374 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AXD  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
October  22,  1903. 
touched  with  green  and  grey,  and  crossed  by  angled  mark¬ 
ings.  It  is  abundant  throughout  our  islands. 
A  less,  rather  similar  species  is  called  the  Small  Angle- 
shades  (Euplexia  lucipora).  This  is  a  J une  moth  of  deeper 
colours,  having  two  conspicuous  white  spots.  We  find,  later 
in  the  year,  the  green,  dark-lined  caterpillar  feeding  upon 
the  Brake  Fern  or  on  Nettles. 
To  the  species  which  books  now  call  the  Green  Brindled 
Crescent,  or  Miselia  oxyacantha,  the  old  entomologists  gave 
the  name  of  “  Glory  of  Ealing  ” — evidently  the  moth  was  first 
noticed  near  what  was  a  pretty  village  a  century  ago.  Since 
then  the  moth  has  turned  up  in  many  places,  and  appears 
in  gardens  during  September,  because  the  caterpillar  usually 
feeds  in  early  summer  upon  the  Hawthorn.  This  is  rather 
dull-looking,  grey  brown,  having  a  few  white  dots.  The 
moth  has  a  ground  colour  of  reddish  brown,  which  is 
marbled,  and  upon  it  are  scales  of  metallic  green.  Its  eyes 
are  very  phosphorescent,  or  electric,  when  it  has  just 
emerged  from  the  chrysalis  and  is  exploring  the  evening 
flowers. 
Another  showy  September  moth,  chiefly  seen  in  South 
England,  and  a  not  unusual  Cockney  species,  is  the  large 
Ranunculus  Moth  (Polia  flavocincta).  I  cannot  account  for 
its  English  name,  unless,  indeed,  it  has  been  taken  as  cater¬ 
pillar  upon  some  species  of  Ranunculus.  But  this,  which  is 
pale  green,  having  white  stripes  and  dots,  occurs  mostly  upon 
Chickweed  and  Groundsel  in  the  spring  ;  also  it  has  been 
taken  off  garden  Mints.  The  general  colour  of  the  moth  is 
smoky  grey  ;  upon  this  are  darker  marblings.  Its  special 
beauty  is  a  row  of  orange  spots  on  each  wing,  containing 
black  arrowheads,  which  point  towards  the  base  of  the  wings. 
When  other  flowers  are  getting  few  the  Ivy  bloom  attracts 
the  autumn  moths,  and  amongst  these,  hovering  on  walls  or 
banks,  may  be  seen  the  species  oddly  called  the  Marvel-du- 
jour,  or  Miselia  opulina,  the  latter,  by-the-bye,  suggesting 
that  it  is  also  a  spring  insect  at  times.  Certainly,  it  is  a 
handsome  moth,  the  pale  green  forewings  exhibiting  mark¬ 
ings  of  black  and  white,  which  occasionally  run  into  a  band. 
The  head  and  thorax  are  also  light-coloured,  but  the  hind 
wings  are  dark.  By  searching  Oaks,  its  caterpillar  has  been 
taken  about  June ;  it  is  greenish  grey,  reddish  on  the  back, 
the  head  displays  in  front  a  funny  black  mark  X-shaped. 
We  might  say  that  the  bulk  of  these  Noctuas  hide  by  day 
amidst  the  herbage,  in  shrubs,  or  they  rest  upon  the  branches 
of  trees,  but  some  prefer  palings,  where  they  sit  quietly  and 
usually  allow  us  to  inspect  them  without  stirring  from  their 
position. 
Palings  or  low  walls  in  June  and  July  exhibit  the  Grey 
Archer  (Aplecta  nebulura),  a  fair-sized  moth,  varying  in 
colour  from  whitish  to  dark  grey,  marbled  and  mottled, 
showing  usually  two  distinct  spots.  Its  brown,  rather  stout, 
and  velvety  caterpillar  lives  on  low  plants  during  autumn, 
and  after  its  winter  sleep  mounts  Sallow,  Whitethorn ,  or 
Birch,  devouring  the  young  leaves. 
