554 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
December  ‘20.  1900. 
•  he  Crocus  being  most  used.  There  are  also  the  several  ^varieties  of 
Scillas,  Anemones,  Jonquils,  Snowdrops,  and  Eanunculuses. 
I  will  now  describe  a  bed  that  I  saw  last  spring  at  an  establishment 
where  spiing  gardening  is  much  fostered,  as  it  affords  a  useful  hint 
on  arrangement.  It  was  a  circle  of  20  feet  wide,  and  the  centre 
plant  was  a  splendid  specimen  of  Eetinospora  plumosa  2  feet  high. 
The  first  circle  which  surrounded  it  was  composed  of  Cupressus 
minima  glauca.  Between  each  plant  was  a  double  scarlet  Van  Thol 
Tul'p.  Next  came  dark  blue  Hyacinths,  followed  by  a  circle  of 
scarlet  ones.  Then  came  Silver  Queen  Ivy,  with  a  groundwork  of 
single  Van  Thol  Tulips.  Between  this  line  and  the  centre  the  bed 
was  covered  thickly  with  Myosotis  palustris  in  beautiful  bloom. 
Next  outside  came  Charles  Dickens  Hyacinth,  porcelain,  followed  by 
Sultan’s  Favourite,  rose,  surrounded  by  a  row  of  white  Hyacinths. 
The  next  circle  was  Euonymns  radicans  variegata,  alternately  with 
single  Van  Thol  ’I'ulips,  carpeted  with  Golden  Thyme.  Following 
were  separate  circles  of  Mauve  Queen  Viola,  Ajuga  nptans.  Golden 
Bedder  Pansy,  and  Saponaria  calabrica.  The  outer  line  was  composed 
of  the  Aucuba-leaved  Daisy,  the  whole  forming  as  charming  a 
combination  of  spring  gardening  as  I  have  ever  had  the  pleasure  of 
seeincr. 
Eock  gardening,  where  carefully  and  tastefully  carried  out,  also 
affords  much  pleasure,  and  the  rockery  is  never  more  attractive  than 
when  furnished  with  flowers  in  spring  and  early  summer.  Stones 
arranged  in  a  good  depth  of  soil,  and  the  interstices  planted  with 
Arabises,  Aubrietiae,  Saxifrages,  Iberises,  hardy  Primulas,  Gentians, 
dwarf  Phloxes,  and  other  plants  that  may  be  at  hand,  pres  nt  a  bright 
and  novel  feature.  The  two  first  named  flowers  cover  the  surface  of 
many  a  square  yard  of  stone  in  the  rock  garden  at  Kew  and  other 
places,  and  the  broad  masses  of  white  and  lilac  purple  are  extremely 
beautiful. — Flora. 
- - 
Lonely  Winter  Caterpillars. 
The  story  is  told  of  a  certain  lecturer,  well  known  for  his  ablify 
in  working  upon  the  imagination  and  the  feelings  of  his  audience,  that 
he  brought  into  one  of  his  lectures  a  powerful  description  of  the 
sufferings  of  a  broomstick.  He  told  his  hearers  how  the  unfortunate 
broomstick  was  forgotten  one  winter’s  night  and  left  exposed  out  of 
doors  to  the  wind  and  rain  of  the  season.  So  touching  was  the  narrative 
that  a  sympathetic  thrill  went  through  the  listeners,  and  some  of  the 
ladies  Wire  affected  to  tears.  Tliis  may  or  may  not  b;  true,  but  we 
might  work  up  an  impressive  description  of  the  painful  experiences 
that  some  caterpillars  have  to  undergo  through  the  winter  months.  A 
broomstick  has  no  feeling,  but  a  caterpillar  has,  in  fact  it  possesses 
more  sensibility  than  the  older  naturalists  supposed  ;  modern  scientists 
allow  that  it  has  nerves,  though  the  nervous  system  is  of  a  singular 
construction.  Now  there  are  several  species  of  butterflies  and  moths 
vyhere  it  is  the  nature  of  the  caterpillars  to  hybernate.  Hatched  in  the 
autumn,  they  are  not  full  grown  till  the  spring  or  early  summer. 
Some  of  them  are  found  about  our  gardens,  where  occasionally  we  kill 
them,  by  chance  or  by  intention. 
But  as  to  loneliness — well,  we  have  amongst  the  winter  caterpillars 
a  few  species  that  are  of  gregarious  habit;  some  at  least  have 
companionship.  We  have  a  familiar  instance  in  the  rather  common 
species,  the  browutail  moth,  where  the  caterpillars  form  a  snug  abode 
of  several  apartments  of  silk  and  bits  of  twig  on  a  Hawthorn  branch, 
nr  it  may  be  on  some  fruit  tree.  There  they  abide  contentedly  from 
autumn  to  spring,  repairing  the  walls  now  and  then  if  need  arise. 
