48 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GARDENEB. 



[ July 15, 1875. 



space was some 70 or 80 yards long ; and as some of our readers 

 may be interested in onr native flowers, many of which are 

 worthy of cultivation, though we often pass them by without 

 any concern, I mention the following as what I noted in the 

 space above named : — 



Sedum acre, Centaurea nigra, Draba verna, Daotylia glo- 

 merata, Fedia olitoria, Poa trivialis, Pimpinella Saxifraga, 

 Thymus serpyllum, Galium pusillnm, Plantago lanceolata, 

 Arenaria serpyllifolinm, Galium rubrum, Capsella Bnrsa-paa- 

 toris, Anthoxanthum odoratum, Avena pubescens, Hieracium 

 pilosella, Arabis hirautus, Crataigus Oxycantha, Tenorium 

 Scorodonia, Polygala vulgaris, Lotus corniculatus. Geranium 

 Bobertianum, Eumex Acetoaella, Bellia perennis, Epilobium 

 montannm. Geranium lucidum, Galium aparine, Plantago 

 major, Rosa canina, Cnicus lanoeolatus. Ranunculus acris, 

 Trifolium pratense, Leontodon Taraxacum, Holcua lanatus, 

 Trifolium repens, Festuca pratensis, Antbrisous vulgaris, 

 Veronica arvense, Clinopodium vulgare, Alohemilla alpina, 

 Poa annua, Trifolium medium, Bromus mollis, Galium crucia- 

 tnm, Vicia sepium, Phleum pratense, Myosotis arvensis, Ve- 

 ronica chamaidrys, Hieracium boreale, Rumex pratenais, Reseda 

 luteola. Sisymbrium officinalis, Soncbus oleraeeus, Achillea 

 Millefolium, Urtica dioica. Geranium molle, Rumex acetoaa, 

 Crepis tectorum, Briza media, Scabiosa Columbaria, Heracleum 

 Sphondylium, Campanula rotundifolia, Cardamine hirsuta, As- 

 plenium Ruta-muraria, Lathyrus pratensis, Lamium album, 

 Scabiosa succisa, Glyceria rigida, Vaccinium Vitis-Ida;a, Heli- 

 anthemum vulgare, Cynosnrus cristatus, and Vicia sepium. — 

 Oebekveb. 



AMEBICAN BUG OB BLIGHT. 



Havino derived some little experience in trying to exter- 

 minate or even reduce the above pest from over a score of 

 standard Apples I found in my garden on coming here three 

 years ago, I shall be very glad if these remarks may lead to 

 further ventilation of the subject with a view to elicit, if 

 possible, through the columns of your valuable Journal some 

 surer mode than I think now exists to eradicate this pest from 

 this class of fruit trees. 



I found my trees almost white over with the bug; and being 

 much overgrown from neglect, I commenced heavy pruning in 

 August with a view to develope fruit and form, burning all the 

 cuttings, following this by thoroughly washing each tree with 

 warm soft soap and water, and later in the winter dreaeing all 

 the old wood with paraffin oil. Last year on the first appear- 

 ance of the enemy in spring I applied the soap solution mixed 

 with Gishurst compound sufficiently frequent to keep the bug 

 moderately in check, repeating the oil again towards winter. 

 So far this year I have adopted the same plan, though still 

 with all the attention I can afford I consider myself far from 

 having succeeded, since, though I have a very fair showing of 

 fruit, were the trees left to themselvea one month they would 

 most certainly be as I found them at the begirming. — Agbicola, 

 Liverpool. 



OUR BORDER FLOWERS— DOG'S-TOOTH 

 VIOLETS. 



In our eager pursuit of the more gorgeous forms that the floral 

 world affords us for decorative purposes do we not sometimes 

 overlook some of the lowly flowers of hardy nature ? Two 

 hnndred and more years, if report be true, has been added to 

 the world's history since Erythronium Dens-canis found its 

 way to our shores. How in those days it might be treated I 

 have no means to ascertain ; at all events we know that it has 

 remained with us, and now enjoya a very prominent place in 

 the spring garden and borders where those kind of plants are 

 cared for. Sometimes we see them thrust into a corner or 

 more than half hid by some intruding evergreen or shrub, 

 and, what is worse, in some instances left to chance, even- 

 tually disappear, and then we wonder why they do not flourish 

 with us. 



I fear there are very few species found in general cultivation. 