Less  common  and  more  beautiful  is  the  Silvery  Archer 
(A.  tincta),  which  has  been  taken  in  gardens  near  London : 
the  forewings  are  pearly  and  somewhat  silvery  ;  upon  the 
ground  is  a  band  of  brown  and  sundry  streaks,  the  body  is 
crested.  Entomologists  hunt  for  the  caterpillar  on  Birch 
trees  during  autumn.  It  has  a  small  head,  and  is  pale  brown 
sprinkled  with  black  and  w'hite  dots.  There  is  also  a  Green 
Archer  Moth,  grey  green,  black  and  white  ;  but  the  grandest 
species  of  the  genus  is  the  Great  Brocade,  or  A.  occulta, 
which  turns  up  occasionally  all  over  England,  and  which  is 
dark  brown  or  almost  black,  with  a  grey  pattern,  which 
probably  suggested  the  English  name.  Its  caterpillar  has 
been  taken  off  Primroses  in  spring,  or  on  kindred  plants,  but 
is  not  easily  found,  since  it  hides  during  the  day. 
Sometimes  the  caterpillar  of  a  species  is  much  handsomer 
than  the  mature  insect,  and  this  is  the  case  with  the  Sword- 
grass  (Calocampa  exoleta).  The  moth  frequently  visits  the 
Ivy  in  September  or  October,  and  in  spring  it  appears  upon 
the  Sallows.  It  is  a  fine  moth,  though  it  only  exhibits  dull 
grey  or  brown  colours,  but  the  caterpillar  is  very  con¬ 
spicuous,  and  must,  one  thinks,  often  be  seized  by  birds.  It 
reposes,  after  eating,  in  full  view  upon  the  stem  of  some 
Sedge,  a  Scabious,  or  the  Bladder  Campion.  The  general 
colour  is  green.  On  each  side  are  four  stripes;  two  are 
white  and  narrow,  two  broader  are  yellow  and  brilliant  red  ; 
it  is  also  sprinkled  with  dots  of  black  and  red. 
Again,  we  have  a'  family  of  moths  that  are  called 
“  Sharks,”  of  moderate  size,  and  harmless  enough.  I  can 
only  conjecture  the  name  was  given  because  the  caterpillars 
sometimes  appear  in  companies  ;  but  I  do  not  think  they  are 
unusually  ravenous.  Amongst  the  species  there  are  some 
with  showy  caterpillars,  the  moths  being  dull  in  colour.  The 
common  “  Shark  ”  (Cuculiis  umbratica)  sits  upon  palings  in 
June,  often  escaping  notice.  Its  caterpillar  feeds  at  night, 
hiding  by  day  on  or  near  the  earth.  Lettuces  and  Sow¬ 
thistles  are  its  food  ;  in  colour  it  is  deep  bi’own,  delicately 
shagreened  with  grey,  and  having  orange  spots  on  some  of 
the  segments.  Some  seasons  this  caterpillar  has  been  rather 
damaging  to  garden  Lettuces,  but  lately  it  has  occurred  less 
jolentifully.  Then  the  Aster  Shark  (C.  Asteris)  has  a  pretty 
caterpillar ;  it  is  olive-green,  and  striped  with  blue,  yellow, 
and  white.  It  is  found  during  the  autumn  on  China  Asters, 
also  on  the  Golden  Rod  in  woods. 
We  must  not  linger  amongst  these  moths,  and  will  content 
ourselves  with  the  mention  of  two  more,  the  Herald  Moth — 
regarded  as  a  pioneer  of  spring,  which  hybernates  frequently 
in  garden  sheds  and  toolhouses,  and  occasionally  in  stables. 
It  is  grey,  brown  and  oi'ange  in  colour.  The  other  is  the 
Hebrew'  Character,  another  early  species,  exhibiting  a 
curious  design  on  the  wings.  Its  body  has  long  scales.  Many 
more  handsome  species  may  be  found  in  the  list,  as 
“  Rustics,”  “  Gothics,”  “  Brocades,”  and  their  kindred. — 
Entomologist. 
Hardy  Shrubs  for  Forcing. 
If  not  already  clone,  tlio,se  .shrubs  intended  for  forcing  during 
the  coming  season  should  at  once  be  picked  out,  lifted,  and 
pottecl  up  ill  some  good  loam  ivithout  delay.  This  done,  plunge 
them  in  ashes  outside,  tO'  protect  the  pots  from  frosts,  until  they 
are  required.  Those  plants  that  have  remained  in  pots  since 
they  were  forced  last  season,  should  have  .some  of  the  old  soil 
picked  off,  and  receive  a  top-dressing  of  loam  and  cow  dung. 
