IT't 



HORTICULTURE 



November 3, 1917 



luu ;ui\L .i.-kcd mi; lu ;;i\c )uu 

 more of niv «'Xi)erieiice with [>a»o- 

 nies hesido wluit was jiulilislicd in 

 HonTicri.niti: for May 12th and 

 July 7th. and 2 let, 1917. As one 

 of these letters was criticised for 

 not mentioninj: tlie jH-ople wlio liad 

 worki'd in this (leld, I want here to 

 say that ymi must mit look for his- 

 tory, liiltliogi-aphy or originality in 

 these letters, which are intended 

 mainly to be "just statiag eviden- 

 tial facts beyon" all argument," — 

 like the voice of the land breeze 

 McAndrews beard. 



You may rememlKT in a former 



letter 1 said if a psixiny was attacked 

 by the hollow-stem fungus, in the 

 buds before they came through the ground in the 

 spring, or at the base of the stalks afterward, the rotten 

 tissue eaused l)y the microscopic organisms following 

 the fungus attack should be entirely cut out, though 

 the operation left only detached roots, each with a 

 single bud. The pieces of the root were then to be 

 soaked in lime sulphur. As lime sulphur is quite 

 a bother ti> make on a .small scale it is better to 



buy it. For large 



plants affected 

 by the fungus, I 

 use a common 

 twelve quart 

 water in'g ]iot, 

 filled within tAvo 

 inches of the top 

 with water to 

 which six ounces 

 of B w k e r ' s 

 Lime-Sulphur is 

 added. Each 

 plant gets one- 

 fifth of this 

 fpiantity eA'ery 

 week during the 

 growing season. 

 Tt is poured on 

 all sides of the 

 stalks, that it 

 mav run down 

 into the cavities 

 in the earth 



Fisi lit: 



Figure 1. 



made by the waving of the stalk- 

 by the wind. Until a garden is 

 badly aifectcd, the fungus when 

 living in the earth, is mostly near 

 the crowns of the plants. If vou 

 dig up a pffiony in the fall that 

 had been treated in this way, you 

 will find the earth grey at the base of Jthe stems and the 

 new buds uninjured. Those shown in the photograph 

 numbered 'I'liree are examples. They and their prede- 

 cessors liad this weekly dose, yet showed lovely "pink and 

 wliite'" complexions, contrasting well with the grey back- 

 ground. In this letter I want to tell you not to despair of 

 saving a plant of a rare variety though it has entirely 

 ilisappearc<l above ground and you find on digging that 

 the rot has destroyed the whole crown, leaving only 

 detached budless roots with the large ends rotten. Cut 

 off the atfected ends, tar the fresh surfaces after soaking 

 in lime sulphur and plant two inches deep. With good 

 luck you will get some new plants the next year from 

 lliese l)iidless roots. The size the plants will attain in 

 a given time will depend somewhat on the size of the 

 pieces of the root used. The photographs show this 

 better than words, 'i'hat numbered One was made from 

 a plant tiiat was a bit of budless root ))lanted when only 

 seven millimetres in diameter (about 7/25ths of an 

 inch) and pliotographed after one year. The adven- 

 titious bud from which this plant arose came in an 

 unusual jjosition. Generally the new buds start nearer 

 tlie large end, as shown in the other photographs. 

 The photograph numbered Two is from a larger bud- 

 less root two years after planting. That numbered 

 Three is from a plant that aro.se from a budless root 

 seventeen millimetres (about 17/25ths of an inch) two 

 years after it was placed in the ground. When photo- 

 graphed the root measured in the same place was about 

 thirty-four millimetres (about 1 and 9/25ths of an inch) 

 and wa-s fifty centimetres long (about 20 inches). 

 From it all the other roots have formed. The original 

 root is marked .\. The plant had three strong stalks, 

 two with well developed flowers, and when dug to be 

 inctured it had eiirht strong buds, some of which show 

 in the picture. Their size may be determined as the 

 photograph is one-half the size of the root. The va- 

 liety was the lovely Tourangelle, bred by my esteemed 

 correspondent. ^lonsieur .\. Des.sert, a master of the art 



