13 — 1 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 







t to m 



troducing a bill for legalising partnerships I similar nature, is almost conclusive against such a view. 



T\ y^ fubject was still under consideration was all 



g-t it is not alone because of Indian fibres, 

 m yfh9f from the East or West, that this question 



of importance, nor even because it pro- 

 gecure a reduction in the price of such 

 as cordage, linen and paper, but because 

 Atft is every reason to suppose, as we have always 

 ll&KDAed, that with suitable machinery and sufficient 

 competition there are waste or worthless products 

 it home which may be brought most profitably into 



There are two sorts of Tragacanth, which are often 

 ■** : - ■ indiscriminately in commerce, of a different form 



and aspect, but whether they are the produce of the 

 same plant or no, does not appear with certainty. The 

 one, however, is known by the name of Flaky or 

 ° *" igacanth, and is supposed 



^mption. 



It is not improbable that Hemp and Flax refuse 

 might become valuable as ingredients in paper 

 jgliny • so may dried Potato haulm, Jerusalem 

 Artichoke stalks, and other substances. Indeed we 

 have now before us cleaned fibre, extracted from 

 Jlangel Wcrzel after crushing and preparing it for 

 tfct sogar maker or distiller, which an eminent paper 

 aaker valued at the minimum price of 10/. per ton. 

 Jt was prepared on the estate of the Rt. Hon. 

 Tw*. Faucis Kennedy, in Scotland, and could be 

 hid in enormons quantities if distillation from Beet 

 should become a branch of British industry. It is 

 alio probable that the Holcus saccharatus may, as 

 Mr John Henderson thinks he has ascertained, 

 be worth growing for the same purpose, the crushed 

 stwr, after yielding up its sugar, consisting chiefly 

 of vegetable fibre of excellent quality. 



Bat, as Dr. Royle observes, these efforts at intro- 

 ducing cheaper materials than we now have require 

 encouragement; such for instance as the intro- 

 duction of a law which will enable speculations to 

 be carried on without exposing their promoters to 

 the danger of unknown, unforeseen, and unlimited 

 liability. Scientific knowledge has pointed out the 

 loorce of boundless supplies of cheap manufacturing 

 materials; and it only remains for an enlightened 

 legislature and commercial skill to render them 



Astragalus verus, the 'other Verm 



Tragacanthf, the produce as it is believed of Astra- 

 galus creticus. The first of these is white flabelliform 

 or reniform, with a few concentric lines, and resembling 

 very much in appearance some gelatinous fungus ; the 

 second forma long yellow tendrils, very much after the 

 fashion of the cirrhiform threads of spores of Nemas- 

 pora. Both agree essentially in structure, but this is 

 far more clear in the Flaky Tragacanth than in the 

 other, and there is some difference in the component 

 cells. When examined under the microscope they ex- 

 hibit a mass of large rounded sacs, very loosely 

 compacted, and capable of being partially separated 

 from each other by slight pressure under a thin 

 plate of microscopic glass. In the centre of each 

 cell is an irregular cavity filled with starch granules, 

 and the wall which incloses these is evidently formed 

 of many concentric layers, calling to mind very forcibly 

 the structure of the common many-coated hydatids. 

 On the application of an aqueous solution of iodine, the 

 starch granules at once declare their nature, and the 

 addition of a little sulphuric acid turns the walls from 



abundant 1 have 



not examined a scrap of Tragacanth without finding 

 quantities of mucedinous threads like those represented 

 in the figure ; and in gum from the Apricot the base 

 absolutely consisted of a compact mass of mould 

 threads glued together with gum, while in the less 

 compact and more transparent portions abundant 

 Morea threads were swimming about, and every fragment of 

 " the Protruded tissues of the matrix was swarming with 

 parasites. It may be remarked in conclusion that 

 Brewster ascertained that the varnish produced by such 

 trees as Melanorrhea is organised when recent, and that 

 the change of colour to red or black is induced by dis- 

 organisation. See Lindley, Veg. King., Ed. 2, p. 466. 

 j Our figure represents a portion of the cellular tissue of 

 the Flaky Tragacanth interspersed with mycelium. The 

 lower figure on the left is from the base of a piece of 

 Apricot gum, showing the mucedinous threads of which 

 it is compacted ; while the upper figure represents a 

 portion of the tissue of the matrix overrun with parasites. 