All  they  have  to  dread  is  a  very  wet  winter,  which  is  apt  to  kill 
them  by  a  fungoid  malady. 
Others  there  are  whose  winter  life  is  solitary ;  they  do  not  unite 
for  warmth  and  protection.  Here  again  there  is  a  variation  of  habit. 
Some  of  them  hybernate  upon  the  surface  of  the  ground,  or  near  it, 
and  they  feed  occasionally  on  grasses  or  low  herbage  during  mild 
weather.  But  with  many  species  no  food  is  taken  while  hybernation 
lasts,  the  caterpillars  remaining  fixed  upon  branches  and  twigs,  or  else 
they  hide  within  nooks  or  tree  trunks,  even  creep  into  sheds  sometimes, 
and  not  unfrequently  repose  among  the  edges  of  garden  borders.  Such 
a  life  is  necessarily  solitary,  for  should  there  be  several  caterpillars 
upon  a  branch  not  far  distant  from  each  other,  they  hold  no 
communication,  their  range  of  vision  being  much  limited  by  their 
simple  triangular  eyes.  Probably  they  feel  no  friendly  desire  to  shake 
claws  !  That  they  do  not  all  sleep  the  winter  through  appears  from 
the  fact  that  some  move  a  little  occasionally. 
We  cannot  choose,  I  think,  a  better  sample  of  a  hardy  winter 
caterpillar  than  that  of  the  Gooseberry  or  Currant  moth  (Abraxas 
grossulariata),  common  everywhere,  even  in  town  gardens  which 
contain  the  bushes  upon  which  it  feeds.  I  have  seen  them  about 
London  suburbs,  quite  dingy  with  soot,  when  they  were  commencing 
to  attack  the  young  leaves  ot  spring.  One  peculiarity  of  this  species  is 
that  caterpillar  and  moth  have  a  marked  resemblance,  both  being 
spotted  with  orange  or  yellow  and  black  upon  a  doll  white  ground 
colour.  The  new  brood  emerges  towards  the  end  of  August;  the 
caterpillars  feed  but  a  short  time  and  then  hybernate.  Gardeners 
generally  take  no  heed  of  them  in  the  autumn,  though  that  is  a  good 
time  to  remove  from  the  bushes  all  that  can  be  found,  and  during 
the  winter  any  benumbed  sleepers  that  are  seen  should  be  destroyed. 
Such  measures  would  greatly  benefit  the  bushes  in  April,  when  they 
often  suffer  irom  the  ravages  of  this  and  other  caterpillars.  It  is  not 
usual  for  all  of  them  to  hybernate  on  the  branche-',  some  scatter  about, 
creeping  into  empty  flower  pots,  amongst  stones,  and  all  sorts  <  f 
places.  Mostly,  the  caterpillars  that  remain  where  thev  had  been 
feeding  cover  themselves  singly  with  a  leaf,  fastened  by  silken  threads. 
Not  unfrequently,  before  the  winter  is  over,  the  leaves  fall  througa 
rough  weather;  perhaps  the  caterpillar  too,  or  it  may  be  he  still  hamrs 
on,  braving  the  winds,  rain,  or  snow  it  he  can,  till  a  more  genial  season 
arrives. 
Moi-t  of  us,  I  suppose,  would  conjecture  that  to  hybernating 
caterpillars  a  hard  winter  would  be  worse  than  a  mild  one,  such  docs 
not  appear  to  be  the  fact.  Caterpillars  may  be  frozen  till  they  actually 
chink  like  pebbles  when  they  are  thrown  into  a  jar,  yet  aiterwards 
revive  and  grow  to  maturity.  But  a  quantity  of  rain  is  apt  to  produce- 
upon  a  caterpillar’s  skin  a  fungoid  growth,  which  is  frequently  fatal. 
Also  in  the  chrysalis  stage  many  insects  are  killed  by  an  excess  of 
moisture  thouih  a  little  is  beneficial.  Amongst  the  caterpillars  that 
brave  the  winter  unprotected,  holding  tightly  to  a  twig  or  branch, 
are  several  of  those  belonging  to  the  tribe  of  the  Thorn  moths. 
