jANrARY 13, 1912 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



37 



NEW BOOKS 



THE CITY DIAEY AND ALMANACK, 1912. 



(The "City Press'' Offices, 148 and 149, 

 Aldersgate Street, Loudon, E.G.). Price 

 Is., by pest. Is. 3d. 



1 more valuable work of reference to tlic 

 City man than the "City Diary,'; the 1912 

 edition of which has just been published, it 

 would scarcely be possible to compile. Tlie 

 annual is, indeed, a veritable philosopher 

 and friend, and constitutes an up-to-date 

 and reliable guide to the City m its many 

 ramifications. It contains among other mat- 

 ters of interest a complete list of members 

 of the Corporation; the names and addresses 

 of the Clerks of the Guilds; particulars of 

 the Citv churches, with the names of the 

 clergy; "detailed data concerning the Terri- 

 torial Force of the City; and full informa- 

 tion as to the personnel of the various muni- 

 cipal and parochial organisations of the one 

 square mile. The "Diary" proper g^iws 

 three days to a page, and is interleaved with 

 blotting "^paper. 



THE GAPtDENING YEAR BOOK, 1912. 



Edited by George Gordon, V.M.H. (W. H. 

 and L Collingridge, 148 and 149, Aiders- 

 gate Street, London, E.G.). Price Is., 

 post free. Is. 3d, 



The Gardening Year Book, which has 

 now reached the fifty-fourth year of publica- 

 tion, appears in covers of a somewhat 

 brighter shade of green than for some 

 years past. The appearance of the 

 book is a point of some importance, 

 but it is far more important to know 

 that the contents are not less remarkable 

 for their freshness, interest, and usefulness 

 than in the fifty odd editions that have pre- 

 ceded that for the current year. 



In the opening pages the reader is pro- 

 vided with a diary that will be found of 

 great value for recording facts specially con- 

 cerned with the garden, and facing the diary 

 pages are reminders of the work that should 

 have attention, and if the value of these is 

 fully appreciated, the numerous details in- 

 volved in the management of a garden will 

 be carried out at the time when the greatest 

 possible advantage can be deri^^ed from 

 them . 



Immediately following the diary pages is 

 the section which has long been highly a,^- 

 preciated by readers, in which the year's 

 work in the garden is detailed in such man- 

 ner as to enable readers to at once refer to 

 the informatio 

 need. 



_ of which they may be in 



In common with other of the standing 

 features, this section has been thoroughly 

 revised, and there is mueh new matter, 

 and as the result the information 

 in 



diseases are so arranged as to i>lace readers 

 in possession of the information necessary 

 to successfully combat the various insects 

 and fungi that are destructive to plant life. 

 The chapter devoted to recipes is closely re- 

 lated to the two last-named, ior therein 

 are directions for the preparation of the 

 various spray fluids, etc., that have in prac- 

 tice been found the most eifectual in the 

 prevention of fungoid attacks aifd the eradi- 

 cation of insect pests. 



The directories of the public parks and 

 gardens and horticultural societies maintain 

 the important positions they have so long 

 occupied, and, as in past years, have been 

 subjected to the most thorough revision, with 

 the aid of returns obtained from the muni- 

 cipal authorities and secretaries of societies. 



is 



every way up-to-date. Tlie lists of 

 new pi a n t s a nd flo we r s th a t we re i n - 

 troduced during 1911 form as usual 

 an important feature, for they are not 

 only val u a ble for pur poses o f re > re n c e , 

 but they indicate the trend of public opinion 

 in relation to the garden, and also show the 

 directions in which the activities of ra'sers 

 are at the present time chiefly directed. 

