A butterfly now pauses
With a fluttering of wings
We think he is always
silent
But his vibrant color sings
Black dots and lines are
Graceful notes with a
melody of gold
It’s natures kind of music
So lovely to behold.
Nancy Gotter Gates
Mr. Trevithick and Mrs. Grindley lived in a large
rambling house at the end of Stoke Abbott. Mr. Trevithick was the
grandson of the man who made the Beam engine or steam engine in
Cornwall. Mrs. Grindley was, …well, Mrs. Grindley, one of the
wealthy "gentry" class. The house and gardens were extensive with
the usual lawns and hedges with beautiful perennial flowers in
borders. Behind the well trimmed copper beech hedge was the
vegetable garden, several greenhouses, manicured pathways and of
course, the potting shed with everything being cared for by Mr.
Laven, the gardener. Mum helped in the house a few times a week,
serving dinner, washing up, turning down the beds and putting in the
hot water bottles at night. Because I was young, I went too.
On Saturday morning, I was given the job of
catching cabbage butterflies and killing them for a payment of 1
penny each. At first I wasn’t doing too well, but after a few times
and thinking of all those potential pennies, I became quite
proficient. Unfortunately, I was sacked because I was doing too well
and earned over Half a crown <2 and 6 pence> in one session. When
Frank Laven left their employ, he went to Devon. There he became the
head gardener for Agatha Christie at her house, "Greenway", on the
river Dart which is just above Dartmouth, near the Greenway Quay
ferry boat which went across to Dittisham.
The Cabbage Butterfly (pieris. rapae) was
introduced to the United States from Europe about 1860. It has
spread across North America and become a pest to cabbage, kale,
broccoli, cauliflower, other mustards, and the garden nasturtium.
The Cabbage Butterfly is one of the first to emerge in the spring
and can produce 2 to 8 broods per season. Another butterfly, the
checkered white or common white, occurs all over temperate North
America. It was more common before the cabbage butterfly arrived and
spread. The larva of common white also feeds on cabbage and other
mustards. Adults occur in early spring and produce at least 3 broods
per season.
