neck are two brown transverse stripes bent forwards. In the month of August or September the larva is fully grown, and ready for its change. It now leaves the corn-heap and betakes itself to its winter quarters. The cracks and fissures in the floor, in the walls, and in the roof of the granaries, are full of larvæ at this time; they gnaw the wood into fine chips, from which they form themselves a cocoon or pupa-case in the same way as they previously formed their web. In this case the larvae remains without taking any nourishment the whole winter. Not till March, April, or even May, according as the warm weather sets in, is it transformed into

a brown pupa, the posterior part of which is much lighter than the other part, and the last segment of which is provided with two points. In about three weeks the pupa pushes itself by means of these points nearly half out of its case; and in about half an hour afterwards the skin splits and the moth comes out.-(Treatise on Insects.)

When grain is affected with this grub, the most effectual remedy is to submit the grain for some hours to a heat of about 200°. This kills the grub, but the grain is afterwards just as good for grinding, and probably for sowing too, as if it had not been thus heated.

WHAT the Baobab is among trees, and the Rafflesia | Arnoldii is among parasites, the Victoria Lotus, or Water Lily, stands forth among the water plants. It is the foremost, the most beautiful, and the sweetest of all that dwell within the waters, and, therefore, fitly dedicated to our Island Queen. Not one of the least extraordinary facts connected with this sovereign of the Water lilies is that, familiar to Europeans as have been the products of South America for some centuries, traversed as have been her rivers, ransacked as have been her mountains and streams for their natural productions, and though the seeds of this very plant were known in her markets, yet this, one of the monarchs of the vegetable world, was not even indistinctly known until the year 1827.

We have now before us an appropriate biography of this beautiful aquatic, in one of the most elegant little volumes recently issued from the press. It is entitled, The Royal Water Lily of South America, and the Water Lilies of our own Land; their History and Cultivation. Its author is Mr. Lawson, to whom our pages are indebted for a monthly comment on our "Wild Flowers." We recommend it without any reservation to our readers, for they will find in it all that is at present known relative to the Victoria Lotus, with some very good coloured illustrations of its appearance, and of the appearance of our native Water lilies when floating in their appropriate element.

The Victoria Lotus, as is stated by Mr. Sowerby, has been noticed under the six following names by the authors, and at the dates attached to them :

"Euryale Amazonica, Poeppig, 1832; Nymphæa Victoria, Schomburgk, 1837; Victoria Regina, Gray, 1837; Victoria Regalis (Gray)? 1837; Victoria Regia, Lindley, 1837Hooker, 1846; Victoria Cruziana, D'Orbigny, 1840. It is clear that the oldest of these names is Euryale Amazonica (and unless it be thought proper to accept the provincial names, one of them must be employed); now, therefore, that it is found that the plant does not belong to the genus Euryale, and that it forms the type of a new genus, the specific name Amazonica ought to be retained, or rather it ought never to have been altered. As for the 'permission of her Majesty,' our loyalty need not to be alarmed, for it appears most probable that the 'permission' only applied to the name Victoria along with the generic name Nymphæa in Sir R. Schomburgk's letter before it was revised, Regina being an afterthought. Her Majesty will not be offended by that name being adopted which is most in accordance with accepted rules. I would, therefore, call it Victoria Amazonica. The Victoria Cruziana of D'Orbigny is supposed to be only a variety."

Now, as the new flower is certainly not an Euryale, and there are sufficient distinctive characters to separate it from the old Nymphaea, there can be no objection to the next generic name, VICTORIA, even if founded only upon the claim of botanical precedence. However, a big-endian-and-little-endian controversy has arisen as to the right, founded on the order of time, of calling it

regia, or regina—a dispute so important that we shall not venture to intrude into the contest.

Regia, meaning royal, we shall venture to use it as the most appropriate, until we are convinced that by so doing we shall be guilty of botanical heresy, and will now leave such weighty matters to make room for what is more agreeable, a sketch of the history of the plant.