 The lists of new orchids show in a striking 

 manner how strenuous is the endeavour of 

 those who are engaged in the raising of nev^r 

 orchids. Tlie chapters on annuals and bien- 

 nials, hardy perennials, bulbous and tuber- 

 ous plants, conservatory and greenhouse 

 plants, not only contain ample infojmation 

 on the propagation and cuUivation of an 

 immense number of genera, and these the 

 most important, for beautifying the garden, 

 but selections of species or varieties, as the 

 case may l>e, are given, and these, we know 

 from past experience, prove of great a-s's- 

 tance to those wlio have not the opportuni- 

 ties for obtaining that fulness of. informa- 

 tion essential to tlie avoidance of mistakes in 

 making selections of plants. Hardy fruits 

 and vegetables are dealt Avith in a similar 

 manner, but the cultural details are some- 

 what fuller. 



" Histoire dm Legumes." By Georges 

 Gibault. (Librairie Horticole, 84bis, Kue 

 de Grenelle, Paris.) Price 5 francs. 



For many vears past our old and valued 

 friend, M. Georges Gibault, the erudite 

 librarian of the National Horticultural 

 Society of France, has occupied a foremost 

 position in the horticultural world as an 

 authority on the history and literature of 

 gardening. We do not forget his very vahi- 

 able and instructive essay on ancient horti- 

 cultural literature published some few years 

 ago, nor the many contributions from his 

 pen in the journal of his society, and the 

 other organs of the French horticultural 

 Press, all of which to the curious student of 

 horticulture have a charm and a value pecu- 

 liarly t liei r own, for, as we ha vc 

 hinted, M. Gibault is facile princcps in this 

 special department of horticultural literary 



work. 



The book now before us is of great interest. 

 It will not, and does not pretend to, teach 

 the tyro how to grow the " gros legumes" for 

 show. It is frankly and undisguisedly a 

 book for the student, the writer, the lec- 

 turer, and the literary amateur interested 

 other things than mere cultural details. M. 

 Gibault takes the whole series of well-known 

 vegetables, and, we might add, to some Eng- 

 lish people, even unknown vegetables, and 

 traces far back into the remote mists of an- 



referenoes by the 



and 



tiquity the numerous 

 classic writers, and the 



ANSWERS TO 



CORRESPONDENTS. 



CUCUMBER AND TOMATO CANKER. 

 — W. F. B., Cornwall: In your letter you 

 inform Us that in the course of the autumn 

 of the past year you lost a house of toma- 

 toes from a disease^ which you were unable to 

 recognise, and the cucumber plants in an ad- 

 joining pit suffered in ijiuch the same way, 

 but not to the same extent. You further 

 tell us that you are anxioug to avoid a 

 similar loss, and will be glad ol any help 

 we can e^ive vou. We are anxious to assist 



.by 



descriptions 



allusions' by"tiose of medifeval times right 

 through the ages down to modern days, ilie 

 process by which all this literary, historical, 

 and even etymological matenal has been 

 gathered, collated, and classified, miist have 

 extended over many years. And the patience 

 skill, and determination necessary to piit it 

 all into readable and instructive book form 

 needs the capacity of a past master m sucli 



Briefly, we may say that the contents in- 

 clude somewhat more than 400 pages of excel- 

 lently printed matter ; the type clear and 

 readable. The text is divided not so much 

 perhaps into chapters as into a series of prac- 

 ticallv independent essays, of ^^hi.ch only a 

 very few are illustrated. The subjects dealt 

 with bv our author are ninetv-hve, and 

 among ^them we may mention the garhcK, 

 carrot, asparagus, artichoke, beet, celerj, 

 chervil, cabbage, lettuce, spinach, feakrde, 

 turnip, onion parsnip, potato, k<^k, pea. 

