378 



JOUBNAL OF HOBTIOULTURB AND COTTAGE QABDENBB. 



I October 29, 1874. 



into individnal plants. Keat specimens are quickly obtained 

 by this msthod ; it, of course, does not apply to tree Ferns. 

 Cyathea mednllaris is one of the few Ferns of economic use to 

 man. The soft inner portion of the stem, which resembles 

 Bago, is commonly used as an article of food by the natives of 

 New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. 



STRAWBERRY CULTURE. 

 Allow me to add my mite of information on the above ; 

 and in answer to " Amatedb, Cirencfster," in your number for 

 the 15th inst. respecting the Early Prolific thriving, I can with 

 confidence say that it did well with me the last two seasons 

 at Sion Hill, Kidderminster, bore an e::cellent crop of fine, 

 handsome, good-flavoured fruit, and made good growth and 

 plenty of runners. I also saw it forced in pots just as the 

 berries were ripe, and a finer crop no one could wish, and 

 the flavour excellent. I consider it a valuable addition to our 

 early Strawberries, although with me it was a few days behind 

 Black Prince. The sorts I grew were Prolific, Black Prince, 

 Keens' Seedling, President, Dr. Hogg, British Queen, Sir C. 

 Napier, and one called Shropshire Hero, very lar^e ; and the best 

 three were Prolific, President, and British Queen. I consider 

 President next in point of flavour to British Queen, which kind, 

 when the soil and situation suit them, to my mind is first-rate ; 

 but I think three years long enough for the plants to stand to 

 supply fruit of good quality and flavour. My practice is, as 

 Boon as the first runners are formed, to put them on pots filled 

 with soil, with a stone on the wire : they will soon take root. 

 Have a piece of ground prepared, and then plant out 2 feet 

 between the rows and 18 inches from plant to plant. I keep 

 the ground free from weeds, but never stir the soil between them 

 except with the hoe from the time they are planted till they 

 are taken up ; but every spring after they are cleaned I well 

 cover the ground between them with good fresh stable dung, 

 so that it acts as a manure, and the rain washes the straw 

 clean so that there is no grit on the fruit the following summer. 

 — S. Taylob, The Gardens, Castlecroft, Tfolverliampton. 



COLONIAL BOTANICAL GARDENS— CEYLON. 



In the last number of your Journal you alluded to the 

 neglect of the cultivation of that valuable plant the Cinchona 

 at St. Helena, and it may, perhaps, interest you and your 

 readers to learn with what praiseworthy energy my friend 

 Mr. G. H. K. Thwaites, the accomplished Director of the 

 Botanical Gardens in that garden of the east, Ceylon, pursues 

 his interesting labours. 



Cinchona. — I have before me the Director's report for the 

 current year, and I gather from it that there is very great 

 activity going on in the cultivation of Cinchona in the island. 

 During last year applications were most numerous, and some 

 67O,.50O plants were issued, and this did not meet the demand. 

 This issue does not altogether represent the extent of the 

 Cinchona cultivation, since many of the Coffee planters located 

 at suitable elevations within the mountain zone are forming 

 nurseries of their own for the propagation of plants from seeds 

 and cuttings. Cinchona succirubra appears to be principally in 

 request at present, eb it is deemed the most suitable species for 

 the elevations at which Cinchona is planted, growing more 

 rapidly, and consequently yielding within a given time a larger 

 bulk of bark than would be furnished by the Cinchona offici- 

 nalis ; still a good deal of the last-named very valuable spe- 

 cies is being grown at elevations exceeding 4000 feet above the 

 sea level. 



Coffee. — The Coffee-leaf disease (Hemileia vastatrix] is still 

 existing in many of the plantations in the island. Mr. Thwaites 

 states that the disease consists in the parasitic growth within 

 the Coffee tree of a well-defined species of fungus, originated 

 and produced by means of spores, easily identified by the 

 medium of the microscope, and readily distinguishable from 

 every other known fungus. The fungus has only yet been 

 detected in a definite organised form in the cellular tissue 

 of the Coffee leaf lying immediately under the diseased spots, 

 in the spores themselves, and in the filaments produced by 

 the germinating spores. The fungus would appear, however, 

 to be present in the growing tissues generally of the Coffee 

 plant in a diffused form, altering the character of the cell- 

 contents, and thus producing the stains observable on the 

 bark of the young branches, and the pale, somewhat trans- 

 lucent spots to be seen in the leaves previously to the outbreak 

 of the orange-coloured spores. Secondary spores have also 



been observed nnder the microscope, which may, doubtless, be 

 easUy carried by the wind, and thereby convey infection to 

 other plantations. 



The Coffee tree under the first attack of the disease would 

 seem to lose by degrees its vital energy. After the first attack 

 fresh healthy leaves are often thrown out, but after a time the 

 spotting appears on them, and the leaves fall off. The Coffee 

 trees, after these repeated attacks, it old, and the soil of the 

 plantation be poor, cease to yield berries to any extent. Mr. 