In  hardy  shrub  forcing  a  great  mistake  is  often  made  by  intro¬ 
ducing  the  plants  into  too  high  a  temperature  for  a  .start ;  the 
result  is,  either  the  flower  buds  go  blind,  or  if  they  come  to 
maturity  are  very  unsati.sfactory.  Take  the  plants  inside  in 
good  time,  and  allow  them  to  come  on  gently  in  a  day  tempera¬ 
ture  of  oOdeg  to  o.odeg  ;  syringe  them  daily  to  assist  them  in 
starting  into  growth.  Raise  the  temperature  as  soon  as  they 
are  nicely  started,  to  GOdeg  to-  6.5deg,  and  later — if  occasion 
demands  it — to  70deg  by  day.  As  soon  as  the  first  blooms  are 
observed  to  expand,  remove  the  plants  but  of  the  high  tempera¬ 
ture,  and  gradually  inure  them  to  that  prevailing  in  the  con¬ 
servatory  or  house  in  which  it  is  intended  to  arrange  them. 
One  of  the  mo.st  popular  plants  for  forcing  is  the  Azalea 
mollis.  Though  comparatively  useless  as  cut  blooms  they  are  in 
great  demand  for  the  conservatory,  which  place  their  glowing 
tints  brighten  up  considerably.  The  yellow  variety,  Anthony 
Koster,  is  generally  admitted  to  be  finest  Azalea  mollis;  while 
occidentalis  and  Daviesi  run  very  close  for  second  honours. 
Closely  allied  to  the  Azaleas  are  Rhododendrons  [Azaleas  ai'e 
now  botanically  cla.ssed  as  .Rhododendrons. — En.].  Although 
when  in  bloom  they  do  not  pre.sent  such  a  profuse  mass  of  flower 
as  do  the  Azaleas,  the  Rhododendons  are  of  greater  utility  for 
cut  bloom,  which  is  an  important  factor  in  most  establishments. 
To  attempt  to-  pick  out  the  best  varieties  is  a  rather  difficult 
matter,  as  tastes  vary  so,  and  the  range  of  colour  embraced  is 
so  wide.  A  few'  tried  and  reliable  sorts  for  forcing  may  be  enume¬ 
rated  in.stead  :  Cynthia  (rose  colour).  Purity.  John  Waterer  (car¬ 
mine),  Lord  Derby  (dark;  spotted).  Airs.  John  Waterer  (bright 
crimson),  and  Mrs.  T.  Agnew'  (white). 
With  Lilacs,  some  exuerience  a  difficulty  in  successfully 
bringing  the  plants  into-  bloom.  Immature  wood  is  sometimes 
the  cause  of  this  :  but  very  cften  the  cause  can  be  ascribed  to- 
introducing  the  plants  into  too  high  a  temperature  at  the  com¬ 
mencement.  Alarie  Legrange,  Charles  X.,  Souvenir  de  L. 
Spath — a  magnificent  variety — and  alba  grandiflora  are  among 
the  best  for  forcing.  Tlie  Guelder  Rose  (Viburnum  Opulus  and 
V.  plicatum)  are  worthy  of  a  place  iii  the  forcing  house.  Their 
large,  sno-w'  Avhite  trusses  at^  both  .showy  and  useful. 
Other  shrubs  suitable  for  forcing  are  Laburnum,  Staphylea 
colchica,  Weigela  rosea  and  W.  amabilis.  Wistaria  sinensis, 
Deutzia  gracilis  and  D.  candidissima.  Primus  sinensis,  and 
Spiraea  Thunbergi,  S.  Eumalda,  and  S.  Reevesiana.  few' 
plants  of  Acer  Negundo  variegata,  and  A.  aurea  should,  if  space 
permits,  be  also  included  ;  their  bright  and  picturesque  foliage 
is  very  attractive. — G.  R. .  Waddesdon. 
Northern  Star  Potato. — It  is  stated  that  a  market  gardener 
of  Daventry  (Northampton),  Air.  W.  L.  Bird,  has  obtained  9321bs 
of  Northern  Star  Potatoes  from  lib  of  seed. 
The  Potato  Boom. — On  Tuesday,  the  22nd  ult.,  at  Gip.sy 
Bridge  C'hapel,  near  Bo.ston,  six  tubers  of  the-  famous  Northern 
vStar  variety  w'ere  sold  by  auction  at  the  handsome  sum  -of 
13s.  4d.  The  w'elght  of  the  six  tubers  being  lllb,  the  price 
works  out  at  the  extraordinary  figure  of  over  £995  p3r  ton. 
The  tubers  were  given  by  Air.  T.  Kime. 