Mm J, B% 



- 



THE VINE DISEASE IN MADEIRA. 

 Funchal, Madeira, March 6, 1855.— Before leavin 

 England in the last autumn, I told you that I w<roL 

 employ a part of my leisure here in making inquiries 



intn crtmo /u\llnio*.l %«^2. i.. a _ _i _ •.! .1 «». 



generally 



For ourselves we entertain no 



white to a beautiful blue,* making a most pleasing object 



doubt that to work out the textile problem to its 



final solution would be to cheapen our clothes, our 



ofa, and our navy, and would be of far more 



•rial importance than the repeal of every one of the 

 so-called taxes on knnwlpdcm 





New Plants. 



Rhododj 



Bogor. 



Hasskarl 



1844, p. 161. £.M.,t.4797. 

 A Jmnese species, with yellow campanulate flowers 

 u Iwe M a sparrow's egg. It inhabits the mountains 

 « Jaw, »t the height of 5000 ft. in swampy places. 

 *e«rs. Rollissons' collector, Henshall, found it in 

 ■Mir pkces, but 4700 feet higher, and it is to that 

 eminent firm that its introduction was owing. It is said 

 » Pow on the branches of trees in its native country ; 



.TLl !" D . 0t the le8S able t0 thrive in e a»th on that 

 *wnt According to Mr. Van Houtte, it likes" in 



bttf i\ 4 . ? am P stove ' at 39 ° to 50 °» and dose 



SE2? • A h T the first of A P ril he P ut8 ifc on an 

 CWT ^t d ' cove « d "it" glazed sashes (a cool 



»«!£" if ]' , taken off at ni S ht in cloud 7 <» misty 

 »mr. Snade;i from gun in ^ d|kJ ti e t jn 



»ea'tW« T n '? g . ; com P ] etely shut up in windy 



CS, r hen - lt 1S bri S ht and clear > turned out in a 

 ]M,TfP7 "».» east aspect, from the 15 th May to 



hst di?S? lber ' * thrives P«fecHy well. After the 



«b» sto~ iu te ? t0red to » cold pit, and put back in to 

 "■ "we when frost returns. 



271. 



VEGETABLE PATHOLOGY—No. LXV. 



Apostaxis. Constitutional and Organic. 



aim! ^ 



Gum- 



TT qH «7 section 

 ^Jz ^ since con ie 



Z*** Tragacanth 



^7 *«g inclosed 

 ^wi showed that 



Of 



*rab 



** * mix'iuiT n/T T ,nB J olub,e P art w «s, in point of 

 "^ OX ,1 B l arch " d % lliQ - The complicated 

 ^i wJT ^ Ue J ct,on8 of hassorin in the roots of 

 ln ^*XX ™™**y 7*** *go in the Linnamn 

 %l| P^oUd ;*ik "Mtey. Since the article Gumming 

 **toe of T,: €came necessary for me to examine the 

 *** of a l ,^ gacanth und er the microscope, in ilJus- 

 ^ tke hrJw"^ gelatinous body found on the Grass 



he frost, in Sussex, which was 

 rrer, and I then found that 



• — 



I 



CI 



si 



^ ^bT"^!^ ?^ twe that ^e structure was cellular 



tyrect 

 ■•ject 



^■■iileri f^ _*"„ VAVC,1CU1 ' ngures. 



