1876.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



23 



■Larch." This subject, whether considered eco- 

 nomically or_ scientifically, was, he said, the 

 most important which forced itself on the atten- 

 tion both of forest owners and foresters, for the 

 failure of the Larch had involved vast pecuniary 

 loss in many districts of Britain. The principal 

 causes of the Larch failure he classed under the 

 following heads :— (1) Heart-rot, dry-rot, or pump- 

 ing ; (2) surface-rot, cancer, cankering or blister- 

 ing, and top-rot; (3) the Larch bug or blight. 

 The first was caused by excessive droughts, 

 occasional saturations, and fungoid attacks on 

 the roots, and the prevention was to avoid plant- 

 ing Larch in places that were likely to favor 

 these causes. Surface-rot, cancer, and blistering, 

 and top-rot were due to the effects of late spring 

 frosts occurring after the sap flow and growth 

 were in full progress, and to autumn fi'osts set- 

 ting in before the growth of the season was fully 

 matured. The prevention here was a more ju- 

 dicious selection of soils in which to plant young 

 Larch. They should avoid warm southerly 

 exposures that excited a too early spring growth, 

 and more especially all low, fiat, moist districts 

 that were subject to cold ground fogs or hoar 

 frosts. The bug which attacked the Larch did 

 not appear to be a native of this country, but 

 had been imported with the tree. It was found 

 most prevalent in low, hollow, sheltered situations 

 where thinning had been neglected. No perfect 

 preventive of the ravages of the bug had been 

 discovered, and the society should ofier prizes 

 for the best " steep " that would destroy the in- 

 sects or their eggs. 



Immediate Effects op Cross Fertilization 

 ON Fruits. — Everyone knows that whenever In- 

 dian corn is fertilized by strange pollen there is 

 an immediate result on the grain of corn, but it 

 has been contended that this is not a fruit, as 

 pomologists understand it. Some think there is 

 an immediate effect on melons and squashes, but 

 just how much of the change seen is due to a 

 natural tendency to vary and how much to fer- 

 tilization is not quite clear. The following is a 

 contribution to this subject, from the pen of Prof. 

 C. E. Bessey, as we believe : 



" C. W. Garfield, foreman of the Michigan Ag- 

 ricultural College Gardens, reports as follows: 

 "We made ten crosses, employing ten speciniens 

 in each cross — one hundred in all. Perfected 

 fruit was obtained in all but three instances. In 

 only three did we observe any variation in the 

 specimens, save that "which would come as an ef- 



fect of the gauze employed to prevent the rav- 

 ages of the codling moth. These cases were : 1st. 

 Wagener upon Tallman Sweet. There was a 

 modification of flavor quite noticeable, the fruit 

 being sub-acid. 2nd. Tallman Sweet upon As- 

 trachan. In this instance there was a manifest 

 change in color, flavor and shape. The apples 

 were quite mild to the taste ; the color was very 

 much modified, and the form was that of a flat 

 apple. 3d. Tallman Sweet upon Wagener. The 

 modification here was noticeable in all the speci- 

 mens, in flavor and color. Two of these had no 

 gauze on them, and the difference was quite as 

 noticeable in these samples as in the remainder. 



Fungus cracking the Pear. — At the meeting 

 of the American Pomological Society at Chicago, 

 the editor of this magazine was called on some- 

 what unexpectedly to deliver an address on 

 fungi and fruit diseases. Without notes or mem- 

 oranda, he stated that the peculiar black fungus, 

 which develops on the leaves of Prince's St. Ger- 

 main and some other pears, finally leading to that 

 peculiar form of cracking, might be from some 

 one of the polymorphic forms of Eoestelia cancel- 

 lata, the fujigus which causes the leaf blight in 

 young seedling pears. It appears, however, to be 

 another kind, with the rather hard name of. Hel- 

 minthosporum pyrorum. As Mr. Meehan's re- 

 marks may be reported by the secretary for the 

 proceedings, this correction may be made in the 

 volume by those who are interested. 



Toughened Glass. — We have already noticed 

 this invention. Wlien it becomes cheap it will 

 be one of the best insurances we can have against 

 hail storms for our glass-houses. The Boston 

 Journal of Cliemistry, referring to it, says : 



" Essentially, the process consists in heating 

 glass nearly up to the softening point, and then 

 plunging it into a bath of oil or grease. But to 

 bring it to perfection has needed the patient ex- 

 perience of seven long years. M. Bastie, who is 

 a gentleman of fortune, is said to have made his 

 discovery first some seven years ago. This was 

 after many years of investigation. But though 

 he seemed to have succeeded for the moment, it 

 took two years more of continual experiments 

 before he could repeat his success. Tlie invention 

 has been patented in all European countries, 

 and soon will be throughout the civilized world." 



Rapidity of Growth in Timber Trees. — At 

 one time it was supposed that it took almost a 

 long life time for a tree to grow to any consider- 

 able size. Of late years people come to under- 



