Maech 23, 1912. J 



THE GA R DENE LIS 



. 



C II ROM CLE. 





"9 





183 



lawn sands can be easily and economically com- 

 pounded from the raw materials, and the follow- 

 ing is a dilute one for home use : — Sand, 67 lbs. ; 

 sulphate of ammonia, 7 lbs. ; nitrate of soda, 

 7 lbs. ) superphosphate, 21 lbs. j sulphate of 

 potash, 7 lbs. ; and sulphate of iron, 3 lbs. Ap- 

 ply at the rate of about 5 cwt. per acre, that is, 



5 lbs. per 40 square yards, between the end of - ~.j .~ **««, 



March and the middle of May, according to sea- ge S rou P- Many of the microscopic forms of 



son. If the soil is on the light side the propor- fun gi which we may find on dead plants and 

 tion of sand can be reduced to one-half, and its P arts of plants have appeared like moulds on 

 place taken by some heavy loam, or very tho- " 1 ~* u: — — " 

 roughly-decomposed organic matter. It must be 

 remembered that such dressings can only be con- 

 sidered as of a temporary or stimulative nature, 

 and should not be allowed to interfere with the 



THE NATURE OF PARASITIC FUNGI. 



THEIR INFLUENCE UPON THE HOST 



PL A N T. 



By far the largest number of fungi causing 

 plant diseases are of microscopic character, hence 

 I will confine my remarks exclusively to this 



In %in»/\ -- At m * a 



clothing, wall paper, bread, &c, i.e., thev have 

 not been responsible for the death of the* plant. 

 These fungi have been designated as saprophytes, 

 and are, by their mode of life, distinguished 

 t - from parasitic fungi, which are canable not „nl» 



£2 TrT/ ° l tlM UW °- '• "' " ajUU '' ".•"•*■■« «vi„g 'plant ti^," but L ot 



lleau, McrU. maintaining themselves from the food manufac- 



NOTICES OF BOOKS. 



The Cultivation of Hardy Vines. 



to refer in any greater length to saprophytic 



fungi. 



tured by the attacked plant for its own use, 

 which partnership frequently results, as no doubt 

 the reader has had the misfortune to experience, 

 in the partial or complete destruction of the host 

 plant. 



Vine Growing in England* is the title of a I do not de sire to attach much importance to 

 treatise, which, instead of treating of the sub- thia separation of fungi into saprophytes and 

 ject of vine-growing as a whole, deals only with Parasites. Our experience has repeatedly shown 

 the cultivation of the vine in the open air. The that f un g'' may live part of their life according 

 author appears to have made the subject of open to the °»e or other mode referred to. 

 air vineyards a hobby, and the book is rich in For the purpose of my article, it is unnecessary 

 quotations from writers of bygone times. + '"" "'" ~~ " 



The author opens with the following quota- 

 tion from William Speechly, which forms a 

 fairly true keynote to the remaining pages of 

 the book : — 



Of all the numerous sorts cf fruit indugent Nature p-o- 

 her e nohllI? e D U f Se °r "' An >* hat ?■ ' he Gr ape must be esteemed 



afford. In Ft ! K f ° r a thoug , h ,he vaious otl,er S nj t ™ly 

 u ™ ,f ° rt - but "'any of thein even contribute to the 



as doe .M« 1 "?™ race, yet none of them tend so eminently 



vine ° le Z Ta h g ' 3d tbe h M " Hai, « then > Pilous 

 «"for h .SI modest| y P esume t> treat thy oritur* and to 



rfh . x V virtues, a theme worthy of the immortal go is ' 



whhdT hy ?* e 7° r «"•»«••■ everlast »gly in-pir/m^n 

 with duty and with unfeigned gratitude to the a :i bounteous 



Many practical vine growers will be surprised 

 at the author's opinion as to the success of 

 vines m poor soil. Thus, on p. 25, the author 

 remarks : — 



"lerlVe vZ^V™ 6 sui , tab| e for vineyards should any- 

 reason f™- ?h— at more than fiv- shillings an acre. The 



a Sh« re ,t ' ,and c Juld be cultivate 1 successfully at 



Microscopic fungi, as the name indicates, are 

 extremely minute organisms, whose study neces- 

 sitates a more or less powerful microscone Ypf ±i ' "mi*" x \ — ~~ — * '^^ 



notwithstanding the nfinut.ne s of t" se obiec ' ^l\ V"".™ 7 ^ °™l' ?"**> r ° dsha P ed > 



m ._ * _ , ., ,, , e&e oujetts, or sickle-shaped, with pointed or rounded pnrl« 



are termed Pycnidia. Frequently the conidio- 

 phores branch, and each branch si lents itself 

 into successive spores. This is the case, for in- 

 stance, in the fungus causing the common Potato 

 disease Phytophthora infestans. In other fungi, 

 the production of spores does not take place bv 

 this act of segmentation, but the contents of the 

 hyphae itself forms into generally spherical 

 spores. In this way certain smut spores of grain 

 are produced. 



