69 



be forgotten. Nothing is lovelier in the hills : nothing more deli- 

 ciously sweet. 



No rule as to distance in planting can be given. Captain 

 Christys may be put in 3 feet apart ; Marie Van Houttes must 

 have 10 or more. All depends upon the manner of growth of 

 «ach rose. 



Nothing has been said about pruning, because this is a subject 

 which hardly admits of successful treatment in writing. It is so 

 entirely a matter of practice and general horticultural intelligence. 

 Dead wood should, of course, be cut out, and branches that inter- 

 fere with each other. Where roses are much cut for the house, 

 this is probably in itself a sufficient pruning, and everybody 

 knows that the old flowers should be taken off. 



CANKER OF COCOA. 



The Canker or Coral Spot Disease of Cocoa stems is due to a 

 species of Nectria, as explained in the Bulletin of the Botanical De- 

 partment, Jamaica, Aug. 1901, pages 121, 122. The following 

 notes are taken from a leaflet published by the Board of Agricul- 

 ture and Fisheries, London, on a Coral Spot Disease which attacks 

 trees in the British Isles. Attention is directed to the ' Preventive 

 Measures,' which are applicable also in Jamaica. 



Coral-Spot Disease. 



One of the most common and most generally distributed of 

 British fungi is that to which the name of Coral-Spot Disease has 

 been given. {Nectria cinnabarina). The first stage of the disease 

 takes the form of bright coral-red warts, which are about the size 

 of millet seed, and are thickly scattered over the surface of dead 

 or dying branches of the tree attacked. These red warts are 

 very conspicuous, and at one time this condition of the fungus 

 was considered to be an independent plant, and called Tubercu- 

 laria vulgaris. At this stage numerous and exceedingly minute 

 spores are produced, and readily scattered by the wind or by in- 

 sects. 



At a later stage the coral-red changes to a rusty-brown colour. 

 The surface becomes rough with projecting points, and a second 

 form of fruit is produced. In many instances the fungus passes 

 through all its stages on dead branches, and in such a case no 

 direct injury will be done, but rather a certain amount of good 

 consequent upon the hastened decay of the wood on which the 

 fungus is growing. The indirect danger arising from its presence 

 on dead wood is the possibility of infection of living plants by 

 the spores produced. The earliest indication of disease caused 

 by Nectria cinnabarina is the drooping and yellowing of the leaves, 

 which soon die and fall to the ground. In a few weeks the bark 

 becomes slightly shrivelled, and the characteristic coral-red warts 