 San,^radish, etc., among the more popular 

 of our vegetables. In some of these essays, 

 notably that on the potato, there quite a 

 large /pace devoted to it, and the references 

 ^ numerous. Thus he quotes the 



'riie chapters on insect pests and fungoid sents no difficulty. 



tZ^^ilJ^^, ^Walter 

 Admiral Drake,. John G^rarde 1 '^n- 

 Bauhin, Parmentier, Ohyior f f " ^^^^ 

 others called into requisition on tl e ^ub^^^^ 

 To the student of horticultural iitoatuu 



and history, M. Gibault's most recent work 

 ana ni^Lui.y, ± , roforences, and 



will appeal not only for its ' 



iok^Llr of such as ■oquiro » I'"' 



wnrkinsr library, and to whom tlie icaam^ 

 rsuclf a b^ok^in the French language pre- 



,. ^ give you 



our readers to the fullest possible extent, but 

 to enable Us to do this in your ca^e you 

 should not only have submitted your ques- 

 tion when the*^ plants showed signs of ill- 

 health, but have sent a portion of one of 

 the stems with a few leaves that we may 

 have been placed in a position to determine 

 the cause of the mischief. But as you are 

 careful to inform us that the first indication 

 of ill-health wa.s the wilting of the leave^^, 

 and that this was followed by the collapse 

 and death of the plants, and that the lower 

 nodes of the stems presented a swollen watery 

 appearance and exuded gum, we have no 

 doubt as to the cause. The disea^ was the 

 cucumber and tomato canker, caused by the 

 fungus known as Mycosphserella citrullina, 

 which has made its appearance in this coun- 

 try within recent years and done consider- 

 able damage. The" result of any preventive 

 measures that may have been taken in this 

 country has not been published, but there 

 is good reason for believing that free ven- 

 tilation will render good service in warding 

 off attacks. This diseavse is very destructive 

 to melons in America, and it has been found 

 there that, while spore inoculation ^ was 

 quite easy in glass (Structures in which a 

 rather high temperature and a moist atmo- 

 sphere was maintained, the inoculations of 

 plants growing in the open nearly all failed. 

 It is verv probable that occasional sprayings 

 with Bordeaux mixture would be Uiseful m 



warding off attacks. 



FORMING A ROCK GARDEN.— S. B. H., 



Lancashire: We have within recent years 

 given much information on forming and fur- 

 nishing rock gardens. Necessarily the mfor- 

 mation is scattered through several volumes, 

 and therefore to save your time we advise 

 you to obtain "Rock Gardens and Alpine 

 Plants," which we recently reviewed in tlie^e 

 T>ages. The author is a master of his sub- 

 lect and the information is thoroughly 

 sound, and given with that clearness of state, 

 ment that is none too common. It may be 

 obtained from the publishers, l^^and 149, 

 \ldersgate Street, London, E.C., price 



"'j.fpA.fSE'S-b INDIAN PINKS.--T. 

 E^x- The yarieties Dianthus Heddewigi 

 and D. chineusis, which are commonly known 

 as Japanese and Indian pinks, are admir- 

 ably adapted for contributing t<> the attrac. 

 tions of the flower garden during the ^^um- 

 mer months, and we are sorry that you did 

 not succeed with them so well as you could 

 have wished. Tlie severe drought most pro- 

 bablv checked the growth of the plants, but 

 theif failure to produce flower^ until the 

 summer was well advanced was due to your 

 not having raised the plants early enough 

 in the year. Hiese dianthuses are biennials 

 and not annuals, as you assume, and there- 

 fore have, when required for the production 



^^^^^ ^ _ be raised at an earlier 



wriod'Tn^he year than is necessary in the 

 case of annuals. We advise you to obtain 

 supplies of seed at once, and sow it imme- 

 diately it i<s received. Sow the seed thinly 

 in' shallow pans or in five-inch pots, 

 and place the seed in a pit or house where 

 it will have a temperature of about 60 de- 

 grees during the germinating process, and 

 the seedlings can have a position near the 

 o-la.ss when they make their appearance above 

 the surface. Prick off the plants into shallow 

 Iwxes when they are becoming crowded, put- 

 tino- them about three inches apart each 

 way. When established remove to a pit or 

 frame where they will enjoy uninterrupted 



lio-ht and bf*ve "sufficient warmth to main- 



