JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



( July 6, 1876. 



the cause lie instances as follows : — Certain leaves exposed 

 to the east wind suffered from blister, whilst other leaves not 

 so exposed did not suffer. Mr. Luckhurst then goes on to say, 

 " It has also been asserted that blister is caused by a fungus 

 f Ascomyces deformans). This is undoubtedly a mistake ; the 

 fungus forms upon the affected part Bimply because it is a 

 favourable medium for its development." 



As to the decisive proof of the cold cutting winds causing 

 the blister, does Mr. Luckhurst not know that Peach blister 

 often occurs with great virulence inside the most carefully 

 protected orchard houses ? Does the cold east wind sweep un- 

 checked through these structures ? When Mr. Luckhurst says 

 the fact of Ascomyces causing blister is undoubtedly a mistake, 

 one is tempted to ask, Who says it is undoubtedly a mistake ? 

 Mr. Berkeley, who has made vegetable pathology a study for 

 fifty years, says of Ascomyces deformans ("Outlines," page 376) 

 that it causes one form of blister, and everyone who knows 

 the genus Ascomyces and is acquainted with the habits of the 

 different species and how they distort foliage and fruit, will 

 agree with Mr. Berkeley. 



No doubt the east wind will shrivel and wither all sorts 

 of leaves and prepare them for the attacks of all sorts of 

 fungi ; but this is quite beside the question. A man may ex- 

 pose himself to the east wind and then die of bronchitis, con- 

 sumption, inflammation of the lungs, or other diseases, but 

 no one but a quack would say that man died of the wind. 

 A child may sit by a drain and speedily die of diptheria or 

 tvphoid fever, but although the drain may have predisposed 

 tne child to the attack, he dies of diptheria or fever, not of 

 drain. The truth of these statements is proved by the fact of 

 diptheria, fever, and bronchitis infecting healthy subjects who 

 have not been exposed to winds and drains. It is known to 

 be the same with Peach blister and a large number of other 

 fungoid diseases of plants. 



Mr. Luckhurst says, " Can anyone who asserts that fungus 

 is the cause of blister give us any facts in support of a theory 

 which strikes me as being mischievous and calculated to mis- 

 lead?" As I, in common with many other observers, believe 

 one form of Peach blister to be caused by Ascomyces de- 

 formans (a form quite distinct from that of tender leaves 

 shrivelled by the east wind), I venture to submit the above 

 facts for Mr. Lnckhurst's consideration, trusting they may not 

 prove mischievous and calculated to mislead. — W. G. Smith. 



[Blistered Peach leaves with Ascomyces deformans were 

 figured by Mr. W. G. Smith on page 31, vol. xxix.j 



HERCULES AT HOME. 



" I ah in lovely bloom ; do come over and see my Eoses, 

 but it must be either early in the morning or late at night. 

 I stage for Maidstone at 4.30 a.m. (Tuesday). " Such was the 

 message I received from Mr. Baker, and busy though I was I 

 could not refuse the invitation, so I went by the last train to 

 Exeter with the intention of helping him to stage for Maid- 

 stone. " If you are waking call me early ; call me early, Mary 

 dear," was my request to the Abigail at the lodgings ; but, 

 alas ! I needed not to be called, for the fear of being too late 

 kept me awake all night, and punctually at 4.30 I turned up 

 at Heavitree. There I found Hercules on the look-out for his 

 gardener, and much astonished to find me instead. However, 

 the old man soon appeared, and then we set to work. 



But what a sight met my eyes ! I cannot better describe it 

 than by saying you looked over a sea of bloom. There were 

 four thousand Eose trees in full bloom, spread over a space 

 which certainly did not exceed a quarter of an acre, and in 

 my opinion was much less. Every good Eose in cultivation 

 with one exception was in full bloom. That one was, strange 

 to say, La France, which with me is always one of the earliest 

 to bloom. 



Under the shade of gigantic Elms the boxes were placed, 

 and the tubes fiDed with spring water, and then we began to 

 cut for the cup, which before these lines see the light will 

 be on the Heavitree sideboard. What a treat it was to Btage 

 that stand of thirty-six. The difficulty here was not where 

 to find a grand bloom of a variety, but which to take and 

 which to leave of blooms that would grace any stand. We 

 commenced with Marquise de Castellane, and I do not hesitate 

 to say that if we had had to stage twenty-four blooms of that 

 variety we could have done it, and yet left numbers of perfect 

 blooms. I can, although I took no list, tell you all about the 

 best Eoses at Maidstone: Xavier Olibo, Annie Laxton, Centi- 

 folia Eosea, Marguerite de St. Amand, Ferdinand de Lesseps, 



Duke of Edinburgh and his Dnchess, Mdlle. Eugenie Verdier, 

 Countess of Oxford, Marie Baumann, all in the finest possible 

 form, and many others too ; in fact, when the boxes were 

 closed I only saw two blooms which could in any way be con- 

 sidered weak. 



It was a treat also to Eee the wonderful knowledge displayed 

 by HerculeB as to the endurance of the various blooms. Edward 

 Morren and blooms of the kind were cut more than half ex- 

 panded, while Xavier Olibo and others of those rapid openers 

 were cut quite in the bud. By seven o'clock all was completed, 

 and the boxes carried off to the cellar, there to wait till the 

 night mail conveyed them in the cool to Maidstone. A box of 

 spare blooms was cut at night. I now predict that the cup 

 value £10 will be awarded to E. N. J. Baker, Esq., Heavitree, 

 Exeter. — John B. M. Cajim. 



RHEXIA VIRGIN ICA. 



Oub figure represents i small family of plants said to be 



indigenous to the vast continent of North America. Though 



a small family there is something very interesting about them 



to the lover of choice, hardy, herbaceous plants. Ehexia 



Fig. 1. — Khexia virgiiiica. 



virginica was introduced to our gardens as far back as 1759 ; 

 the plants of this species require care and skill to cultivate 

 them successfully. Ehexias are but little known and less 

 cultivated, and are seldom met with. There are only four or 

 five kinds enumerated in some of the test works we have, but 

 they are a race of plants of great beauty and ought not to 

 remain longer in the background. . 



Their requirements can be met by imitating their native 

 habitats — sandy bogs. If they are accommodated with sandy 

 peat and moisture success may be expected. They make fine 

 plants on the moist rockery, and they will also succeed with 

 care in a cool peat border, but they must be supplied with 

 water when required. It requires time to get them established, 

 and except for increase the plants should not be disturbed. 

 They are increased by division when growth has commenced 

 in spring. I. have not seen or heard of their being increased 

 by Beed. They are summer-blooming plants of great beauty, 

 and ought to be much more cultivated than they are at the 



