H. Friend 51 



4. Aster Cultures. December 2, 1914, Messrs Sutton and Sons, 

 Reading, kindly supplied three packets of seed for experiment. These 

 were A. sinensis (type) with the varieties Victoria and Ostrich Plume. 

 The Head Gardener at Edgbaston had ceased to grow Asters as they had 

 of recent years proved a complete failure. 



The foreman sowed seeds of each kind (which were marked 1, 2 

 and 3) in the soil used in the gardens used for bringing on seedlings, 

 and these were allowed to grow till they were ready for repotting. 

 While a number of plants were reserved in the original large pots for 

 control, others were planted in (1) loam, (2) sterilized leaf mould, and 

 (3) Enchytraeus infected soil and manure. They grew side by side 

 and flourished. 



Next, some of the repotted plants were inoculated with Enchytraeids 

 while the rest were retained as controls, but not a single plant fell a 

 victim to the treatment. 



A second set of experiments yielded the same results. Seeds of 

 the same samples were sown in pots containing (1) loam, (2) sterilized 

 leaf mould, (3) Enchytraeus infected soil and (4) sand. These in due 

 course were infected with Enchytraeids, including species found in the 

 rubbish heaps in the Botanical Gardens ; and again, all survived. 



Some of the plants were transferred to the open border, and others 

 planted in soil containing Enchytraeids, but they made the most 

 perfect growth. 



5. Miscellaneous investigations. During the year, every opportunity 

 which presented itself for investigating plant diseases was utilized. 

 Turnips near Coventry, Lilies at Shrewsbury, Peas at Erdington, 

 bowling green Grass on the Solway, and fairy rings at Cheltenham 

 were carefully examined, and all the evidence for and against the 

 Enchytraeids carefully weighed. In no single instance could it be 

 shown that white worms were the aggressors, but there were frequent 

 evidences that Enchytraeids came in as secondary agents when plants 

 were already weakened, and so played the part of scavengers. 



Conclusion. Enchytraeid worms are abundant in leaf mould, 

 and are often found associated with decaying field and garden crops 

 on which account they have been suspected of causing their decay and 

 death. The evidence shows that they are a beneficent group of animals of 

 great economic value to the forester, gardener and farmer. They break 

 up decaying matter and prepare it for further service but it remains to be 

 shown that in any case they are the direct cause of the diseases of plants. 



