144 



FOREIGN NOTICES. 



of ash-topped potatoes in our garden exhibits une- 

 quivocal-marks of disease in every case accom- 

 panied by the little Dactylium. Tlie portion of 

 the stem near the tubers is blotched with brown 

 spots, wiiich enter deeply into the substance, «o 

 that not above half the cells are in a condition to 

 carry on the circulation. These spots soon spread 

 to the strinjTs, which are already greatly injured, 

 and from thence to the surface of the tubers, 

 which are brown and discoloured, though the di;- 

 cay is at present merely superficial. Upon the 

 spots, whether on the tubers, strings, or base of 

 the stem, the delicate white mould is distinctly 

 visible, and the same mould is also present on the 

 old sets. 



It is to be observed that the affection is entirely 

 distinct in appearance from that of the genuine 

 potato murrain in its earliest stages, and would 

 at once be pronounced to be so by any of our pea- 

 sants. We cannot state positively that this is the 

 commencement of the second form of potato dis- 

 ease to which we have alluded, as our observa- 

 tions have not been carried out to the full devel- 

 opment of the affection J ail that we assert is, that 

 a malady, distinct from the potato murrain, does 

 exist amongst potatoes, and evidently one of a se- 

 rious nature, as every malady must be which de- 

 stroys the tissues on which the perfect develop- 

 ment of the plant and tuber mutually depends, 

 and tiiat this disease commences not in the leaves 

 but in the lowest part of the stem. Some months 

 may pass before the affection runs throu<.'h its 

 course, but we shall watch its progress with in- 

 terest, in the hope of gaining some positive infor- 

 mation on the subject. Gard. Chronicle. 



Obituary. — We regret to annoimce the death 

 of the Rev. William Kirby, M.A., Rector of Bar- 

 ham, Suffolk, at that place, where he had resided 

 68 years, on Thursday, July 4, in the 91st year 

 of his age. 



Mr. Kirby was honorary president of the Ento- 

 mological Society of London, president of the Ips- 

 wich Museum, and Fellow of the Royal, Linnaean, 

 Zoological, and Geological Societies, besides being 

 honorary member of several foreign societies, and 

 has left behind him an imperishable name as one 

 of the first entomologists of this or any age. This 

 title he would have assured to himself had he 

 written no other work than his '■' Monographia 

 Apuin Anglias," published in 1801, in two vol- 

 unies, 8vo.,in which, from materials almost whol- 

 ily collected by himself, and the plates of which 

 ■were mostly etched by his own hand (having 

 itaken lessons in the art for this express purpose,) 

 he described upwards of 200 of the wild bees of 

 this country, with a largeness and correctness of 

 view as to their family (or as they are now con- 

 sidered, generic) divisions, that excited the warm- 

 est admiration of British and foreign entomolo- 

 gists. But when to this great work we add his 

 other entomological labors — his numerous and 



valuable papers in the " Transactions of the Lin- 

 nean Society;'' the "Introduction to Entomolo- 

 gy," written in conjunction with Mr. Spence ; the 

 entomological portion of his Bridgewater Trea- 

 tise '' On the History. Habits, and Instincts of 

 Animals;" and his description (occupying a quarto 

 volume,) of the Insects of the " Fauna Boreali« 

 Americana" of Sir John Richardson; it will be 

 evident how largely and successfully he has con- 

 tributed to the extension of his favorite science; 

 and all this without encroaching in the slightest 

 degree on his professional or social duties, for, 

 while ranking so high as an entomologint, he was 

 during his long life a most exemplary and active 

 clergyman, beloved by his parishioners of all 

 ranks, and one of the warmest of friends, and 

 most simple minded, kind hearted, and pious of 

 men. lb. .... 



Names of Plants. — The importance of having 

 all jiiunts, including fruit trees, properly named, 

 even in small gardens, cannot be loo clearly point- 

 ed out. A plant may have beautiful foliage and 

 flowers, but without a name it yields compara- 

 tively little interest. Every plant has a history 

 of its own, and the first step towards obtaining a 

 knowledge of that history is its name; the next 

 its native countrv and year of introduction into 

 our gardens. A garden of plants without names 

 is like a library of books without their exterior 

 superscriptions. Numbers are only uselul to nur- 

 serymen. All garden plants should be properly 

 named. The season of propagation i» chiefly 

 when plants are out of bloom, and the want of 

 diligent care in retaining their names too fre- 

 quently leads to a confused nomenclature. The 

 vast numbers of new plants which are being eon- 

 tiruially introduced, as well as the host of garden 

 Varieties every year brought under the amateur's 

 notice, is quite perplexinijr to him, unless constant 

 attention to correct labelling is observed. Then, 

 again, with regard to fruits, how much uncer- 

 tainty would be removed by keeping labels of a 

 permanent kind to every tree. Small gardens can- 

 not, or ought not, to find room for indifferent 

 kinds of fruits, or uncertain bearers, hence the 

 importance and the advantage of knowing every 

 kind we cultivate. How much trouble is thereby 

 avoided ! for it frequently happens that the diffi- 

 culty and expense of obtaining the name of a sin- 

 gle fruit are much greater than the attention no- 

 ccssarv in keeping the names to the small collec- 

 tion which the limited space of a suburban garden 

 admits. 



With respect to the particular kind of label 

 which it is most desirable to employ, there is a 

 good deal of uncertainty. Some persons prefer 

 some of the new kinds now in existence, while 

 others adhere to the old wooden label, which, after 

 all, has not yet been very satisfactorily superse- 

 ded; whatever kind of material is employed, how- 

 ever, the names should be accurately and distinctly 

 written. lb. 



