Jiimiary  22,  1903. 
JOURNAL  OF  nOirrWULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
The  Red-legged  Weevil. 
TliG  .sc.entific  name  of  this  harmful  weevil  is  Otiorhynchus 
tciK'bricosns.  Tlie  beetles  feed  on  tin*  buds,  young  shoots,  bark, 
leaves,  iVrc.,  of  Apricots,  Nectarines,  Poaches,  Plums,  and  other 
fruit  trees ;  while  this  species  in  the  maggot  state  has  been 
found  doing  much  harm  to  the  roots  of  Raspberries.  Currants, 
O'ooseberries,  Strawberries,  and  to  vegetables.  “  This  weevil,” 
say.s  the  late  Miss  Ormerod,  “  when 
recently  developed,  has  the  wing-case.s 
dotted  over  with  spots  of  delicate 
yellow-brov  n.  These  soon  rub  off,  when 
the  beetle  appears  to  be  of  a  shining 
black.  It  is  sometimes  a  reddish  pitchy 
colour  whihst  still  immature.  The  wing- 
cases  are  united  to  each  other,  and  the 
legs  are  generally  bright  chestnut 
colour.” 
The  red-legged  weevil  feeds  by 
night,  and  hides  away  during  day. 
Where  the  attack  is  bad  enough  to 
make  it  rvorth  while  to  “  sticky-band  ” 
the  trees,  as  for  the  prevention  of 
winter  moth,  this  would  be  a  good  plan, 
as  the  weevils,  being  wingless,  must 
travel  on  foot.  It  is  desirable  to  keep 
th'*  fruit  walls  clean  and  well  pointed, 
and  with  bush  fruits,  all  unnecessary 
rubbish  or  litter  would  be  well  if  away. 
A  line  of  ashes  sprinkled  with  dilute 
paraffin,  or  with  carbolic  acid  diluted  in  the  proportion  cf  one 
])art  of  acid  to  a  hundred  of  water,  and  placed  just  along  the 
junction  of  wall  and  ground,  has  been  suggested  as  a  preventive 
to  their  advances.  In  the  case  of  Strawberry  beds,  the  usual 
methods  for  catching  rveevils  and  woodlice,  by  placing  morsels 
of  old  .sacking  or  similar  .shelter  about  among  the  rows  to  act 
as  shelters,  and  thus  traps,  has  also  been  tried  successfully. 
Where  the  infested  trees  or  plants  are  of  such  a  nature  of 
growth  as  to  admit  of  their  being  shaken,  this  plan  should  be 
tried  at  night.  The  weevils,  in  common  with  their  kind,  drop 
at  once  if  they  are  disturbed  when  feeding,  or  when  ai  light  is 
flashed  on  them.  Tarred  boards  might  be  placed  beneath,  so  that 
the  weevils  could  not  escape  when  they  fell.  Other  remeclie,s  that 
are  practised  against  the  Vine  weevils  will  be  effective  with  this 
one.  Our  illustration  shows  both  the  natural  size  and  a  magni¬ 
fied  form. 
Forcing  Branches  of  Hardy 'Shrubs, 
A  writer  in  “  Mollcr’s  Gartner-Zeitung  ”  gives  some  very 
interesting  notes  on  the  forcing  of  the  branches  of  flowering 
•shrubs  and  trees,  some  of  which  force  easily  and  quickly,  and 
develop  their  flowers  either  in  a  cold  or  warm  house,  and  in  that 
way  furnish  very  beautiful  material  for  cut  flower  work  and 
decorations. 
Among  others,  Prunus  Amygdalus  (Amygdalus  communis 
fl.-ph),  the  double-flowering  Almond,  takes  a.  prominent  place. 
The  branches  may  easily  be  brought  into  bloom  for  Christmas. 
For  that  purpo.se  they  shoidd  be  cut  towards  the  end  of  Novem¬ 
ber ;  any  size  of  branch,  no  matter  how  big  or  little,  will 
answer. 
