178 Commercial Gardening 



the bark becomes dry, and minute radiating cracks appear, which gradually 

 extend in all directions until eventually a large canker-like wound ap- 

 pears, which, in the case of the trunk or a stout branch, may extend for 

 many inches. The fungus continues to live in the cankered patch until 

 all the bark and sapwood are completely eaten away. The wood situated 

 below a wound changes to an ashy-grey colour, a point which at once 

 determines the cause of the injury. When young shoots are attacked 

 they gradually die back from the tip, on account of the food supply 

 being checked by the fungus. The fruit of the fungus appears only on 

 dead portions of the plant, and appears on the surface of the dead bark 

 under the form of numerous minute hair-like bodies, which consist of 

 myriads of the minute spores of the fungus. The parasite can only 

 gain access to the wood through wounds, which may be due to various 

 causes, as pruning, broken twigs, the chafing of branches against each 

 other, or even to the punctures of insects. 



Branches, whether large or small, that are ringed by the fungus, 

 should be removed, as it is on such branches, above the wound, that the 

 fruit of the fungus is produced, thus furnishing a source of infection. 

 When a wound is confined to one side of a branch the diseased portion 

 should be cut away, care being taken to remove all the wood that is 

 stained grey, as such wood contains the mycelium of the fungus, which 

 would spread and break out higher up the branch. All cut surfaces should 

 be protected with Stockholm tar; ordinary gas tar should not be used, as it 

 injures the living bark with which it comes in contact. Care must be 

 taken not to cut healthy parts of a plant with a knife that has been 

 used for cutting away diseased portions, until it has been thoroughly 

 cleaned. 



Fig" Rot (Botrytis cinerea). Figs grown under glass frequently become 

 diseased and rot when about half-ripe. The free end of the fruit presents 

 a waterlogged appearance. This is quickly followed by the appearance of 

 a dense mouse-grey mould, and the entire fruit soon collapses with a wet 

 rot and becomes entirely covered with the mould. When the trees are 

 supplied with an excess of nutrition, the half-ripe " fruit " often emits a 

 small amount of a sweet fluid through the pore or opening at its apex. 

 The spores of the fungus readily germinate in this liquid and attack the 

 fruit itself. In this case the action of the fungus is secondary, its pre- 

 sence being favoured by the overfed condition of the plant. [G. M.] 



Four scale insects attack the Fig now and again under glass, but 

 seldom do much harm, and can easily be kept down by hand treatment 

 with paraffin washing. The insects are the Soft Brown Scale (Lecanium 

 hesperidum), the Camellia Scale (Aspidiotus camellia?), the Narrow Fig 

 Scale (Lepidosaphaes ftcus), and the Long Black Scale (Ischnaspis fili- 

 formis). Thrips, Mealy Bug, and Red Spider may also attack Figs. 



[F. v. T.] 



