102 IMPORTANT TIMBER TREES 



fitably kept up until late summer. Manifestly this does not 

 apply to broadcast sowing, as no cultivation can take place 

 there. Only hand-weeding can there be indulged in. 



Damping-off. During the first few months of the life of 

 the plants they are subject to a fungus disease known as 

 " dainping-off." They may look all right at night and the 

 next morning be wilted or covered with a thin spider-web- 

 like film, and their death-knell has been sounded. They will 

 soon die. It is quite common in greenhouses and is there 

 known as " the Fungus of the Cutting-Bench." There is 

 no known remedy for a plant that has been attacked, and 

 unless at once arrested the disease will rapidly spread to 

 all adjacent plants. Removal of all infected plants, and 

 the soil in which they stand, and giving the remainder of 

 the ground a coat of dry hot sand has been the remedy 

 usually adopted to stop its spread. It is stated in the public 

 prints that in Germany spraying with the well-known Bor- 

 deaux mixture has shown excellent results in preventing an 

 attack. As this mixture is known to prevent fungus dis- 

 eases on vegetables and fruits, and is harmless, inexpen- 

 sive, and easily applied, it would be well to give it a thorough 

 trial. Damping-off is more prevalent among conifers than 

 among broadleaf trees, although Maple and Beech are 

 frequently affected. It is apparently induced by excessive 

 moisture in the soil, accompanied by damp, warm weather 

 and absence of sunshine. Thick sowing also appears to 

 have something to do with inviting attacks. Good drainage 

 and removal of the screens on cloudy days, together with 

 providing ample room for the plants, would certainly be 

 the logical method of preventing it. Only prevention can 

 cope with it. If one side of the screens is lower than the 

 other, as suggested, and they are left on while it rains, 

 some of the water which falls on them will be carried off, 

 and this may aid. 



Protecting Seedlings in Winter. By early autumn all 

 plant growth will have ceased and preparations should be 

 made to protect the shallow-rooted seedlings from being 