 Thwaites has good reason to believe that the Coffee tree is 

 much better able to resist this fungus it the soil has been 

 highly cultivated and manured with discretion. Numerous 

 small maggots have been discovered feeding on the spores. 

 It is to be hoped that this useful maggot will become a 

 very legion. A few Coffee plants have been received from 

 the Gold Coast, and sent to Ceylon by Dr. Hooker, of Kew, 

 but they have been attacked, I have just been informed, by 

 the disease. It is quite certain that the present Governor of 

 Ceylon (Mr. Gregory), and the accomplished Directors of Kew 

 and Ceylon Botanical Gardens, will do all that energy and 

 science can achieve to arrest this terrible pest. The result 

 will be most anxiously watched by those who have invested 

 very large sums in Coffee cultivation in the colony. — E. Eaw- 

 BON Power, Ceylon Civil Service {Retired}. 



WOOLHOPE NATURALISTS' FIELD CLUB- 

 THE ANNUAL FUNGUS FORAYS. 



The opening muster of the mycologists proper took place on 

 the i29th of September, and a select band arrived at Downton. 

 The foray began nnder the leadership of Dr. Jones. The fame 

 of " the gorge of the Teme " for its lovely scenery is world-wide. 

 The river rashes through a stony channel, now broad and rip- 

 pling, and again contracted, deep, and silent, whilst its banks ai*e 

 fringed everywhere by the richest variety of woods. It is indeed 

 a lovely valley, though not for its loveliness was it visited on 

 this occasion. Here is the only known British home of the 

 brilliant-coloured Cortinarius (Dermocybe) cinnabarinus, and of 

 the C. miltinus, and here, too, in favouriible years grows abun- 

 dantly the rare Fir Cone Boletus, Strobilomyces strobilaceus, 

 while on its mossy banks and promontories are to be found 

 other Funguses rare and interesting. Think of this, and shake 

 off the scales of your mental obfuseation ! 



At the Castle Bridge on an Elm branch a fine Agaricus 

 (Pleurotus) ulmarius was observed and gathered successfully. 

 Though abundant in the parks and neighbourhood of London, it 

 is rare in Herefordshire, so that we may as well note that it is 

 pleasant and said to be edible. We should suspect it would 

 need a power of stewing to make it tender. Almost at the 

 entrance of the walks the foragers were encountered by a heavy 

 storm of a fall hour's duration, which, however, did not stop 

 the hunt or damp the curiosity of the hunters. Marasmius 

 fcetidus gladdened their hearts, however much it might offend 

 their noses, and its sister Marasmius erythropus was pleasant 

 to their visual organs. Why will people keep snifliag at things 

 unpleasant when they know what to expect ? At Downton 

 the sweet-scented Lactarius glyciosmus, Agaricus (Clytocybe) 

 odorus and fragrans were at hand ; and so, too, in plenty was 

 A. (Hebeloma) pyriodorus, which has a strong odour of Pears 

 beginning to ferment, so that savours more agreeable or less 

 disagreeable as the taste may incline, were not wanting. On a 

 charcoal bed — a " charking place " in the woodman's vernacular 

 — one of the moat graceful and beautifully coloured forms of the 

 variable A. (Omphalia) pyxidatus delighted the eyes of the 

 fungologists, lifting away the depressing influence of the rain, 

 which was just then at its heaviest. Ordinary mortals may be 

 afraid of rain ; a fungologist has but to retreat under sheltering 

 rock or tree, and wholly forget its importunity in the contem- 

 plation, as in this case, of the rare Peziza succosa, or the Peziza- 

 like Soleuia ochracea, not to mention Lactarii, Cortinarii, Boleti, 

 and Hygroj)hori growing all around in the utmost profusion and 

 variety. 



After a short halt in the rustic arbour at the mill (which it 

 was pleasant to see at work), to admire the lofty rocke, and to 

 sketch a picturesque and many-headed boll of a Wych Elm, 

 the way was taken up the highest walks to " Benny's Promon- 

 tory," a name perhaps not of local significance, yet henceforth 

 never to be forgotten in mycologic lore. It is a high moss- 

 covered promontory, thinly studded with trees, moist though 

 well-drained, damp and yet airy, a very paradise for Funguses. 

 To see them in a favourable season covering the ground here 

 is a sight to remember. Rare Funguses affect the spot. It was 

 here in 1872 that Mr. Eenny discovered the brilliant Cortinarius 

 (Dermocybe) cinnabarinus growing in clusters, each richer and 

 more dazzling than its fellow just gathered; a bright orange 

 vermilion in colour, with a metallic lustre that defies water 

 colours to imitate. Here, too, in the following year Dr. Bull 



