414 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
]May  7,  1903. 
FREXCH  BEANS. — D^yarf  or  Freiicli  Beans  also  to  be 
.sown  in  light,  open,  rich  soil.  Draw  the  drills  for  these  Sin  deep 
and  2ft  apart.  The  seeds  may  be  placed  4in  apart,  finally  thinning 
to  a  foot.  The  plants  deserve  good  cnltnre,  when  they  are  very 
l)rolific  and  i^recede  the  Runner  Beans  in  bearing.  One  of  the 
be^st  and  nmst  useful  varieties  is  Canadian  Wonder,  the  selected 
forms  of  which  are  superior  to  the  ordinary  types.  The  season 
may  be  prolonged  by  .successional  sowings  at  intervals  of  a  fort¬ 
night. 
CELERY.— Folloiving  upon  the  early  batch  of  plants  which 
are  now  attaining  a  fair  size,  and  will  soon  groiv  rapidly,  necessi¬ 
tating  full  exposure  to  strengthen  and  harden  them  previous  to 
the  final  planting,  a  liberal  number  of  seedlings  should  be  pricked 
out  in  a  cold  frame.  Lay  down  a  few  inches  of  decayed  manure, 
and  on  that  some  good  .soil  pre.ssed  firmly  and  made  fine  on  the 
.surface.  Three  inches  of  soil  will  be  ample.  Prick  out  the  plants 
in  this  3in  apart,  and  afterwards  lightly  water,  shading  for  a 
few  days  until  established.  After  this  admit  air  in  gradually 
increasing  quantities,  exposing  fully  when  warm  iveather  is  the 
rule. 
POTATOES. — Potatoes  advancing  in  pits  and  frames  must 
have,  abundance  of  air  day  and  night,  but  not  fully  exposecl  in 
case  of  fro.st.  Iveep  the  soil  moist.  Those  advancing  under 
warm,  south  walls,  may  need  slight  protection  if  .sharp  frosts 
threaten.  Light,  dry,  strawy  litter  scattered  over  them  or 
Dffany  stretched  across  them  will  prove  effectual  protection. 
Where  growth  is  just  pushing  through  the  soil,  and  frost  is  likely, 
draw  some  light,  dry  material  over  them.  Later  varieties  will 
Im  safe  if  they  do  not  start  growth  within  the  next  fortnight. 
Hoe  the  .soil  between  the  rows  as  soon  as  growth  is  clearly  dis¬ 
tinguishable.  It  is  neoes.sary  to  destroy  seedling  weeds  a.s  soon 
as  possible. 
CAFLIFLOWERS. — Fini.sh  planting  out  prepared  C’auli- 
flower  j^lants,  lifting  them  with  adhering  balls  of  soil  and  roots 
from  boxes  or  frames.  Rich  soil  is  essential.  Frequent  water¬ 
ings  will  also  be  nece.^sary  in  dry  weather,  as  well  as  stirring  of 
the  surface  soil. 
TOMATOES  FOR  OT  TDOORS. — The  preparation  of  the 
plants  should  be  going  on^  so  that  they  may  be  strong  and  well 
rooted  by  the  end  of  the  month  for  planting  out.  Seedlings 
slmuld  be  potted  singly,  and  plants  in  small  pots  given  a  size 
larger.  I  se  good  holding  soil,  and  pot  firmly.  Afford  frame 
treatment  until  the  roots  are  working  freely,  after  which  gradu¬ 
ally  harden  by  admitting  plenty  of  air. 
CARROTS.— As  soon  as  seedling  Carrots  can  be  conveniently 
handled,  a  preliminary  thinning  may  be  given.  Keen  the  surface 
soil  lightly  stirred,  and  weeds  absent.  A  dusting  of  soot  will  be 
beneficial  when  the  weather  is  showery.  Another  principal  sow¬ 
ing  may  be  made  on  light,  rich  soil  free  from  surface  manure. 
PARSLEY. — Plants  ivliich  have  stood  the  winter  are  making 
rfee  growth.  Maintain  the  soil  between  them  clean  and  open. 
This  is  a  good  time  to  make  a  main  spring  sowing  either  in 
drills  or  broadcast. 
MINT.  The  formation  of  a  new  bed  can  be  carried  out  now. 
Stout  growths  din  or  4in  long  may  be  cut  off  a  couple  of  inches 
below  the  surface.  Insert  them  4in  apart  in  lines  Gin  asunder, 
and  keep  moist  until  e.stabli,shed. — East  Kent. 