Victoria regia, the Royal Victoria Water Lotus, is found in some of the far inland and still waters connected with the branches of the Rivers Plate and Amazon; and the first botanist whose heart was gladdened by its discovery was M. Hænke; he found it on the marshy banks of the River Mamoré, somewhere about the year 1801; but M. Hænke was added to the martyrs of science, and almost the only note of his discovery will be found in the following extract from the papers of a subsequent discoverer :

"In the year 1827, M. A. D'Orbigny discovered this vegetable wonder on the river Paranà, at a part of this majestic stream' nearly a league in breadth, although distant 900 cated specimens, along with his other collections, to the miles from its junction with the Rio Plata. He communiMuseum of Natural History at Paris, in the same year. He gives a very interesting account of the Victoria Water lily, and also of another allied plant, which he supposes to be a distinct species, although we feel more inclined to follow the general opinion of botanists in considering it a variety only, different flowers from the same root, varying in their appearmore especially since Mr. Spruce has recently observed ance, and uniting the characters of Victoria Regia and M. D'Orbigny's second species, for which he proposes the name of Victoria Cruziana. To the Botanical Magazine are we indebted for M. D'Orbigny's remarks in an English dress, and these are withal so interesting, besides containing almost all the information that is known concerning the supposed second species, that we must introduce them here at full length. He says:- If there exists in the animal kingdom creatures whose size, compared with our own, commands admiration by their enormous stature; if we also gaze with wonder on the giants of the vegetable kingdom, we may well take especial pleasure in surveying any peculiarly wonderful species of those genera of plants which are already known to us only in more moderate dimensions. I shall endeavour to express not only my own feelings, but those of MM. Bonpland and Hænke, for we were all alike struck with profound emotion on beholding the two species of l'ictoria which form the subject of this note. For eight months I had been investigating, in all directions, the province of Corrientes, when, early in 1827, descending the river Parana, in a frail pirogue, I arrived at a part of this majestie stream where, though more than 900 miles distant from its junction with the Rio Plata, its breadth yet nearly attained a league. The surrounding scenery was in keeping with this splendid river; all was on a grand and imposing scale, and being myself, only accompanied by two Guarani Indians, I silently contem plated the wild and lovely view around me; and I must confess that, amid all this watery waste, I longed for some vegeEre long, reaching a place called the Arroyo de San Josè, I tation on which my eye might rest, and longed in vain! observed that the marshes on either side the river were bordered with a green and floating surface; and the Guaranis literally water-platter, from y, water, and rupė, a dish. Its told me that they called the plant in question Yrupé,' general aspect reminded me of our Nénuphar, belonging

A FIVE-POUND GREENHOUSE.

SINCE We wrote upon this subject at page 59, we have received so many inquiries for further details, that we have had no alternative but to trouble our friend J. B., and by the aid of his pen, and by the aid of the pencil of his wife, who is no mean artist, we lay the following before our readers, requesting such of them as have sent us queries to glean answers as they travel on :--

"My blind is fixed at the top of the roof, the roller passing

up and down when required, as shown in the accompanying drawings. A thick string passes from the hand round a pulley fixed at the corner of the roof, and continues onward to the wheel attached to one end of the pole. Supposing the wheel to

"Now, for other queries in order. I was not content with the pan only, because it did not serve the same purpose as the oven. The pan being small and shallow, and placed immediately upon the stove, would get very hot in weather which required all the heat the stove could produce; and, therefore, it will be perceived I did not use it until the sharpest part of the winter had passed; and then, with the reduced temperature, it was quite hot enough to strike cuttings of Verbenas and Petunias in ten or twelve days, to pot off and prepare for bedding out. My oven being much lower in temperature, would not have accomplished this, but neither would the pan have suited my seeds; in the pan, the seedlings would have spindled up in a few days, weakly plants at the best, and every one must have been potted and preserved; whereas, coming up gently in the oven (which was more than a yard one way, and nearly as much the other), my seeds came up sturdy fellows in rows four inches apart. I had two dozen different kinds of seed in, all at one time, and when the weather suited to plant them out, a

small trowel lifted a few at a time, without any disturbance, and they rejoiced in their new situation as if no removal had occurred. It will also be seen that, as the weather became milder, there would be no necessity to continue the heat under the oven, except when the house required it. On the contrary, the slips of Verbenas, &c., when once put in to the sand, required a continuous heat. Another reason why the oven was preferable for general use was, that the bricks around, although loose and offering no hindrance to free circulation of the heat, grew warm in themselves, and increased the general temperature. Another reason was, that in order to replenish the stove, it was needful to lift the pan off every time this operation was performed; and as more delicate arms than mine were sometimes engaged in this operation, we did not continue it longer than was abso lutely required.

