336 



The Dictionary of Gardening, 



Bust — continued. 

 tube, which, on any suitable part of a plant fitted for 

 the nourishment o£ the Fungus, makes its way in through 

 a stoma, and reproduces the parasite. This process 

 goes on during the summer ; but, in autumn, " resting- 

 spores " are formed in the tissues of the host-plants, to 

 pass the winter in a quiescent state, and to propagate 

 the species next summer, when food can be again ob- 

 tained. These resting- spores are very similar in mode 

 of production, and in appearance, to those of Perononpora. 

 On each of two threads of mycelium, lying among the 

 tissues of the host-plant, a branch is formed. One bears 

 a nearly globular cell, the oogonium, the contents of 

 which shrink a little, and lie loose in the cell, forming 

 the oosphere. The other branch ends in a thickened cell, 

 the antheridium, much smaller than the oogonium. It 

 lies in contact with the latter, into which some of its 

 contents pass through a narrow tube. The oosphere is 

 thus fertilised, and becomes the oospore or resting-spore, 

 distinguished by the possession of a thick, brown cell 

 wall, which boars numerous warty ridges, and is well 

 fitted to resist the cold of winter and other unfavourable 

 inOuences. In spring, the contents of the resting-spore 

 break up to form a large number of small cells, each 

 capable of reproducing the Fungus in a suitable host- 

 plant. These are set free by the bursting of the cell 

 wall of the resting-spore. 



Remedies. The only remedy available is, as far as 

 possible, to limit the multiplication of the Fungus by 

 the removal and burning of all plants, whether weeds 

 or cultivated species, that show it, and by not sowing 

 Cruciferw on any piece of ground for a year or two after 

 diseased crops have been removed from it. 



RUSTIC WORK. A term applied to erections or 

 ornaments made of rough or undressed timber and other 

 similar materials as nearly as possible in their natural 

 state. Undoubtedly, the best examples are those that 

 show the least mark of the workman's tools. The materials 

 for Rustic Work are obtained from woods and forests, 

 heaths and swamps, and vary in character and appearance, 

 according to the locality in which they are found. As 

 the unshapely block of stone or marble from the quarry 

 becomes, in the hands of the sculptor or architect, a 

 thing of beauty, so ma.v the gnarled and knotted branch, 

 and the decayed Pollard-tree, the slender Larch and the 

 smooth Hazel, the Heather of the mountain and the 

 moss of the fen, the Sedges and Reeds by the river- 

 bank, and the exquisite cones of the Fir-tree, each and 

 all, in the hands of one who has true taste, be manipu- 

 lated into beautiful and useful adornments for our 

 gardens. Much of the material for the work may be 

 found on most estates, and often amongst that which is 

 either consigned to the fire or allowed to perish where 

 it stands. Where alterations or improvements are being 

 made in grounds, especially on estates which are being 

 cut up for building purposes, it often happens that there 

 are old Apple, Pear, and other trees very suitable for the 

 work, which have to be removed ; or a Thorn or a Yew- 

 tree, &c., may be uprooted by the wind, or timber is 

 being felled, and from these much material may be 

 selected. 



Failing crooked and distorted branches and loppings, 

 the thinnings from Oak and Larch plantations, and Hazel 

 rods from the copse, can be used for the lighter portions 

 of Rustic Work. Where old hedge-row '• Pollards " 

 aboiind, they form excellent material for ferneries or 

 alpine mounds. The rough bark from Oak, Chestnut, 

 Larch, &c., is useful, and so are defective trunks, or 

 branches of large trees, cut into short lengths or trans- 

 verse sections for paving floors ; these sections may be laid 

 in patterns, but are more effective when they vary in 

 diameter, giving less formal effect than when they are of 

 equal size. An old Thorn hedge that has been for many 

 years clipped by the shears, supplies excellent material 



Rustic Work — continued. 

 for the smaller articles, such as vases, flower-stands, 

 tables, and baskets ; and the cones of Firs are par- 

 ticularly serviceable for the same purpose. In cases 

 where no suitable timber can be felled, it often happens 

 that a judicious thinning-out of branches may take place 

 without the least detriment or disfigurement to the trees. 

