Apbil 13, 1912.] 



THE GARDENERS 



CHR XI CL E. 



243 



Population of Canada.— According to the 

 revised figures of the Canadian census totals, the 

 increase in the rural population for 10 years was 

 555.065, and in urban districts the increase was 

 1,278,147, bringing the total population of 



cf 



Canada up 

 in 1901. 



to 7,204,527 as 



against 5,371,315 



this staple has practically died out 

 Ceylon and most parts of South India, the 

 planters of Coorg and Southern Mysore are well- 

 to-do and prosperous. But they have their 

 troubles here as elsewhere. It is "in Coorg that 

 the Lantana has reached its maximum growth, 



Silver-leaf Disease— An account of re- 

 searches on this disease by Mr. F. T. Brooks 

 appears in a recent number of the Journal of 

 Agricultural Science. The author succeeded in 

 inducing silver-leaf in Plum trees by inoculating 

 them with mycelium of Stereum purpureum 

 which had been grown in pure culture from 

 spores; in a few cases the same phenomenon was 

 also produced by inoculation of branches of 

 healthy Plum trees with the spores of this 

 fungus. These results confirm the view of Pro- 

 fessor Percival and Mr. Spencer Pickering 

 that this fungus is the cause of the disease. It 

 will be remembered that these authorities caused 

 the production of silver-leaf in fruit trees by 

 inoculating them with pieces of the natural 

 sporophores of Stereum purpureum. Mr. Brooks 

 adds that, although it would be rash to say that 

 this fungus is the only cause of silver-leaf, he 

 also cannot avoid the conclusion that it is the 

 agent chiefly responsible for the trouble caused 

 by the malady in the fruit-growing districts of 

 this country. Details of the prevalence of the 

 disease in the fruit plantations of Cambridgeshire 

 are given in the course of the paper, and emphasis 

 is laid upon the desirability of cutting out and 

 burning branches of affected trees that have 

 begun to die back ; badly affected trees should be 

 completely destroyed. Mention is made of the 

 fact that after trouble lias been taken to uproot 

 dying trees, they are sometimes left in the 

 plantation sufficiently long to allow of the 

 development of the fructifications of the fungus. 

 In one plantation a fence was found to be made 

 of portions of dead Plum trees on which the 

 fructifications of Stereum purpureum 

 developing in enormou 



render it very easy for the plant to be scattered 

 over the country by straying cattle. It is feared 

 that the limited natural grazing will soon be com- 

 pletely destroyed by the Sensitive plant. Beside 

 these pests, there are several species of Loran- 

 thus, which infest the forest trees, especially the 

 shade trees in the coffee estates. The Red (Velar, 

 for instance, is always selected by a particular 

 species of Loranthus and heavilv parasitised. On 

 looking over the forest it can be readily picked 

 out at a great distance by the masses of yellowish 

 parasite on its upper branches. Whereas the 

 Sensitive plant takes up the roadsides and 

 scrambles up the banks to 5 feet, Lantana 

 clambers up the trees to 25 or 30 feet, and the 

 Loranthus has its home in the sunlit topmost 

 branches. Some attempts at destroying the Sen- 

 sitive plant have led to curious result*. For in- 

 stance, when the plant is dug up and burnt, the 

 immediate effect is an enormous growth of seed- 

 lings, which cover the ground to the exclusion 

 of all other vegetation. Probably the best means 

 for getting rid of it will turn out to be spraying 

 with sodium arsenite, as the leaves are very 'sen- 

 sitive to this poison, and close up and wither in 



a very short time after an application. C. A. 

 Barber. 



■ • 



Fig. iog.— -koyal, international horti 



CULTURAL EXHIBITION. 



(Cup presented by the County of Warwickshire.) 



(See p. 242.) 



forming " excellent cover for elephants.'* In 



of energetic action, manv Darts have 



nergetic action, many parts 



by the pest, 

 serious question whether 



spite 



been completely overrun 



it has become a 



and 



were 



forest conservancy can be continued unless the 

 Lantana be destroyed. Recently a scare has been 



NOTICES OF BOOKS. 



