180 THE CARNATION MANUAL. 



attributable to a damp and stagnant atmosphere, to 

 sodden or unsuitable soil, to severe check or chill, 

 or to the overcrowding of plants. Certainly it is 

 rapidly developed under any and all of these con- 

 ditions, and hitherto no application has been 

 discovered which can be said to be a cure for it. It 

 certainly affects some varieties much more than 

 others, and it is difficult authoritatively to state that 

 it is infectious, for healthy, vigorous plants will 

 stand in actual contact with the disease without 

 becoming infected by it. It would, however, be 

 most unv/ise to rely upon such immunity. 



If the plants affected are in the open border 

 they must take their chance, for there appears to 

 be no remedy at present known for the disease. If 

 they are attacked late in the autumn when no 

 further growth is to be exj^ected, there is nothing 

 to be done but to cut off the diseased foliage and 

 burn it at once, and to keep the soil round the 

 plants well stirred. If they survive the winter, and 

 once begm to make growth, the disease may dis- 

 aj^pear as mysteriously as it originated. 



If the affected plants are in pots, the only 

 remedy is to give them as much hght and air 

 as is possible, cuttmg away the diseased leaves, and 

 in extreme cases to put them into a warm, dry 

 atmosphere and force them into growth. The 

 disease appears to be most troublesome in wet, cold 

 seasons. 