 Heather may be collected, bound in bundles, and closely 

 stacked some time before using, as it then makes a closer 

 thatch ; the same remark applies to Reeds and Sedges. 

 There are various mosses to be found on heaths, and in 

 swamps, plantations, woods, &c., which should be carefully 

 collected, and kept as straight as possible, to be used 

 either for simply filling up chinks and crevices to exclude 

 draughts, or as fillings in carpet-like patterns for the inside 

 of summer-houses. In using mosses for this purpose, if 

 above a seat or bench, the moss-work should be kept above 

 the head-line of persons when seated. Below tliat line, 

 a lining of split Hazel rods, with the bark side outwards, 

 worked in diagonal, diamond, or other patterns, may be 

 used. For moss-work of this description, as well as for the 

 Hazel patterns, a comparatively smooth surface must be 

 provided as foundation. Sometimes, this is done by making 

 the back, sides, and ceiling of a summer-house, of ordinary 

 carpenter's framework and boarding, when the outside may 

 be covered with coarse bark, or slabs with the bark pre- 

 served, and the inside covered with moss, &c. The same 

 object can be attained by sawing longitudinally through 

 the trunks of moderate-sized trees, the bark adhering, and 

 then setting them side by side vertically, to form the sur- 

 face on which to work the moss pattern. The cones of the 

 Stone and Cluster Pines are particularly useful for forming 

 cornices, caps, &c., to Rustic buildings, and the smaller 

 cones of the Larch and Scotch Fir may be employed for 

 festoons, and in forming the interior decorations. 



The disposition of Rustic Work, no less than its con- 

 struction, requires an artistic eye and good taste. To 

 speak in general terms, it should seldom come much 

 "to the front"; that is to say, suitable positions for it 

 will but seldom present themselves very near to the prin- 

 cipal windows of a mansion — its place, for the most part, 

 being in nooks and corners of shrubberies, plantation 

 walks, the borders of woods, or in the wild garden. Let 

 us imagine a situation, shut off from the more culti- 

 vated grounds. Such a position might have a Rustic 

 gate flanked by a Rustic screen, on which Crataijits 

 Pyracantha, or similar evergreens are trained; a broad, 

 gravelled path, on each side of which are Rustic arches, 

 with here and there an arch thrown over the path, and 

 covered with Roses, Honeysuckle, Jasmine, &c., forming 

 a vista, at the end of which a Rustic summer-house, its 

 porch or verandah covered with Clematis, could be 

 placed. On either side of the main walk, a breadth of 

 turf, with a ribbon scroll of Ivy, so designed as to 

 afford suitable positions for Rustic baskets or pyramids 

 might be added, and the whole surrounded by a densely- 

 planted, raised bank, for effectual shelter from cold 

 winds. On the face of the bank, next the garden, logs 

 and blocks may be interspersed, to afford receptacles 

 for Ferns, alpine plants, or trailing shrubs. Such a 

 garden might be formed in any existing mass of shrub- 

 bery that is large enough for the purpose, and would be 

 an interesting addition to many already fine gardens. 

 With smaller gardens, and where the house has no par- 

 ticular architectural features, a Rustic verandah, with 

 roof of tiles or shingles, covered all over with Jasmine, 

 Roses, Honeysuckle, &c., often gives a particularly cosy 

 appearance. If in front of this there is room for a 

 gravelled walk, a kind of terrace, and the ground lends 

 itself to the formation of a grass slope, with a step or 

 two down to the lawn or flower-garden, here is a pretext 

 for a Rustic balustrade, with vases and Rustic steps, which 

 will, at the same time, form a trellis for the smaller kinds 

 of climbing plants. At some point, just out of sight of the 