The  severed  branches  are  put  into  a  barrel  of  water  in  a  warm 
Iiouse,  and  an  occasional  sprinkling  with  lukewarm  water  shoidd 
then  be  given,  perhaps  once  a  day.  As  soon  as  the  flowers  open 
this  sprinkling  must  cease,  otherwise  the  bloom  will  suffer.  The 
flowers  are  full.v  developed  after  about  five  weeks,  and  .such  a 
branch  will  attract  more  attention  either  in  the  florist’s  window 
or  on  the  Christmas  table  than  almost  anything  else,  since  the 
flowers  appear  in  such  vast  numbers. 
The  .same  method  of  treatment  can  be  applied  to  Forsythia 
and  Ribes.  The  former  requires  a  little  more  time  for  forcing 
than  the  Almond,  if  they  are  wanted  for  Christmas,  while  the 
Ribes  will  develop  its  flowers  within  five  weeks  if  treated  like 
the  Almond.  If  Ribe.s  sanguineum  is  used,  the  clusters  of  flowers 
are  of  the  same  shape  and  size  as  if  the  flowers  had  developed 
out  of  doors,  only  the  colour  is  .somewhat  paler. 
Particular  attention  is  drawn  to  the  hardy  Magnolias,  the 
culture  of  which  is  extremely  ea.sy  and  the  re.sults  very  pleas¬ 
ing.  In  order  to  get  Magnolias  into  bloom  for  Christmas,  the 
branches  are  cut  about  four  weeks  before,  and  they  are  treated 
like  those  of  the  Almond,  at  a  temperature  of  58deg  to  66deg  F. 
The  white  flowering  kinds  produce  flowers  of  a  much  finer  and 
more  .satin-like  texture  than  those  produced  out  of  doors. 
One  of  the  principal  qualities  of  these  Magnolia  flowers  is 
their  durability.  If  placed  in  water  they  will  remain  in  perfect 
condition  for  eight  to  ten  days  after  the  development  of  the 
flowers,  even  in  the  dry  atmosphere  of  the  dwelling  room.  The 
The  R:u)-i  iisoei)  Wr  evil. 
85 
writer  advises  the  planting  of  numerous  hard.v  Magnolias  and 
other  blooming  .shrubs  for  the  very  purpose  of  cutting  branches, 
as  descried  above,  for  forcing  in  the  house  in  winter. 
German  Irisi's  and  Dicentra  spectabilis  force  easily.  Root¬ 
stocks  lifted  from  the  open  beds  or  borders  should  be  placeii 
in  a  house  with  a  temperature  of  .50deg  at  thei  lowest  and  b.“deg 
at  the  highest,  whence  growth  speedily  advances. 
WOKK.foiitheWEEK.. 
Fruit  Forcing. 
PEACHES  AND  NECTARINES:  EARLIEST  FORCED 
TREES. — The  weather,  though  cold,  is  bright  at  the  time  of 
writing,  and  this  clear  sky,  even  when  wind  is  north-ea.sterly,  is 
not  unfavourable  to  the  setting  of  the  fruit,  but  a  murky  .sky 
is  the  reverse,  and  these  unfavourable  conditions  it  is  not 
advisable  to  accelerate  development,  or  is  anything  gained  by 
hurrying  the  trees  in  the  early  stages  of  growth,  indeed,  often 
the  crop  is  lost  by  pushing  the  trees  when  the  external  circiim- 
.stances  are  unfavourable.  Seek,  therefore,  to  maintain  .steady 
progressive,  sturdy  growth,  by  making  the  most  of  sun  heat,  with 
early  and  judicious  ventilation.  The  flowers  mirst  be  fertilised  as 
they  expand  and  the  pollen  becomes  ripe,  distributing  it  over 
the  .stigmas.  Cross-fertili.satioii  is  desirable,  and  where  there  is 
a  deficiency  of  pollen  in  any  variety  it  should  be  supplied  from 
those  varieties  that  afford  it  p]enteousl.v. 
SYRINGING  and  a  close  atmosphere  are  not  favouring  of  a 
good  set  of  fruit,  and  even  after  this  is  effected,  a  moist  atmo¬ 
sphere*  has  a  tendency  to  induce*  soft  growths,  therefore  avoid  an 
excess  of  both,  especially  during  setting,  but  where  the  fruit  is 
set,  an  occasional  syringing  in  the  early  part  of  fine  afternoons 
will  assi.st  the  fruits  to  throw  off  the  remains  of  the  flowers. 