There  is  nothing  thorny  about  the  winged  insects,  which  are 
remarkable  for  their  partiality  to  light,  in  consequence  of  which  they 
are  often  victims  to  the  gas  jets  of  our  streets  and  houses.  Probably 
the  name  was  given  because  most  of  the  caterpillars  exhibit  humps 
or  protuberances.  Some  species  that  were  very  cmmon  round  the 
metropolis  stem  to  be  scarcer  these  recent  years.  One  of  these  is  the 
August  Thorn  (Ennomos  angularia),  its  caterpillar  has  seven  warts  or 
humps,  and  feeds  on  Lilac,  Elm,  Birch,  and  vari  ous  trees  in  autumn  till 
half-grown,  then  again  in  spring.  That  of  the  Scalloped  Oak,  or 
Crocallis  <  linguaria,  is  seldom  seen  on  the  Oak,  usually  its  food  i& 
Honeysuckle,  occasionally  Apple  or  Pear,  but  it  is  not  abundant 
enough  to  be  injurious.  It  illustrates  Nature’s  mimicry,  as  in  colour 
and  form  it  nearly  resembles  a  bit  ot  twig. 
About  midsummer,  and  through  July,  we  occasionally  notice  about 
gardens  the  large  pale  motb  called  the  Swallowtail,  Uropteryx 
sambucata,  which  floats  along  deliberately,  but  can  quicken  its  speed 
should  it  be  in  danger  of  being  caught.  Its  caterpillar  winters  not 
only  upon  the  Elder,  but  also  on  several  fuit  trees,  and  it  will  eat 
such  low-growing  plants  as  the  Forget-me-not.  When  it  is  possible 
this  prefers  a  partial  .shelter  Irom  the  weather  to  an  exposed  position, 
seeks  out  a  crevice  in  the  bark  or  a  crack  in  some  paling.  It  varies  a 
good  deal  as  to  colour,  being  u>ually  brownish  with  pale  yellow 
stripes  ;  several  of  the  segments  are  humped,  and  this  also  has  a  twiggy 
appearance.  During  June  it  is  full-fed,  and  makes  a  hammock 
amongst  the  leaves,  wherein  the  chrysalis  state  is  entered.  Caterpillars 
of  some  species,  again,  seek  the  shelter  of  evergreens  during  their 
hybernation  ;  thus  the  discovery  of  the  caterpillar  of  Boarmia 
perfumaria  amongst  Ivy  in  autumn  led  to  the  supposition  this  was  its 
food,  but  it  feeds  upon  garden  Eoses,  also  upon  Birch,  Plum,  and 
Willow,  getting  from  the  last  its  English  name  of  “  Willow  Beauty,” 
which  at  first  seems  hardly  applicable  to  the  moth.  Careful 
inspection,  however,  shows  a  very  elegant  arrangement  ot  lines  and 
mat  kings  upon  the  wings.  So  much  does  tie  ca'erpillar  resemble  a 
grey  twig  that  we  are  likely  to  overlook  one  unless  it  happens  to  move,. 
Another  looper  caterpillar  that  hybernates  while  young  is  that  of 
the  handsome  large  emerald  moth  ;  it  reposes  upon  the  twigs  of 
Birch.  A  big  brown  moth,  which  is  possessor  of  tne  name  of  the 
Old  Lady  (Mania  maura),  is  apt  to  surprise  people  by  flying  off  the 
wall  of  a  shed  or  summerhouse  when  somebody  enters.  It  comes 
from  a  caterpillar,  curiously  marked,  with  a  rather  leech-like  body, 
which  feeds  on  fruit  trees,  but  hides  amongst  grass  or  herbage  in 
winter,  climbing  again  as  soon  as  the  leaves  expand.  Its  relative, 
smaller  and  still  more  abundant,  the  Gothis  (M.  typica),  deposits  eggs 
on  Pear  and  Plum  trees  chiefly,  and  occasionally  when  a  pereon  is 
picking  fruit  in  August  he  sees  a  leaf  with  a  company  of  small 
caterpillars  lying  side  by  side,  and  eating  half  through  as  they 
advance.  Quitting  the  trees,  they  descend  to  the  ground  for  the 
winter,  hide  where  they  can,  and  conclude  their  career  by  devouring 
all  sorts  of  plants,  preferring  the  succulent.  Then  the  too-abundant 
caterpillar  of  the  garden  tiger  moth,  well  clothed  with  hairs,  braves 
the  winter’s  cold  or  damp,  waiting  for  spring  to  regale  on  vegetables. 
Other  solitary  caterpillars,  which  feed  underground  or  within  plants 
and  trees  during  the  winter,  we  cannot  now  discuss. — Entomologist. 
