THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



33 



QUERIES and ANSWERS 



ii'e believe the greatest good can be accomplished for the grtatest 

 number, by instituting a query column; or an exchange of txpe- 

 riences, on practical propositions, by our readers. 



You are invited to contribute questions, and answer others. 



Each question as received will be gii'cn a number, the question- 

 er's name will not be published, but the source of the answer tvill 

 be given unless other-jAse requested. 



We all have something we would like to know more about. Here 

 is your opportunity to ascertain somebody's experience in just that 

 matter. 



Nothing will tend to better fellowship than helping each other. 



Tiike advantage of this "Question Box." 



Can any reader of the "Chronicle" give us any in- 

 formation as to what causes the distorted and curled 

 appearance of the young growths on antirrhinums? 

 We have a number of plants, the growths and leaves of 

 which are curled up very much after the same manner 

 that peach leaf curl affects the leaves of peach trees. 

 We have tried pinching out the affected parts, but the 

 resultant breakers are aftected the same way. We 

 hardly think that this is caused by rust, a description 

 of which appeared in the last issue of the "Chronicle." 

 J. C, Long Island. 



Can you give me any information through your 

 "Queries and Answers" column about the cultivation 

 of Gesnerias? Should they be started up in the spring 

 or fall?— H. H. A., Ohio. 



From the professional gardener's point of view, 

 which are easiest to manage and give best results, own 

 root, or grafted roses? — A. K. W., Massachusetts. 



SNAPDRAGON RUST. 



Tliiit the disease which attacked my antiri'hiniiiTis lielnni: to a 

 diU'ereiit s])ec!es of fungus to tliat referred to by Mr. Rees does 

 not appear from a practical ]iniiit of view to lie of very great 

 importance, altliougli at the same time i was iikoc than ]deased 

 to have it correctly named. In a fiuther communication ;\Ir. 

 Eces asks nie to make the correction at uiiic. "otherwise mucli 

 loss of time and money \vonld caused." I nuist confess myself 

 as heing totally unable to understand Mr. Kces' point of view 

 in making the latter remark. 



'Die following facts will. I think, lie admitted: 

 Tlie di'^ease both belong to the family of parasitic plant- known 

 as fungi. 



Tliey pro|)ogate themselves and -iircad from one idaiit to an- 

 otiier liy means of very minute spines whii-h are produced liy 

 tlie million from one pistule. 



The attack in both these cases senerally starts at the lower 

 h'aves, s]ireads upwards from one to another, soon the stem- arc 

 attacked and the plants are ultiniatidy killed. 



Mr. Kees stated to me that any one miglit mislalie one species 

 for tlie other. I presume that he means any one who i- not an 

 expert mycologist. 



It is po.-sible that in using the woids coniliatting or controlliiii;- 

 the disease I may have been niisnuilerstood. I'.arly last year in 

 tliese columns I ventured the somewhat dognnitic statement that 

 no fungous disease attacking plants can be secured so far as the 

 particular Jiart of the ho-t plant affected liy the disease is con- 

 cerned. .And T have yet to learn any rea-on- foi- altering this 

 opinion. 



.Methods of <'ondiatting and controlling a fungous disease, 

 whether it is called a ru-t. leaf -spot or anything else, are there- 

 fore only two, one only of which is suggested by Mr. Hees. that 

 of removal and destruction of diseased plants. This is of e(mrse 

 valuable in reducing sources of infeftion, providril cvcrij jihiiit of 

 jKJitiiiii iif It iilniit aHatkrd Is rcmorril licfnrc xitorcn arc prn- 

 (huctl. but this is a practical impossibility. Kven if it were 

 possible, what about the spores which started the infection '.' 

 What guarai'tee is there that some of these original s])ores are 

 not still Moating about or upon healthy ]ilants but yet unger- 

 miiiated? One would suppose that any one, es|)ecially a scieiititic 

 pathologist, acquainted with the life history of fungi, would be 

 the first to advise the use of a fungicide in addition to the de- 

 struction of diseased plants because the hitter is by itself, as 

 all jn-actical men know, tiseless. Ordinary common sense tells 

 us that in contr<dliug a funyous disease it is the spores that have 

 to be prevented germinating, and with this end in view the 



most aiUnticed practice puts into action methods of coni rol Ik- 

 lore the disease appears, whereby healthy plauts are kept in that 

 condition by the use of a fungicide, whether we are considering 

 possibilities of ])Otato blight, for instance, or any other. 



