THE GARDEN.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1191, 28 December 1894, Page 6

THE GARDEN.

A NEW PEST.

Mr W. W. Yates, a well-known Napier horticulturist, writes as follows to a local paper: Sir,—l take the liberty of enclosing some leaves of the chrysanthemum. Under the cuticles of the back part of these are the chrysalides of a pest that is new to me, and probably to others. Can you get some kind entomologist to identify these for the benefit of myself and the curious who may not be acquainted with them 1 The editor forwarded the leaves to the Rev. W. Colenso, F.R.S., who replied as follows :—Sir, —l am now able to reply to your note of enquiry of the 3rd inst., containing some chrysanthemum leaves, having upon them the larvae of some insect. On examining theai I found them to be unknown to me and probably not indigenotis ; so I sent them to Wellington to Mr Maskell (who is facile \ princeps in all such matters) and from I him-1 have just received an interesting report concerning them. Mr Maskell says : '*' The insect is the larvae of a fly, Phytomyza ajJUnis, Fallen : it came to Wellington a couple of years or so ago; but yours are the first specimens which I have seen from elsewhere. As the full-grown insect is very active on the wing I have no doubt that it will rapidly spread. This fly attacks apparently almost all the compoaitm in New Now Zealand j and as the grub bores under the surface of the leaves and mines them in numerous channels it is not only most destructive but very difficult to get at (You wiil find an account of it by me in vol. xxvi of our " Transactions, 7 ' p. 663 )" v On referring to the vol. of " Transactions N.Z. Institute" for 1893 (mentioned by Mr Maskell), I find that he had sent Home specimens to Mr Whitehead, Adviser to the Department of Agriculture in England, to ascertain the true affinities ; and Mr Whitehead, in replying, says, "This insect is very troublesome in England to many plants, mainly of the compositw. It is found in enormous quantities on chrysanthemums and on allied plants—l do not think arsenical washes would be effectual in preventing egg-laying. Spraying with paraffin or carbolic acid would be far more likely to prevent the fly from depositing eggs." I may add that I had gathered a few leaves from sonchue (sow-thistle) last autumn, both at Woodville and here on Scinde Island, which had been so curiously •" mined" and discoloured by this same insect, bub such did not possess any larvae, and I had supposed at first sight that the leaves were visited by a fungus. I am, <fcc , William Colenso. Napier, December Bth, 1891.

There is nothing more annoying, or likely to lead to more confusion, than indistinct addresses. Farmers should note that it is more business-like, and that it saves time to have their names and addresses printed on their memo forms and envelopes. They can get five hundred forms printed with envelopes to match at the Mail office for 12a 6d.