.  The  moth  seems  to  pass 
the  winter  in  a  semi-torpid  state,  but  is  tempted  out  by  gleams  of 
sunshine.  Eggs  are  deposited  during  spring  ;  the  caterpillars  feed  upon 
species  of  Bedstraw  in  July  and  August ;  they  have  a  horn  at  the  tail. 
There  is  but  one  yearly  brood,  and  it  is  a  species  quite  harmless  in 
gardens. 
Ashes  of  Bank  Weeds  {T.  A.  C.  C.). — The  ashes  of  rank  weeds,  such 
as  thistles  and  nettles,  are  beneficial  to  cast  over  the  garden,  as  they  are 
rich  in  potash  and  other  plant  food,  as  per  analysis  by  Dr.  Emil  Wolff 
subjoined  ; — 
Tliistles. 
Nettles. 
Potash  . 
•  ••  • «  • 
31T6 
48-00 
Soda  . 
•  •  •  •  •  • 
...  0’54 
2-7q 
Lime  . 
••• 
4713 
20-08 
Magnesia . 
• • •  • •• 
5-00 
5-89 
Iron . 
•  •  •  • 
2-29 
.3-14 
Phosphoric  acid  ... 
6T0 
5-38 
Sulphuric  acid 
3-32 
6-13 
Silica  . 
•  •  • 
3-98 
Chlorine  . 
•••  ... 
0-62 
9-98 
If  the  weeds  are  reduced  to  ashes  there  is  no  possibility  of  their  repro 
ducing  themselves  again. 
Unhealthy  Vines  {Copley). — We  suspected  there  was  something 
wrong  with  the  roots.  If  there  are  abundance  of  fibres,  as  ought  to  be  the 
cate,  in  the  narrow  inside  border  encourage  them  by  top-dressings  and 
the  judicious  use  of  mild  stimulants,  remembering  that  excess  is  injurious. 
The  outside  border  is  probably'  sour,  but  may  with  care  be  renewed  when 
you  have  a  plenitude  of  roots  in  the  house,  without  material  check  to 
the  Vines.  Phylloxera  does  not  cause  the  fruit  to  crack  without  affecting 
the  leaves.  ^  Both  cracking  and  mildew  are  incited  when  the  roots  are 
defective  either  through  sour  soil  or  an  excess  or  deficiency  of  water, 
with,  at  the  same  time,  a  too  moist  atmosphere  and  a  fully  too  low  night 
temperature.  Do  not  over-crop,  and  never  allow  the  house  to  get  too 
hot  before  increased  ventilation  is  given.  AVe  have  known  more  than  one 
crop  of  Grapes  seriously  damaged  by  mildew,  the  result  of  too  late 
ventilation  on  Sunday  mornings,  and  then  throwing  the  ventilators 
widely  open  by  thoughtless  young  men  to  “  bring  down  ”  the  temperature. 
AVe  do  not  suggest  this  has  occurred  in  your  case,  and  we  mention  the 
facts  as  condemnatory  of  such  practice,  which  is  not  quite  extinct.  The 
worse  the  Vines  that  have  fallen  to  your  charge  the  greater  will  be  the 
credit  due  to  you  on  their  restoration. 
Treatment  of  Dendrohium  nobile  {Ignoramus). — Your  treatment  so 
far  has  been  quite  correct,  and  you  should  now  get  all  possible  growth 
into  the  plant.  Towards  the  end  of  the  summer  you  will  see  that  the 
growths  arc  finished  by  the  last  leaf  appearing  on  the  top  of  the  stems, 
and  the  latter  rounding  up.  so  to  speak.  At  that  time  allow  the  plants 
full  exposure  to  the  sun,  and  a  little  more  air  than  they  have  been  used 
to.  This  will  harden  the  growths — ripen  them,  as  it  is  termed  ;  and 
when  the  stems  are  quite  finished,  the  plants  may  with  advantage  be 
placed  in  quite  a  cool  and  very  light  house  to  rest.  You  will  find  no 
difficulty  in  telling  when  the  growth  is  finished  for  the  season.  The 
plant  should  be  slowly  introduced  to  more  heat  again  in  spring — not 
suddenly,  or  this  may  cause  the  flowering  nodes  to  produce  growth 
instead  of  flowers.  Avoid  watering  too  liberally  at  the  roots  until  these 
are  very  active. 
