350 GREENffOtTSE MANAGEMENT. 



ing off," and the disease that causes the trouble is often 

 spoken of as the "fungus of the cutting bed." Really, 

 there are several fungi that may be the cause of the 

 trouble, but the one that is most destructive has been 

 named Artotrogus dcbaryanus (Hesse). Not only does 

 it grow upon living plants, but it may subsist upon 

 decaying vegetable matter ; hence, one of the conditions 

 that is likely to lead to its appearance in a bed of cut- 

 tings is the use of sand in which several batches of cut- 

 tings have been rooted. If we combine with this a high 

 temperature and a close and moist atmosphere, the appear- 

 ance of the trouble in a batch of cuttings will be more 

 than probable. The same is true with seedlings, and for 

 this reason clean sand forms the best seed bed in which 

 to start plants that, like the cucumber, require a high 

 temperature. 



The remedy against this disease is self-evident, and, 

 in addition to a frequent change of the sand in the cut- 

 ting bed, we must avoid the conditions that have been 

 mentioned as promoting its development. It has also 

 been found that extremes of temperature and frequent 

 sprinklings of the surface, thus keeping it wet while the 

 soil beneath is comparatively dry, favor the appearance 

 of the fungus. If the soil is too wet, it should be stirred, 

 thus aiding its drying out. 



The conditions that are mentioned as favoring the 

 appearance of the fungus act in two ways, as they cause 

 a soft, watery growth, thus making the cuttings or seed- 

 lings more subject to attack, and they are also favorable 

 to the development of the spores and the growth of 

 the fungus. 



If it appears in a batch of seedlings, the healthy 

 plants should at once be pricked out in a box of fresh 

 soil, while in the cutting bed the sand should be thrown 

 out, the boards coated with a thick wash of Bordeaux 

 mixture, and, if of a valuable variety, the healthy cut- 