A very common method of spore production 

 consists in the formation of small sac- 

 like organs, technically termed aaci. These 

 are much broader than the hyphae, and are 

 generally club-shaped. Each ascus contains from 

 two to eight spores, often more, but always an 

 even number. The spores produced in this man- 

 ner are known as ascospores. and the group of 

 fungi endowed with this method of reproduction 

 is known as Ascomycetes. These forms of fungi 

 are again subdivided according to the number of 

 spores in each ascus, and the manner in which the 

 asci are produced, which may be singly, as in the 

 Peach leaf curl fungus, or in flat or rounded 

 discs, as in the Larch canker fungus, or in fruit- 

 ing bodies similar to the pycnidia, but here 

 termed perithecia. These conditions of spore 

 production may become still more complicated, 

 as one species may produce several kinds and 

 crops of spores. 



The spores of microscopic fungi differ greatly 

 in size and form. Their colour is more generally 

 hyaline or transparent, but they may also be 

 brown, grey, pink, &c. Their form varies 



or sickle-shaped, with pointed or rounded ends. 

 They may be single cells, or divided into two or 

 many sections, smooth or pitted, with netlike 

 markings or appendages. Their appearance, 

 however, is constant in each fungus. These 

 characters, together with the manner in which 

 tne > T ar e produced, are regarded as specific and 

 leaves of higher organised plants, inasmuch, at generic distinctions, and are largely used for the 



some are of a decidedly complicated structure. 

 The use of a microscope serves to reveal a vegeta- 

 tive and a generative portion in each of these in- 

 dividuals. 



The vegetative part of fungi is analogous, in a 

 certain degree, to the roots, stem, branches, and 



as the 



any rate, as the vegetative parts of a fungus are 

 responsible for the taking up of food required for 

 its own use. The vegetative portions of fungi 

 consist of very fine, branched more or less, long, 

 transparent or coloured tubes, which may be 

 likened to a human hair or fine capillary glass 

 tubes. These tubes are technically known as 

 vegetative hyphae. They are exceedingly small, 



In dealing with what he describes a* . 



decline " of our English climate he quotes 

 and apparently agrees with— statements 



a Mr. Williams, of Hereford, who wrofe «, 1UW - 



upon the subject of the climate of Great Britain these tubes conslst of protoplasm, which is, in 

 Among other things blamed bv this person for many CaSeS ' P artitioned off b y m eans of small 



statements made by 



1804 



measuring often less than a two-thousandth part 

 of an inch in breadth, while their length may 

 vary from a 25th of an inch to large dense masse** 

 covering whole parts of plants. The contents of 



causing the decline in the character of the En<r- 



numhl lma i 6 v aS th6 introd ^tion of an excessive 

 wrl; ,° f T * hen trees into our woodlands ! The 

 say (p. 28) - ' Gr ° wlng in En 9land goes on to 



«^e Ho^ChS?! f ^ dS n are , the Wal «"'. ^e Chestnut, 



J nJ the Sycamo" ;^ d .""/ Pop!ar ' I sho,,,d ad * th « P'ane 



ajcamore, except f Jr street shading, as in London. 



at present ^r 8 * C * rtaMy fed thankful that 

 N'otwith! ? a , are n ° censors of tr ees- 



t^T afe„ an ; dmg \ H ? SUpP ° Sed inimical eff ^ts of 

 h!h n ree /' Mr - Tod has evidently a very 



takes ft f'° n ° f ° Ur Climate as ^ ^oll for he 



4en vil °L gr r ted t} J at Vin6S ^ rowi "g in the 

 4uladv e il Ce and ripen a cr °P of fruit 

 l4 down 17 r ar -, S ° aSSUred is fa e that he 



J-ear must he U an< V aSt rule that a ^bbatical 

 preven !? t ° b , Served whe " the vines must be 



separating walls or septa. The hyphae may de- 

 velop within the tissues of plants, or cover their 

 surface; collectively, they are spoken of as the 

 mycelium. 



