October  30,  1902. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
407 
very  powerful;  if  needed,  some  stimulant  mulching  lightly 
forked  in  may  be  used  to  assist  the  new  growth.  Another 
plan  which  I  have  seen  successfully  carried  out  is  to  remove 
all  the  branches  and  main  stem  down  to  the  lowest  tier,  and 
by  this  radical  operation  the  formation  of  strong  new  shoots 
will  be  stimulated  from  this  lowest  tier,  which  can  be  en¬ 
couraged  to  grow  in  an  upright  form  at  such  regular  distances 
as  are  desired. 
In  this  wTay  a  crop  is  readily  secured  the  second  year  ; 
and  it  is  a  very  good  plan  for  varieties  which,  like  J argonelle 
when  old,  often  fruit  on  the  ends  of  the  branches  only,  and 
for  other  varieties  which  form  a  mass  of  fruitless  spurs. 
As  regards  overgrown  pyramids  and  bushes,  both  of 
Pears  and  Apples  in  gardens,  I  should  advise  that  all  of  poor 
or  doubtful  quality  be  at  once  dug  up  and  destroyed  ;  while 
those  which  are  of  good  recognised  varieties  should  be 
allowed  to  grow  in  a  free  and  natural  way,  merely  thinning 
out  the  superfluous  inside  shoots  ;  they  will  thus  soon  pro¬ 
duce  freely  on  the  branches  of  two  or  thi’ee  years’  growth. 
In  cases  where  Pears  are  on  the  Quince,  stock  and  Apples 
on  the  Paradise,  they  are  more  easily  dealt  with,  as  the  roots 
Insects  as  Garden  Adornments. 
Amongst  the  moths  which  assist  in  adorning  our  gardens 
are  various  species,  large  in  size  and  strong-winged,  of 
which  we  cannot  often  get  a  good  view  of,  not  even  when 
they  are  hovering  above  flowers.  Evening  is  their  time  of 
flight ;  they  prefer  the  dusk,  and  on  moonlight  nights  seem 
reluctant  to  show  themselves.  Still,  they  are  conspicuous 
as  seen  on  the  wing,  and  might  be  taken  for  bats.  Some¬ 
times  their  eyes  shine  out  like  little  stars.  Is  this  luminosity 
phosphorescent  or  electric,  I  wonder.  Some  make  a  hum 
when  they  fly,  others  a  sort  of  rustling  sound.  There  are 
times,  though,  while  they  happen  to  rest  on  a  tree  trunk  or 
paling  during  the  day,  that  afford  us  a  good  look  at  the 
upper  wings  at  least.  The  big  hawk  moths  are  sluggish 
then  ;  you  may  even  give  one  a  push  and  it  will  not  budge, 
but  strikes  with  the  front  pair  of  legs,  as  if  it  would  say, 
“  Leave  me  alone.”  Out  for  a  morning  walk  in  summer,  I 
A  Weeping  Ash  at  Nostell  Priory.  (See  page  398.) 
are  closer  to  the  stem ;  and  if  a  trench  be  made  round  each 
..tree,  the  coarse  roots  removed,  and  the  trench  filled  with 
fresh  soil,  the  new  rootlets  formed  will  be  so  abundant  that 
the  tree  can  readily  be  lifted  and  removed  the  following 
October,  and  be  either  placed  in  a  new  position,  according 
to  size  and  vigour,  or  be  regulated  in  their  former  positions 
and  refreshed  with  new  soil  to  work  in.  We  prefer,  however, 
to  make  an  entirely  new  plantation  with  the  old  trees  else¬ 
where,  and  to  substitute  (after  a  year’s  fallow  or  inter-crop) 
a  fresh  lot  of  trees  altogether  to  fill  up  the  ground  thus  left 
empty.  This  gives  a  chance  of  renewing  the  old  stale  soil, 
and  also  of  introducing  new  or  desired  varieties. 
Where,  however,  the  garden  is  limited,  only  half  of  the 
old  trees  should  be  operated  on  in  one  season  in  order  to 
lessen  the  chance  of  an  entire  failure  in  the  supply ;  but  the 
old  removed  trees  will  after  a  season’s  growth  more  than 
reward  the  operator  for  any  trouble  he  has  taken  with  them. 
So  far  as  cordons  on  walls  are  concerned,  we  should  prefer 
to  replant  entirely,  remaking  the  borders  at  the  same  time, 
as  new  trees  can  be  purchased  in  a  forward  state  at  a  cheap 
rate,  as  severe  measures  frequently  prove  unsuccessful. 
(To  be  concluded.) 
spied  on  a  fence,  in  repose,  a  fine  lime-hawk  moth.  By  a 
little  coaxing  I  got  him  to  crawl  upon  my  hand  and  earned 
him  along  half  a  mile,  then  moved  him  to  another  fence. 
Our  largest  British  moth,  having  the  formidable  name  of 
the  Death’s-head  (Acherontia  atropos)  is  an  insect  of  singular 
ways,  and  one  of  its  peculiarities  is,  that  though  July  is  the 
usual  time  for  emergence,  specimens  sometimes  appear  in 
October  or  even  November.  There  are  few  flowers  for  them 
then  about  the  garden.  Perhaps  they  visit  the  Ivy  bloom. 
An  eccentric  one  has  been  caught  sipping  from  a  treacle 
cask  at  a  grocer’s.  More  than  the  nectar  of  flowers  does 
this  moth  love  honey  stored  by  bees,  hence  its  visits  to  the 
old-style  straw  hives  still  existent  in  some  gardens.  Can 
the  stings  of  bees  penetrate  its  elastic  covering  of  cuticle  1 
We  think  not,  yet  a  bee  might  find  out  some  weak  place 
in  the  moth’s  armour.  Anyhow,  this  insect  has  been  dis¬ 
covered  dead  in  a  hive.  It  may  enter  but  not  manage  to  turn 
round  and  escape,  especially  if  gorged  with  honey.  The 
notion  that  its  peculiar  cry  alarmed  the  bees  does  not  seem 
to  have  sufficient  proof.  I  doubt  bees  being  affected  by 
this,  but  it  has  terrified  superstitious  humanity.  The  moth 
is  handsome,  its  rich  brown  wings  are  curiously  mottled  and 