"The pan we found useful for striking slips and germinating such seeds as cucumber, pumpkin, Ipomea, Indian convolvulus, and such things as when struck, or up two inches, could be potted off. I have now (Oct. 23rd) fine blooming plants of Salvias, Ageratum, Celsias, Nierembergia, and of many other plants whose names I do not know (the slips of which I begged from my friends, the working gardeners, while visiting their houses in February and the beginning of March), together with almost every variety of Fuchsia, all of which owe their origin to my pan.

"The oven is suitable for seeds and such things as are not required to grow quickly, and yet which are greatly holpen by a slight bottom heat, and which, again, will not suffer by having that under heat occasionally removed.

"The charcoal I get is procurable at any of the London dealers, price 1s. for a two-bushel sack; the pieces about the size of a walnut. It is well to keep by you some larger charcoal for lighting, and also when the weather is extremely cold to mix with the finer, in order to increase the draught. The quantity consumed depends on the coldness of the weather.

diameter. The action is ! thus:-You pull the string passing over the pulley, which unwinds the string turned many times round the wheel, and as the string is gathered into the hand the pole turns round, winds up the blind, and proceeds with its burden until safely landed under its wooden covering at the top. There is some little accommodation required to learn how best to get the far end of the pole to reach its destination at the same time as the near end; but this, like ail such matters, simply requires a slight observation to make the arrangement simple and effectual. My covering or locker for the blind, when drawn up, works on hinges and shuts down, resting on the roof; thus securing the blind from rain

or damp.

"The bearers I mentioned are four in number, about three inches from the roof, half an inch thick, and are not intended for strength, but to preserve the heat generated within, and to exclude more effectually the outer cold as ceive that my bearers project beyond the glass at the lower once directed in THE COTTAGE GARDENER. You will perends. I let the blind down one foot beyond the glass, which, in keeping out the frost. I think, will quite serve the purpose of a blind for the front

"My winter blind is composed of a brown coarse stout stuff, such as is used for packing, namely two yards wide, at 9d. per yard. Before I fixed up my cloth, it was stretched seed oil. The rain runs off, leaving the under side quite on the ground, and brushed well over twice with boiled linthreads and adds to the warmth, besides rendering it more dry. This oiling also fills up the intervals between the to remove the winter covering altogether when done with. durable. If no summer shade is required, it would be better "I gave the stove maker 2s. for the pan and for altering the register.

"I have had my greenhouse but one winter, and fashioned it for the sole purpose of keeping my Geraniums; therefore, geraniums of every variety formed my main store. I did, indeed, manage to keep Petunias, and Verbenas, and Phloxes, and a few other trifles in blossom the greater part of the winter; and, for the first season, these were sufficient gratification for a young artiste. This winter I am trying a higher flight with some other plants, but how I shall succeed time only will show. I begin well with Geraniums, likely, in succession, to flower for months to come; the seratifolia Fuchsia flowers all the winter I am told; the Citisus is a good plant, and the Acacias, or Mimosas, are looking well for early flower. I have also the Lotus promising to blossom for some time to come, and the Cuphea. By planting slips in autumn, I hope to have Petunias and Terbenas in flower through the winter, though inferior to those invigorated by the summer sun. There are the Crassulas, the Sedum, and the Mesembryanthemum of that tribe, and the Plumbago Capensis. Then for climbers, I have the Tropaeolum Lobbianum and the Cobea scandens now in flower. Then there are the Tree violets and the Auricula, old, indeed, in name, but scarcely to be matched by the moderns.

"P.S. I have been asked, whether the pan would do for hot water? The removal of the pan with water would be dangerous to the cinders and sand above, unless it had a water-tight covering; but no doubt it would answer. The temperature of my house (see the dimensions), could be raised by the stove I had, about 15°, with the register open wide. Leaving the register in a certain position, the heat evolved would continue the same, but the temperature of the house would be regulated by the external atmosphere. "J. B."

FRONT OF GREENHOUSE INSIDE.

THE FRUIT-GARDEN.

PROTECTION FROM FROST.-The fig is one of the first in the fruit way to require a little defence against severe weather; but there is no occasion, indeed it is bad policy, to cover up too soon, for such frosts as occur before December sets in tend rather to harden the wood than otherwise. Moreover, covering for a very long period is apt to engender an amount of confined damp, which is in a degree prejudicial to the bark of most things in the vegetable kingdom. Close covering should be avoided with the fig: this is a tree which does not need much protection. There are several modes of covering practised, but we are not aware of any better than that of sticking in either spruce boughs, or fronds of fern, as thick as possible; commencing at the bottom of the wall, and overlaying each tier, as in thatching a building or stack. Spruce is particularly adapted for the purpose, for it has the desirable property of casting its leaves in a | progressive way in March and April; thus gradually inuring the tender and swelling bud or fruit germ to the light and air.