Meteorological  Observations  at  Chiswick. 
Taken  in  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society’s  Gardens  at  Chis¬ 
wick,  height  above  sea  level  24  feet. 
Date, 
Direction  ol 
Wind. 
Temperature  of  the 
Air. 
Bain. 
Temperature  of 
the  Soil. 
At  9  A.M. 
Lowest  1 
Temperature 
on  Grass.  | 
1903, 
April 
and  May. 
At  9  A.M, 
Day. 
Night 
At 
1-ft. 
deep. 
At 
2-ft. 
deep. 
At 
4-ft, 
deep. 
Dry 
Bnlb. 
Wet 
Bulb. 
■4» 
CO 
o 
ja 
to 
w 
•49 
CD 
<D 
.  s 
o' 
a 
Sunday  ...26 
Monday  ...27 
Tuesday  ...28 
Wed’sday  29 
Thursday  50 
Friday  ...  1 
Saturday  2 
S.S.E. 
S.S.E. 
S.W. 
S.W. 
S.W. 
S.W. 
S.W, 
deg. 
43-4 
49- 4 
51- 2 
52- 4 
52  4 
50- 2 
53- 2 
deg. 
42-4 
48- 6 
47'5 
49- 9 
49-2 
48- 8 
49- 5 
deg. 
50-1  . 
57-2 
59'4 
59-2 
57-2 
53-9 
57-8 
deg. 
41- 3 
42- 8 
44-2 
48-0 
47-1 
46-9 
44-5 
Ins. 
0-39 
0  08 
0'45 
0-01 
0-17 
0-08 
0-16 
deg. 
45-2 
45'9 
47- 1 
48- 8 
49- 8 
59-1 
500 
deg. 
45-6 
45- 9 
46- 3 
47- 0 
47- 9 
48- 2 
48-5 
deg. 
46-7 
46-7 
46-7 
46- 8 
47- 0 
47-0 
47-2 
dee. 
39-8 
33  0 
30-3 
42-2 
37-2 
36-5 
33  2 
Means  ... 
EO-3 
48-0 
56-4 
45-0 
Total. 
1-34 
48-1 
47T 
46  9 
360 
A  week  of  dull,  mild, ■•showery  weather. 
*  All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should  be  directed 
to  “  The  Editor,”  12,  Mitre  Court  Chambers,  Fleet  Street, 
London,  E.C.  It  is  requested  that  no  one  will  ivi’ite  privately 
to  any  of  our  correspondents,  seeking  information  on  matters 
discussed  in  this  Journal,  as  doing  so  subjects  them  to  unjustifiable 
trouble  and  expense. 
ROBERT  FISH  (C.  B.). — This  highly  valued  corresiiondent 
to  our  earlier  volumes  died  in  the  seventies.  We  are  sorry 
copies  of  the  Journal  of  Horticulture  of  the  date  are  not  now 
in  stock.  He  was  elder  brother  to  the  late  D.  T.  Fish,  and 
formed  one  of  a  distinguished  band  of  Scottish  gardeners,  who, 
after  serving  an  apprenticeship  in  the  North,  came  South,  and 
made  a  name  for  themselv'es  in  horticultural  annals. 
RECIPE  FOR  COMPOUNDING  AN  ARTICLE  TO  DE¬ 
STROY  ANTS  (R.  A.). — Recipe:  loz  of  ordinary  avsenic  is  placed 
in  an  old  iron  pot  with  a  quart  of  water,  and  then  boiled  until  re¬ 
duced  to  a  pint  or  a  little  more  of  liquid,  to  which  add  .Jib  of  coarse 
sugar.  This  mixture  can  either  be  dropped  about  the  runs  and 
around  the  nests,  but  is  preferably  placed  in  saucers  in  the  haunts 
of  the  ants.  The  preparation  must  be  used  with  the  utmost 
caution,  as  it  is  a  poison  most  fatal’to  animal  life.  A  very  simple 
and  .safe  remedy  is  to  lay  a  quantity  of  partially  picked  bones  in 
the  haunts  of  the  ants,  and  they  will  quickly  be  covered  ivith  the 
insects.  As  soon  a.s  this  occurs  throw  the  bones  into  hob  water, 
and  before  laying  them  down  again  let  all  superfluous  moi.sture 
drain  off.  If  this  is  persisted  in  it  will  be  found  veiy  effectual. 
Try  also  Yalls’  Beetlecute. 