™z?^: kR 



* — 



was something on the 



under the microscope. The walls then consist of 



cellulose, but evidently in some different condition from 



that in which it occurs in ordinary cases, and perhaps 



including in their substance as in a sponge the bassorin, 



though there is no ambiguity of tint to indicate such a 



matter. This is, however, a chemical question. What we 



have to consider here is, inasmuch as the structure of the 



whole mass is cellular, can it be regarded really as an 



exusion, or is the matter formed by the increase of cells, 



by means of addition to the external surface as in fungi. 



The case is certainly one of considerable difficulty, but 



my belief is that in the first instance the gummy 

 J matter is collected between the bark and albumen; that it 



there becomes loosely organised after the fashion of lymph 



in animal structures ; and finally that the accumulation is 



at length so large as to force its way through the bark 



and thus to make fungiform bodies. The cirrhiform 



condition is evidently squirted through the bark and not 

 a mere external growth, and since this is organised in 

 the same way as the Flaky Tragacanth, we cannot seek 

 for a different origin of the latter. Now if a specimen 

 of Cherry gum (using the term generically) be examined, 

 the portion of it which is clearest and in a semi-liquid 

 state will be found to contain portions of the woody 

 tissue of the plant, showing clearly that in oozing out it has 

 carried with it detached portionsof the matrix, which have 

 been broken off in the course of its exusion. Kiitzing has 

 figured the growth of cells in this substance. § I have 

 not succeeded in ascertaining their presence in English 

 gum ; but in a specimen of South Carolina gum from 

 Prunus serotinus, which I examined some years since, 

 I remember being much surprised at the presence of 

 cells, and supposed that they must be due to a little 

 species of Sphinctrina which was parasitic upon them. 

 Unfortunately I have no opportunity at present of re- 

 examining the structure.il in either case the mycelium 



t Tournefort states (Voyage du Levant, vol. i. p. 21), that the 

 vermiform Tragacanth which he gathered on Mount Ida is the 

 product of a species of Limoniura. He figures it as occupying at 

 first carities in the wood and bark. 



t Kiitzing does not seem to have tested the cell walls with 

 iodine and sulphuric acid, but only with these substances 

 separately. He says therefore that Tragacanth consists of three 

 substances:— 1. Bassorin, which forms the outer thick wall, 

 consisting of many layers; 2. A peculiar form of cellulose to 

 which he gives the name of Gelin— this answers to what is com- 

 monly called the primordial membrane; 3. Starch granules. It 

 is evident from the account given above that there is some error. 

 The whole cell wall consists of what he calls Gelin. 



$ Kiitzing states that little molecules arranged in moniliform , 



threads are first formed at the base, that these gradually form production of brandy subsequently. 



large Cellfl whirh ir turn dva Kii-tli ♦/% ,-v + tw.^ *..r1 *Y.-.t »K« * _ . * * 



mildew, which have not hitherto been much investigated. 

 Through the kindness of Mr. Leacock and Senor 

 Freitas Ferrar, old residents on the island, I have been 

 fortunate in obtaining information which may be safely 

 relied on ; and in regard to the phenomena attending 

 the fermentation, &c., of diseased Grapes, the testi- 

 mony is that of a person whose occupation is distillation 

 and its cognate processes. 



1. As to the sorts of Grapes mostjliable to the attacks 

 of the Oidium. — In Madeira the disease appears pretty 

 indiscriminately to haunt all kinds; but its ravages are 

 most rapid and disastrous in those which produce the 

 best wines, as Malmsey, Muscatel, Sercial, Verdelho, 

 Bual, Negra-mol, Negriuho,Ba8tardo, and Tinta. White 

 Grapes have suffered more than black. Of the former, 

 Malmsey and Verdelho most ; of the latter, Tinta. In 

 general, the Grapes richest in saccharine matter, and 

 which therefore should yield most alcohol, were the 

 greatest sufferers. The mildew attacks the Grape in 

 every stage of its development, as well when it is in 

 flower as when the berry begins to ripen. If while in 

 flower (or before), the fruit does not'set ; if the berry 

 be already set, it cracks on approaching maturity, and 

 lays the seed more or less open, showing it to be par- 

 tially separated from the pulp. Under such circum- 

 stances the pulp does not attain the semifluid state of 

 maturity, but becomes in consistence like the pulp of an 

 Apple, the bunch ceasing to grow, and speedily drying 

 up. In some clusters a few of the berries will continue 

 to grow, and even after cracking give some signs of 

 ripening ; but these contain very little juice, and that 

 green and immature. 