Some persons tie straw in wisps, and hang these on lines, overlapping each line successively, as with the boughs. This is, however, rather too fussy a proceeding; we would have all practices of this kind reduced to a minimum amount of both trouble and expense, which two terms indeed, as to gardening in general, are nearly synonymous.

In former days it used to be a practice, with some gardeners in the neighbourhood of London, to nnnail the figs entirely from the wall, then to prune them, and finally to bend and strap them down almost parallel with the horizon; they would then closely encase them with mats, and really the whole proceeding, when summed up, was tolerably expensive, and without any commensurate benefits.

Those who cannot get spruce boughs, will do well to resort to the use of new straw, which may be thus applied-Let the operator cast a sharp eye over the tree or trees, and see if he cannot throw the whole of the wood into three, four, or more groups, according to their extent. By a group we mean the fastening, from right and left, a considerable number of supple or inferior branches to one of an older and sturdier character, and which thus being averse to bending is eligible to form a centre to each group. An extent of walling of some half a dozen yards in length may thus be thrown into

five or six groups, and they may be drawn very close together with either willows or string. The groups will, of course, be nearly perpendicular, and the operator may now merely tie straw (drawn into thick wisps) all the way up and around each group. This plan is so simple that an active labourer will complete half a dozen yards in a half day's work. Of course the whole of the group must be surrounded with straw, and some may be tucked amongst and behind the shoots towards the wall. We never knew them suffer during the hardest winter if thus protected; still the fir boughs are better, as requir ing no unnailing of the trees.

One thing must here be observed; where figs are very fruitful it is not unusual to meet with a host of little fruit late in the autumn; all those which are as large as a horse bean may at once be stripped off, as they are only exhausting the tree,-being sure of destruction. Another point: figs should not be autumn-pruned. Let all the shoots remain on until the buds begin to swell in the end of April, and then the veriest tyro may distinguish with ease between the good or bearing shoots and the inferior. After the figs are covered, some coarse litter should be applied over the surface of the roots close to the wall, in order to protect the collar from injury.

THE BRITISH QUEEN STRAWBERRY.-Here is another fruit belonging to the protected section, and one so valuable, when highly cultivated, as to be deserving of a considerable amount of care. Everybody admits that it is somewhat tender, as regards extreme weather we mean; as to its presumed tenderness as to cultural operations, that we have nothing to do with at present. Where they are grown in rows, we advise an immediate application of mulch, of a somewhat littery character, such as the half decayed linings of old melon frames, of about the texture of mushroom dung when sweetened. This should be tucked in closely, and even a little introduced with the hand amongst the crowns.

of

In addition, it will be found capital practice to stick fir boughs, or the fronds of fern, amongst them, so as to arrest the radiation from the root upwards; and such may be introduced tolerably thick; that this will obstruct the light is an argument of no weight whatever between the end of November and the middle of February. About the latter period the mulch will have to be partially dressed away from the crowns, and may then be spread between the rows, where it serves the double purpose manuring the soil and encouraging a permanency of moisture to the surface fibres; for we have known strawberry crowns (somewhat elevated above the ordinary level) suffering from drought, as to their surface fibres, in the month of May, whilst all the while the lower roots were saturated in a cold and undrained soil. In our opinion, by far too little attention is paid to what is termed "mulching;" in the early part of May, or even a fortnight sooner in some parts, we would have all naked soil between strawberry rows covered two inches thick.

We do hope that our gardening friends will thoroughly repudiate the idea of cutting away the decaying leaves at this period. Let them rest assured that nature, not accident, did not decree their shrivelling on the plant in vain. This is one of the cases in which a desire to carry out neatness of appearance must give way to a principle of culture. Neatness is, indeed, a great essential in all gardening, but as soon as it becomes antagonistic to the greatest amount of success, the point should be instantly given up, unless the circumstances are very peculiar indeed.

These remarks are intended to apply to all our strawberries, for in no one case have we ever found a benefit in this unnatural and forced procedure, but the reverse. The inventor of this piece of error has probably before now paid the debt of nature, or we should almost desire