Sufficient  moi.sture  beyond  that  of  syringing  can  be  secured  by 
damping  the  paths  and  borders  on  dull  days,  and  the  foliage  is 
then  free  to  elaborate  the  sap,  though  its  power  is  as  yet  small. 
When  the  fruits  swell  and  are  the  size  of  horse  beans,  remove 
too  thickly  placed  the  smallest  and  those  on  the  under  side  of 
the  branches,  but  do  not  thin  too  severely,  as  exces.sive  thinning 
eften  give.s  a  check  inimical  to  the  fruit  left,  therefore  thin  by 
degrees,  removing  a  few  at  a  time,  commencing  with  the  weaker 
parts  of  the  trees. 
If  aphides  appear  fumigate  with  tobacco  paper  or  vaporise  with 
nicotine  compound,  doing  either  carefully  on  two  or  three  con¬ 
secutive  evenings,  the  doses  being  moderate*  and  having  the  foli¬ 
age  dry,  and  delivering  the  smoke  cool.  The  foliage  of  Peaches 
and  Nectarines  is  very  susceptible  of  injury  from  tobacco  smoke, 
an  overdose  being  fatal  to  leaves  and  crop.  Some  growers,  there¬ 
fore,  use  quassia  extract,  which  is  excellent  for  the  purpose  when 
properly  diluted,  and  applied  so  as  to  reach  all  the  aphides. 
If  mildew  appear  dust  the  affected  parts  with  flowers  of 
sulphur,  or  the  advertised  fungicides  in  powder  may  be  employed, 
but  apply  vei-y  lightly.  Be  careful  in  giving  air  in  cold  weather, 
as  draughts  may  cause  the  fruit  to  fall,  and  in  cold,  frost.y 
weather  it  is  safer  to  allow  the  temperature*  to  rise  a  little  higher 
than  to  open  the  ventilator  too  much.  Let  the  water  supplied  to 
inside  borders  be  equal  in  temperature  to  that  of  the  mean  of  the 
house ;  and  to  assist  weakly  trees  to  swell  their  fruit  in  the  first 
stage,  afford  liquid  manure  not  too  strong  and  always  tepid. 
EARLY  FORCED  TREES  also  must  be  continuously  dis¬ 
budded,  as  too  early  and  al!-at-once  removal  of  the  .surplus 
growths  gives  a  check,  which  may  cause  the  fruit  to  fall,  and  the 
reaction  that  follows  has  its  outcome  in  strong  shoots.  The 
proper  method  is  to  commence  by  taking  off  a  few  foreright 
shoots  first,  then  proceed  in  a  similar  manner  with  tho.se  on  the 
upper  side  of  the  branches,  and  those  on  the  weakest  part  or 
lowest  side  la.st.  Leave  a  shoot  at  the  base  of  the  present  bearing 
growth  to  supply  its  place  next  season,  and  another  must  be  left 
on  a  level  with  or  above  the  fruit,  to  draw  the  sap  to  the  fruit. 
The  upper  growth  should  have  its  point  pinched  off  at  the  third 
leaf  unless  it  is  necessary  for  the  action  of  the  tree,  when  it  may 
be  trained  full  length.  In  the  case  of  trees  extending,  the  .shoots 
necessary  for  the  formation  of  trees  must  be  trained  12  to  15in 
distance  apart.  Instead  of  disbudding  last  year’s  exten.sions,  the 
shoots  not  required  for  laying  in  form  the  bearing  wood  of  next 
year,  may  be  pinched  at  the  second  or  third  leaf  to  form  spurs, 
stopping  subseciuent  growths  at  the  first  leaf.  The  bearing  shoots 
on  extensions  should  be  12  to  Loin  distance  apart,  and  the  exten¬ 
sions  or  branches  a  similar  distance  asunder  ;  for  it  is  necessary 
for  producing  fine  Peaches  and  Nectarines  that  the  growths  be 
sturdy,  the  foliage  fully  exposed  to  light,  and  cleanlinos.s- 