On arriving here in November, I was struck by the 

 miserable appearance of the vineyards after the disease 

 of the previous spring and summer. A few attenuated 

 shoots struggling for life, on which appeared some 

 black and shrivelled remains of bunches, with leaves 

 hardly exceeding those of the Ivy in size. These were 

 a strange contrast to some leaves of the Black Ham- 

 burgh, which I had gathered at home last summer on 

 account of their unusual size, too large to be entirely 

 concealed within the grasp of a quarto volume. 



2. As to the phenomena attending the fermentation 

 of diseased Grapes. — The fermentation in 1852, when 

 the disease first appeared here, was short but violent. 

 What wine was made tasted sweet, but with the fungose 

 flavour of the disease. In 1853 and 1854, the few 

 Grapes that were gathered at all, being taken earlier, 

 were consequently less ripe. The fermentation in these 

 was very slow and imperfect. The greater part became 

 putrid without even clearing ; that is, passed into the 

 last stage of fermentation without the previous vinous 

 and acetous stages. This is confirmed by a Portuguese 

 authority : " A fermentacao putrida tern mais lugar nas 

 uvas doentes que nas saas." * 



My informants concur in stating that it is not easy to 

 say whether the produce of diseased Grapes contains 

 the customary quantity of argoly or tartaric acid, the 

 deposit being in the usual course a work of time, and 

 it does not seem that the wine was subjected to a 

 chemical analysis with a view to ascertain the fact. A 

 Portuguese authority, however, states that H Tartaric 

 acid exists in diseased Grapes, as in healthy ones, when 

 the fruit developes itself, but the comparative quantities 

 have not yet been observed In the sediment of wine 

 produced from diseased Grapes, portions of tartrate of 

 potash are fonnd, as in that from healthy ones." 



It follows, from what has gone before, that the quan- 

 tity of spirit obtained by distillation is much smaller. 

 The absence of healthy maturity, and of the saccharine 



affords not t 

 fermentation, nor consequent! 



Kiitzing, indeed, 



^tba 



^lof avftZ , . : VH | W > for the structure is by no 



1 ** of ChIJ^ Ch i% could P<>*»bly beallied, 



rr— -g-^ en ZggJ"^a^u bstancft so evi dently of a 



****** der philoaophiichen BoUuik, vol. i. 1851. 



large cells which in turn give birth to others, and that the 

 gelinons substance (to use his own phraseology) is converted into 

 bassorin as the cells become more and more superficial. The 

 bassorin ultimately becomes more or less soluble, and the 

 cellular structure is no longer capable of being recognised. 

 Kiitzing, I.e., p. 204. 



{j Since the above was printed, I hav« examined a specimen of 

 this gum, entirely free from any external parasitic growth. Part of 

 the specimen was quite colourless and transparent, another was am- 

 ber-coloured, and another brown; but I found no cellular structure 

 whatever. The sporidia of an Hypoxylon, and the spores of a 

 Pestaloazia were inclosed in the mass exactly as similar objects 



agreed that (as you surmised yourself) diseased 

 Grapes, during the process of fermentation, emit a very 



are in amber. 1 1 may be mentioned here, that on macerating a 

 large piece of gum from a wild Cherry tree, with a view to obtain 

 the cerasine free from any admixture^ a brick-red substance was 

 formed on the sides of the cup containing minute linear bodiea, 

 endowed with active motion. They did not revive on being 

 moistened after they had become perfectly dry. 



• "The putrid fermentation takes place more in diseased 

 Grapes thr-a hi healthy ones." 