In the case of a new fungous disease appearing upon plants 

 lot hitherto troubled in this way, the most natural step to take 

 at oiu-e is to s|)ray, ami instead of looking upon this as a loss 

 of i'nne and money eve: y one with the merest elementary knowl- 

 edge of plant growing ((insiders that not to spray is the easiest 

 method of having time and miuiey already spent in raising plants 

 go for nothing. 



It would be unwise ioi any one to limit the possibilities of 

 science, and to -ay that it will never discover a method of suc- 

 lessfully controlling fungous dise:ises without the necessity for 

 spraying with a fvnigicide. but at the same time it is e.Ktremely 

 improbable that this will ever happen. 



We must always he careful not to confuse s:-ience with theory. 

 Science is only another word for true knowledge, and therefore 

 anything untrue is never scientific. Whereas theory is merely 

 opinion, and nuty be right or wrong, according to circumstances. 



It is as unsafe for science to put forth dogmatic theories as it 

 is for any one else. The supposed principles upon wliich it relies 

 for its theories are often no more than first approximations to 

 the truth, and the want of parallelism, which may be neglected 

 in the laboratory, give rise to wide divergencies wdien applied 

 to practice. The method of science is, after all, only an exten- 

 sion of experience. In many matters connected with plant lite, 

 especially, for instance, the causes of soil fertility, science has 

 yet only reached the iiosition of being able to explain the why 

 and wherefore of facts wdiich were known to practice a thousand 

 years before what we call science existed. 



The danger of dogmatism is well known by the story of a 

 [diysician who, while lertiuing before a non-[irofessional audi- 

 ence, said that grippe is always caused by wet feet. A man in 

 the audience thereupon got up and stated that he had just re- 

 covered from a severe attack of that malady, but tinil he had 

 gone about upon two wooden legs for several years, 



.\i!Tin;i! S.Mrrii. 



THE LATE JOHN MUNSON. 



John Munson, the genial, well-known proprietor of the 

 Alinneapolis IHoral Company, of Minneapoli.';, Aiinn., 

 passed away at hi.s home on the evening of December 28 

 after a short illness. He was taken sick a few days be- 

 fore the holidays l)tit was reported better on Christmas 

 day, and the report (if his death came as a shock to his 

 maity friends. Mr. .Miitison was forty-eight years old 

 and was w^ell known to the trade. He came to this coun- 

 try twenty-two years ago from Sweden, his native home. 

 He acquired his' knowledge of the profession in Sweden 

 and Denmark when a youth, and three years after coni- 

 ing to this country started in business for himself at his 

 present establishment, which is now one of the largest of 

 its kind in the state. .Mr. Munson is survived by his wife 

 and adopted daughter. The services were held at the 

 Lake wood Cemetery Chapel on December .il. The floral 

 pieces were numerous, testifying to the esteem by whicli 

 he was held h\ his many friends. 



HOLLAND NURSERY STOCK NOT IMPAIRED. 



One of the nurserymen at OudenVmsch in the Neth- 

 erlands (Holland) has been informed that people in 

 the United States arc concerned about the quality of 

 the Holland nursery stock which they believe to have 

 greatly suffered from inundations. 



It w'as rumored that the greater inirt of Holland was 

 either inundated Ijy salt or by fresh water, in which 

 case the trees, etc., in the nurseries would of course 

 have suffered considerably. 



The weekly "De Tuinbouw," which is officially pub- 

 lished by the Netherland Horticultural Council, states 

 that buyers abroad can be assured Netherland nursery 

 stocks, 'shrubs, trees, bulbs, roots and all other kinds 

 of plants are this year of the same quality as formerly. 



If the re])ort we're true, nurserymen would of course 

 have requested cancellation of their agreements, in 

 order not to endanger their future reputation. 