CULTIVATING  GROUND  BETWEEN  ROWS  OF  FRUIT 
TREES  BY  HORSE  LABOUR  (A.  F.  T.).— The  market  gar¬ 
deners  use  cultivators  by  horse  power,  and  get  over  much  more 
ground  than  is  pos.sible  by  hand  power.  Of  course  the  distance  of 
the  plants  has  to  be  greater  than  is  necessary  in  some  cases  for 
certain  crops,  such  as  Lettuce  and  Carrots  ;  but  for  Potatoes, 
Beet,  and  similar  crops  that  have  the  rows  2ft  to  3ft  apart,  there 
is  no  question  that  horse  labour  operations  are  far  more  economi¬ 
cally  and  speedily  performed  than  the  same  by  hand  labour.  The 
right  practice  is  that  you  are  pursuing,  at  least  for  the  majority  of 
marketing  vegetable  crops,  though  in  some  cases  it  would  be  more 
profitable  to  use  hand  labour,  the  rows  being  such  as  not  admit  of 
horse  labour,  but,  considering  the  greater  expense  of  the  former,  it 
is  likely  the  greater  produce  would  not  compensate  for  the  exti'a 
outlay. 
GLI  STER  OF  EGGS  ON  PLUM  TWIG  FOR  IDENTIFICA¬ 
TION  (T.  H.). — The  cluster  of  eggs  is  that  of  the  common 
vapourer  moth,  Orgyia  antiqua,  the  caterpillar  of  which  is  very 
destructive,  and,  according  to  Newman  (“  British  Moths,”  page 
40)  it  feeds  on  eveiy  tree  or  shrub  in  the  garden.  Hawthorn  and 
Sloe  are  especially  frequented,  but  it  also  feeds  on  the  leafage  of 
the  Pear,  Plum,  and  other  fi'uit  trees.  The  caterpillars  are  notice¬ 
able  for  their  peculiar  tufts  of  hair,  the  bunches  being  dark  grey 
spotted  with  small  red  tubercles,  and  the  four  large  tufts  of  hair 
on  the  back  are  yellowish-white,  and  those  at  the  head  and  tail, 
and  two  long  tufts  on  the  side,  are  dark,  altogether  a  very  notice¬ 
able  animal,  especially  for  the  havoc  it  commits.  When  full-fed 
the  caterpillar  spins  among  the  remains  of  the  leaves  on  which  it 
has  been  feeding,  or  in  some  exposed  i>lace,  as  on  trunks  or 
branches  of  trees,  palings,  <fec.,  and  there  changes  to  a  dusky 
yellow  pujia,  from  which  the  moth  comes  out  in  about  a  fortnight 
in  summer.  The  male  moth  is  of  a  brown  or  chestnut  colour,  with 
the  forewings  clouded  with  a  darker  colour,  and  with  a  white, 
cre.scent-shaped  mark  near  the  hinder  angle.  The  female  is  grey, 
and  has  only  abortive  wings.  When  they  come  out  from  the  pupa- 
case  they  creep  on  the  outside  of  the  somewhat  oval  cocoon  or 
leaves  spun  together,  and  there  pairing  takes  place.  The  female 
very  soon  begins  depositing  eggs  on  the  surface  of  the  cocoon  or 
folded-together  leaves,  or  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood,  or  on 
the  branch  in  your  case,  and  then  dies.  The  eggs  do  not  hatch 
all  together,  but  come  out  a  few  at  a  time,  so  that  the  caterpillar, 
pupa,  and  moth  are  alt  found  together  throughout  the  summer 
and  autumn.  The  eggs  of  the  late  moths  remain  unhatched 
during  the  winter,  and  the  caterpillars  msually  commence  emerg¬ 
ing  from  them  at  the  end  of  April.  The  female  laying  her  eggs 
on  or  near  the  webbed-up  leaves  can  be  turned  to  good  account 
for  their  destruction,  the  webs  being  carefully  removed  with  the 
eggs  and  burned.  Syringing  with  petroleum  emulsion,  2oz  or  3oz 
to  a  gallon  of  water,  is  useful  whilst  the  caterpillars  are  small, 
while  spraying  with  Paris  gi’eeu,  loz  to  20gal  of  water,  poisons 
the  pests  eating  the  leafage.  Hot  svater  is  also  effective,  and  at 
135deg  does  not  injure  the  foliage  of  the  trees,  only  not  used  too 
lavishly. 
