- 347 ' 



It is well to emphasise the fact that it was the creeping thistle 

 that was under treatment. 



Leaflet n. 166 published by the Board of Agriculture clearly 

 brings out the difference in habit of growth between this pest and 

 other thistles infesting grass land. 



Professor Foulkes remarks: that the conclusions that may be 

 drawn from the trials are that by checking the growth of the thistle 

 above ground in the early summer the development of the under- 

 ground stem is hindered. Each cutting further weakens the vigour 

 of the plant. By the time of the third cutting in the second season 

 there is very little left to deal with. 



By 1909 the treatment on plots i and I-A had pratically cleared 

 the plots. 



The cutting is best done when the plants are from 4 to 6 inches 

 (10 to 15 centimetres) above ground. 



Another feature noticed was that the herbage on the plots 

 which were cut frequently was much more abundant and freely 

 grazed, whereas on such plots as 3, 3~A, and 4-A there was prac- 

 tically nothing consumed by the stock. 



Salt and sulphate of copper seem to have little if any effect 

 upon the thistle. 



G. MASSEE. Diseases of Cultivated Plants and Trees. Lon- 

 don, 1910, p. 602. 



This new work supersedes the author's " Text-book of Plant 

 Diseases," third edition, now out of print. 



The aim of the author is to enable those who are concerned 

 with the cultivation of plants and trees to determine the nature of 

 diseases caused by parasites, and to apply the most approved cu- 

 rative and preventive methods. The work is more than an accu- 

 rate compilation from the latest authorities, it is the out-come of 

 long-continued, personal investigation. 



The author states, " that the most important of remediable and 

 preventive measures combined is cleanliness. Unless this fact is 

 constantly kept in view, and practised, no amount of spraying or 

 other modern method of dealing with disease will produce the 

 desired result. Just now spraying is the order of the day, and 

 under certain conditions is productive of much good ; at the same 

 time spraying alone may be overdone, whereas when used in com- 

 bination with other measures the success is greater and the cost 