 There is something very attractive about their beautifully 

 spotted leaves, to say nothing of their charming flowers in 

 early spring, when of all times during the year flowers are 

 looked on with such delight. They will thrive in most places 

 if they have light and air, and they can be turned to good 

 account in many ways: they are equally interesting in bed, 

 border, rockery, or pot. They like a moderate share of mois- 

 ture, but should have thorough drainage ; they do well in a 

 compost of good friable loam and sandy peat in equal parts, a 



little leaf mould , with a little sand or charcoal dust added. When 

 established the less they are disturbed the better. When left 

 in the ground the place should be well marked, or they are 

 liable to be destroyed. They are increaaed by diviaion, which 

 ia beet done when growth has been matured. There are three 

 or four shades of colour. When grown together they have a 

 very pleasing effect in early spring. Erythronium americanum 

 ia very desirable, its yellow flowers contrasting with E. Dens- 

 canis and E. Dens-canis album and purpureum. The foregoing 

 are most commonly met with in cultivation. There are other 

 kinda — aa E. giganteum and E. longifolium — that ought to be 

 more frequently met with, and which only require to be known 

 and seen to be appreciated. 



This is one of the most interesting families of early spring- 

 blooming plants we posseas, and worthy of very extenaive 

 cultivation. — Veritas. 



THE POTATO DISEASE. 

 The following interesting paper by Mr. Worthington G. 

 Smith, on the disease affecting the Potato, was read at the 

 meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society on Wednesday, 

 the 7th inst. : — 



THE EESTINO-SPORES OF THE POTATO DISEASE. 



The Potato disease in this country is rarely seen before the 

 month of July, but this year I received aome infected leaves for 

 examination from the Editors of the Journal of Horticulture at 

 the beginning of June, and my reply to the correspondent was 

 printed on June 10th. The leaves were hadly diseased, and I 

 detected the Peronospora in very small quantities here and 

 there, emerging from the breathing pores. This was a week or 

 ten days before Mr. Berkeley brought the matter before the 

 Scientific Committee of the Royal Horticultural Society (see 

 ante, vol. i., 1875, p. 795), and when I heard Mr. Berkeley's re- 

 marka about the Protomyces, I immediately accuaed myself of 

 great carelessness in possibly overlooking it ; but I was equally 

 certain of the presence of the Peronospora in the specimens I 

 examined. 



On receiving authentic specimens of diseased plants from Mr. 

 Barron of Chiswick, the brown spots on the Potato leaves at 

 once reminded me of the fungus of some species of Protomyces, 

 and the dimensions agreed tolerably well with aome described 

 plants of that genus, but the spots when seen under a high 

 power appeared very unlike any fiingus, and they were very 

 sparingly mixed with other bodies much smaller in diameter, 

 and with a greater external resemblance to true fungus spores. 

 These latter spore-like bodies were of two sizes — one transparent 

 and of exactly the same size as the cells of the leaf (and there- 

 fore very easily overlooked), and the other dark, reticulated, and 

 much smaller. A few mycelial threads might be seen winding 

 amongst the cellular tissue, and these threads led me to the 

 conclusion that the thickened and discoloured spots were caused 

 by the corrosive action of the mycelium, in the same way as 

 Peach, Almond, Walnut, and other leaves are thickened, blis- 

 tered, and discoloured by the spawn of the Ascomyces, as illus- 

 trated at the last meeting of the Society. 



My opinion, therefore, was soon formed that the " new " 

 Potato disease (aa it has been called) was no other than the old 

 enemy in disguise, or, in other words, that it was the old Pero- 

 nospora infestans in an unusual and excited condition. That 

 climatic conditions had thrown the growth of this fungus for- 

 ward and out of season was probable; but the idea that the pest 

 would not at length attack all and every sort of Potato was to 

 me most unreasonable, though the more tender sorts might be 

 the first to suffer. 



Suspecting the two-sized small bodies before mentioned to be 

 of the nature of spores, and remembering my experiments 

 during last autumn with ketchup, in which I observed that the 

 spores of the common Mushroom might be boiled several times, 

 and for lengthened periods, without their collapsing or bursting, 

 I thought I would try to set free the presumed spores of the 

 Potato leaves by macerating the foliage, stems, and tubers in 

 cold water. This maceration was necessary because the tissue 

 of the diseased leaves was so opaque and corroded, and the cell- 

 walls were so thickened, that it was difficult to distinguish the 

 threads and suspected spores from the cellular tissue. I did not 

 treat the leaves with boiling water, because I wished to keep 

 the threads and spores alive. 



From day to day I kept the diseased leaves and stems and 

 tubers wet between pieces of very wet calico, in plates under 

 glass, and I immediately noticed that the continued moisture 

 greatly excited the growth of the mycelial threads ; this to me 

 was quite unexpected, as I had merely wished to set the spore- 

 like bodies free. So rapid was now the growth of this mycelium 

 that after a week had elapsed some decayed parts of the lamina 

 of the leaf were traversed in every direction by the spawn. 

 Thinking the close observation of this mycelium in the now 

 thoroughly rotten and decomposed leaves might end in some 