* 



As soon as the vegetative part of a fungus has 

 had time to undergo a certain development or 

 growth, the generative portion is produced. 

 This consists of the reproductive organs or fructi- 

 fications, which may be of very diverse construc- 

 tion, but which, like the seeds in flowering 

 plants, serve the purpose of reproduction. 



Reproduction of fungi is effected by spores, 

 which, when ripe, leave the parent plant in 

 various ways, and which are capable of growiag 

 independently into new plants. 



The sexual development of fungus spores, 

 similarly to the seeds of higher plants, is ac- 

 curately known in comparativelv few instances. 



purpose of classification. When ripe, the spores 

 are shed in various ways, the conidiospores sim- 

 ply become detached, and are carried away by 

 the air. Spores produced in pycnidia or peri- 

 thecia may either ooze out, or be expelled with 

 force through a hole at the apex of the fruiting 

 bodies. Others, again, are freed by the collapse 

 or decay of the conceptacles in which they are 

 produced. When ripe, the spores either pass 

 through a period of rest, as winter spores, or 

 they immediately germinate, when they may be 

 regarded as summer spores. Germination can 

 only be accomplished successfully when there is 

 sufficient moisture available. Hence we all have 

 had the experience that some fungus diseases 

 seem to spread readily during moist, warm 

 weather— Apple and Pear scab, Potato disease, 

 mildews, and others. In favourable condi- 

 tions, the spores take up a large quantity of 

 water and begin to swell, often to double their 

 original size. The next step in germination is a 

 rupture in the cell wall, followed by the produc- 

 tion of a germinal hypha, which is pushed into 

 the particular substratum, leaf, twig, &c, where 

 it quickly begins to ramify. Just as there is 

 great variation of fungus spores, so the 

 germination of the various spores is like- 

 wise very different, and frequently an im- 

 portant factor for distinction of species. 

 Conidiospores most generally germinate by pro- 

 ducing directly one or more germinal tubes, 

 which are capable of infecting plant tissues. 



Drpv j ~~^^*vcu. wiien tne vines must hp vu.»wij x^x*.,™** x *a wmMoiamcu xcw matdULcs. — — j - © i^ -—»—*■■■■ 



to ♦!, • , from be aring anv fruit so as to -Hrl U is generally accepted" that most fungus spores Smut spores, however, produce first a so-called 



ence gU lf \ a h nd fe , rtilit y- So far'as our explri- '~* ~ """ " ' " "^ "* *"• — *— =-* — 



fonnrl +u * • rule is valueless for w r e havp ^f^*^* ». . ... . . . . ^.*»v- buu>m»mi *«*»« <_>* o^^ac io mat t * -* - * ? — © — 



fruitf i in vine cultl *re out-of-doors for everv known as conidiospores or conidia. Conidia are mination, produce the tube causing infection, 



iul year there have han n *-« _ X— *. ,/ produced bv the risincr ud from the mvcelium of a The lo °se smut of Barley and Wheat, however, 



are produced asexually, that is, without egg and 

 sperm cells. The simplest form of spore is that 



short promycelium, on which secondary and even 

 tertiary spores may be formed which, on ger- 



less on e s. ear there have been two or three fruit- 

 Thos 



produced by the rising up from the mycelium of a 

 number of erect hyphae, all of which produce at 

 their tips a single spore or a series of spores. 



'Grape vin- an mterest in the culture of thelx ps a single spore or a senes of s P ores * 



th is book 68 » the ° PeC Wil1 find heI P ful tints in These s P orebearin g branches are known as coni- 

 ^ -P- C. diophores. Thev may rise free into the air, or 



* B * H. M. ToJ. 



tCha:to & Windus.) Is. net. 



diophores. They may rise free into the air, or 

 they may be produced in separate chambers, pro- 

 tected by a hardened membrane, which oodies 



The loose smut of Barley and Wheat, however, 

 produce infection tubes directly. Similar in be- 

 haviour are the teleutospores of the rust fungi. 

 They also produce a promycelium and secondary 

 spores when germinating. H. T. Giissow, 

 Dominion Botanist, Ottawa, Canada, 



(To be continued.) 