The Complete Gardener.* 



There has been no Complete Gardener jdnot 

 George London and Henry Wise gave to the 

 world of Dutch William's day an abbreviate! 

 translation (with remarks) of one of Quintiney's 

 books. The title is all-embracing, but whereas 

 that of the 17th century was confined to fruits 

 and vegetables, this of to-day leaves untouched, 

 however slightly in some instances, no phase of 

 gardening. The volume is 2J inches thick, and 

 though it might be assumed that a space so 

 liberal would invite prolixity, the author cannot 

 be accused of that failing. On the contrary, he 

 provides a large amount of teaching, sound and 

 • herwise, according to the dogmatic leaning of 

 the reader. The stvle is not so dull as the lucu- 



aeveloping in enormous numbers. Such prac- -"-""""• "" rr™~*.' . """ v ^ - ~~* "»° "«« tne reader, lhe style is not so dull as the lucu- 

 tices should be avoided if a check is to be put /^ /# ^ \ nCrea ** . the Se " slt ^e brations of the professional who ventures into 



tf % * v * nlant. f Mimosa minicai. ma rnmnarafivflK? ^„:..i i_i- ,i i • •» ■, » * ■ 



upon the spread of this disease, which certainly 



seems 



plant (Mimosa pudica). This comparatively 

 humble plant is provided with ex < llent means of 

 reproduction. It readily shoots when cut down, 



Publications Received.— Verzeichnis der 



MitgReder der Deutsch n Garte bau-Gesel- 



Mchait. (Berlin, lnvaliden-Strasse 42 : Deutsche 

 Gartenbau-Gesellsciiafu.) 



COORG. 



Coorg is a native state that was taken by 

 the British at the request of the people, be- 

 cause of oppressive government. Many tales are 

 told of the peculiarly atrocious way in which the 

 last king harried hiti subjects. Nested in a group 

 of mountains at the top of fhe Western 

 Ghauts, at an elevation of from 3,000 to 

 4,000 feet and clothed in dense masses of 

 forest, the trees of which are covered with 

 Orchids and other epiphytes, Coorg is a 

 happy hunting ground for the botanist. Yet 

 it is still largely unexplored by the collector. For 

 gardening, the climate is ideal. The country is 

 fairly well watered, with a sufficiency of sun to 

 bring many of the flowers to perfection, yet cool 

 enough for the healthy growth of the many 

 gorgeous garden flowers which liave been from 

 time to time collected from all parts of the world 

 by settlers in the South Indian mountains. The 

 natives are a warlike and independent race, 

 and the country is shut in by a series 

 ot impassable mountain barriers, which have 

 enabled the Coorgs successfully to resist the 

 onslaughts of the various conquerors of the 

 peninsula The inhabitants have always been 

 thoroughly friendly to the British, and, much 

 W * dvanta S e > several parts of the country 

 naving been extensively settled by European 

 Planters. Coffee is the main crop, and, while 









Fro. no. — royal international horti- 



JRAL EXHIBITION. 



cc 



(Cup presented by Mcs rs. Sutton & Sons.) 



(See p. 242.) 



and has enormous seeding powers, the seeds 

 having been noted as keeping good for so long 

 as 60 years. The pods are lomentaceous, that is, 

 they break up into separate pieces, each with one 

 seed, and are armed with hooked prickles, which 



spa 



the gardening English of the literary amateur 

 when he relates his experiences, but smooth and 

 pleasant to read all the same. 



The chapters on Hardy Border Flowers, on 

 Annuals, on Roses, on Carnations, on Sweet 

 Peas, and on Favourite Bulbs, are perhaps the 

 more important. There is a series of good tables 

 annexed to some of the chapters, from which 

 those seeking advice may see at a glance the 

 whole details connected with each plant. One of 

 the most exhaustive of these tables relates to 

 colour, but probably it is the least satisfactory 

 of all. We know how difficult it is to describe 

 exactly certain colour tones, yellow and pink, 

 for instance. The golden and orange shades of 

 the former, and the bluey-pinks of the latter, it 

 seems impossible to get two people to agree as 

 to how they should be described. Nothing is so 

 difficult in practice as to match flower colours, 

 and I should not like to attempt " Vivid ver- 

 milion and dark blue — separated here and there 

 by groups of garden variegated shrubs and 

 plants," especially when Chelone barbata is 

 named as a vermilion, and Campanulas Van 

 Houttei and turbinata and Lupinus polyphyllus 

 as dark blue. The value of white and cream, as 



w 



Mr. Thomas remarks, is great in colour mingling, 

 but their enforced use does not represent the 

 highest altitudes that can be reached in colour 



schemes. 



Here and there occur remarks that are mis- 

 leading. We are told that " Only in the South 

 and South Midlands can the Peach be grown out- 

 of-doors with hope of success." Those who 

 know are well aware that no finer out -door 

 Peaches are produced than in Scotland. Two 



* The Complete Gardener, by H. H. Thomas agisted by 

 experts. (Lcnon: Cassell & Co, Ltd) 1912. Frica 

 10s. 6d nt. 