The  Pear  Tree  Slug  {Fruit  Foreman)  — The  Pear  leaves  are  attacked 
by  the  Pear  tree  slug,  tte  larva  of  Selandria  aethiops,  known  also  as 
Tenthredo  adumbrata.  The  slimy  black  slags  eat  away  the  parenchyma 
of  the  leaf,  as  shown  in  the  illustration  (fig.  117),  and  are  frequently  very 
destructive  to  wall  trees,  bringing  growth  to  a  standstill  and  causing  the 
fruit  to  drop.  Miss  Ormerod,  in  her  “Manual  of  Injurious  Insects  and 
Alethods  of  Prevention,”  says  : — “The  slug-worm  attack  can  be  checked 
by  dusting  or  syringing.  The  caterpillars,  if  annoyed  by  throwing  a 
caustic  powder  on  them,  such  as  quicklime  or  gas  lime,  can  throw  it  off  at 
first  by  exuding  a  coat  of  slime,  and  thus,  as  it  were,  moulting  off  the 
obnosious  matter;  but  they  cannot  keep  on  continuing  this  process; 
therefore  a  second  application  of  the  powder  (of  course  soon  after  the  first) 
takes  effect  and  kills  them.  If  a  good  time  is  allowed  to  elapse  between 
the  dressings,  they  will  have  regained  the  power  to  produce  the  slime 
exudation,  and  the  dressing  will  do  little  good.  Heavy  syringings  of  the 
tree  with  strong  soapsuds,  applied  by  a  powerful  garden  engine,  are 
effective  in  getting  rid  of  this  pest.  Tobacco  water  will  destroy  them  ; 
and  lime  water  has  also  been  found  useful,  in  the  proportion  of  a  peck  of 
lime  to  30  gallons  of  water  ;  it  may  be  not^d  that  if  2  lbs,  of  softsoapare 
added,  it  will  improve  the  mixture.” 
Watering  Young  Trees  {N.  B.). — There  are  not  many  trees  more  diffi¬ 
cult  to  establish  than  recently  planted  Scotch  Firs,  and  the  larger  they 
are  when  removed  the  greater  is  their  liability  to  succumb  during  dry 
weather  in  summer.  We  have  seen  them  fail  in  hundreds,  and  even 
thousands,  when  there  have  been  few  losses  a’^aong  Larches  and  other 
kinds  planted  at  the  same  time.  Watering  is  certainly  beneficial  when 
done  soon  enough  and  in  the  proper  manner,  followed  by  mulching,  and 
supplemented  by  syringing  or  spraying  the  trees.  All  this  can  be  done 
when  water  is  handy  and  the  trees  comparatively  few.  Daily  sprinklings 
of  the  surface  soil  is  labour  wasted.  The  soil  must  be  made  thoroughly 
moist  from  the  surface  downwards,  well  below  the  roots.  To  effect  this 
one,  two,  three,  or  more  pails  of  water  may  be  required  for  each  tree, 
according  to  its  size  and  the  porosity  or  otherwise  of  the  soil.  AA'hen  the 
soil  is  thus  made  moist  it  should  be  kept  so  as  long  as  possible  by 
mulching,  or  covering  the  surface,  while  still  moist,  3  or  4  inches  tn 
thickness  with  manure,  partially  decayed  leaves,  short  grass,  or  anything 
that  can  be  applied  to  prevent  evaporation  ;  or  if  nothing  of  the  kind  can 
be  done,  by  running  the  hoe  through  the  surface  on  the  morning  following 
the  evening  watering,  for  breaking  up  the  fissures  which  form  by  the 
shrinkage  of  the  soil  and  through  which  the  precious  moisture  escapes 
into  the  air.  An  inch  or  two  of  loose  dust  prevents  this  to  a  greater 
extent  than  many  persons  imagine.  The  supplementary  syringing  or 
spraying  the  trees  is  of  great  importance  in  preventing  or  checking 
evaporation  from  the  leaves.  So  long  as  they  are  wet  there  is  no  escape 
of  moisture  from  them  ;  the  longer  they  remain  dry  the  greater  is  the  loss, 
and  when  this  exceeds  the  amount  supplied  by  the  roots  the  leaves  shrivel 
and  the  trees  sufferer  die.  We  have  known  men  constantly  employed  in 
syringing  recently  planted  trees  and  shrubs  in  pleasure  grounds  during 
hot  sunny  days  in  early  summer,  and  beyond  doubt  with  great  advantage, 
the  roots  at  the  same  time  being  kept  moist.  AVe  shall  be  glad  if  yon 
can  adapt  some  of  the  information  we  have  endeavoured  to  impart  to  your 
own  circumstances  ;  but  in  the  meantime  you  may  have,  as  we  hope, 
refreshing  rain. 
