338 



CASSELL'S POPULAK GAEDENING. 



shaded by trees or buildirgs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

 throughout June and July would also prohably 

 mitigate, the evil. Prevent any and all sudden 

 checks to the' Hoses during the growiag season, and 

 try so to order blooming and pruning that the wood 

 stall be of moderate size and well matured before 

 the winter. 



, During the period of perfect dormancy, wash over 

 the trees carefully, branch and stem, right down to 

 the collar, and under it, with clean soft water, to 

 which has been added a wine-glassful of parafEn to 

 the gallon, removing all loose bark in the process, 

 and working the mixture well into every crevice and 

 cranny. During the time the orange fungus is on 

 the Eoses, great care should be taken not to allow 

 an atom of it to fall on the soil, and in the early 

 autumn the whole surface soil of fungus-afiected 

 Eoses should be carefully scraped off bodily and 

 charred, and returned, or used for other purposes, and 

 fresh soil, compost, or spent tan, a capital antiseptic, 

 put in its place. 



The only cure, such as it is, consists in picking off 

 the first colony, and pegging away at the fungus, and 

 the leaves it is found upon, until not one speck can 

 be found. All sorts of nostrums, such as sulphur, 

 powder and liquid ; caustic lime, applied hot ; soot ; 

 mixtures of mineral oils and sulphuric acid, and many 

 others, have been used, to little or no purpose. Per- 

 sistent hand-picking, carrjdng carefully away and 

 burning all the infested leaves, handling them softly 

 as if one loved them, for fear of distributing the 

 spores, are among the only known methods of sub- 

 duing this, one of the very worst of all the Eose 

 pests. 



The Gout. — This is not a new disease among 

 Eoses, though the Marechal Niel has developed it iuto 

 new size tod importance. The older and more modern 

 BiOsarians were more or less familiar with protube- 

 rances on the stems or branches of Eoses and other 

 plants. These they designated gangrene or dropsy, 

 the latter name indicating the character of the 

 disease, which was mostly met with in a state of 

 decomposition. This, however, is not at all the 

 disease that has appeared in such pronounced forms 

 on our Marechal Niels, and is occasionally met with 

 in a few others, mostly, however, in such immediately 

 above the point of union of the scion with the stock. 

 The swelling varies in size, and consists of bark and 

 wood in a state of enlargement, and a condition of 

 partial or complete decay from dry rot. It was 

 mostly thought to arise from deficiency of conduc- 

 tive power between the scion and the stock, but 

 this theory is now exploded, as it breaks out any- 

 whore on the Marechal Niel Eose, either in the open 

 air or under glass, and goes on enlarging and 



deteriorating untU the dry rot severs the connection 

 between the stem or top below and those above the 

 wounds, and thus the whole of the Eose above the 

 gouty portions dies. 



The disease seems to originate partially in bruises 

 and constrictions, for the sweUing may invariably 

 be found above neglected ties or old wounds. It 

 must, however, be added that the gout is often 

 found where no such causes exist. So far this new 

 disease, or rather probably old one, arising with 

 fresh virulence, has baffled cure. It takes it about 

 three years to eat through a bole, or thick bough, 

 and the plant must either be cut back or taken up, 

 fresh sweet soil added, and a young or fresh one 

 planted in its stead. The disease is so prevalent and 

 so fatal among Marechal Niels, that eveiy one should 

 keep a good stock in reserve. It is wise to see that 

 every stem and branch has free space and fresh 

 ground, that all rough bark be removed, and that any 

 swellings or protuberances are dressed with cart- 

 grease or train-oil; when first observed these may 

 defer the work of destruction, should they fail to 

 prevent or cure the disease. 



Suckers. — ^Where these abound to a great extent 

 they are at once a proof and a cause of disease, in so 

 far as the latter may be described as disorganisation 

 and subversion of vital functions. The sap designated 

 for the nourishment or further extension of the top, 

 is quite wasted in growing suckers, and the top is 

 starved into weakness and disease in consequence of 

 its supplies of food being thus diverted and per- 

 verted. This misdirection of energy and vital 

 power is one of the most frequent causes of failure 

 in not a few gardens, and where it prevails to 

 any great extent it becomes a disease in itself. It 

 sometimes arises from the working of weakly Eoses 

 on strong stocks, at others from repressive priming, 

 and yet others from the attacks of mildew, red rust, 

 and Aphides, sudderdy arresting top growth, and thus 

 shutting up the natural outlets for the sap. 



The following are among the most powerful causes 

 of suckers : the hardness and dryness of the bark 

 of the stems ; the exposui-e of their roots dur- 

 ing winter, the reckless destruction of sucfe. roots 

 through cai'eless digging, unsuitable soU, &o. The 

 roots should also be carefully overhauled for these 

 before planting, and every bud or shoot likely to 

 run into a! sucker be removed. Vigorous suppression, 

 so fast as they are produced, has a tendency to stop 

 their production. After a continuous contest per- 

 sistently waged, the suckers give up in despair, and 

 turn their supplies into roots proper for the nou- 

 rishment of the plants. The old plan of using u 

 small hay-band around the stems of Eoses and other 

 trees, and keeping it more or less moist throughout 



