YOL. LY.— No. 3,043. 



SATUEDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1912 



THE 



GARDENERS 



MAGAZINE 



NOTE OF THE WEEK. resnlU h<. has obtained as to remler ^ to <)I)^orvo tlio f lui-us in tli s cM)initrv. iVnini! 



Sweet 



tlieni of the greatest possible value for 

 l)urpose of reference, but there is notliiu":; 

 of the dry-as-dust character about liis <U^- 



The disease of sAveet peas, commonly scription of the disease and tlu 



known as streaky has within the past few 

 vears been so destructive in its effects in 

 many gardens^ and thereby 

 caused much disappoint- 

 ment to cultivators of these 

 fragrant flowers^ that any 

 information likely to prove 

 useful to growers in their 

 endeavours to avert its at- 

 tacks should have the 

 careful attention of those 

 who are concerned with the 

 >w(M:'t pea and its culture, 

 ling this view^ w'e take 



of 



thereof. Those cultivators wlioaic ;in\i()iis 

 to obtain tlio l)est possible residts from 



H 



V) ( 



an earlv 

 (Urecting 



opportunity 

 attention thus 

 ] n'( )m i n ent ly to the impor- 

 tant contribution to the 

 literature of the subject 

 that has been made by 

 Mr. G. Massee, V.M.H., an 

 a bst i-act of which we 



shall 



give in an 

 AVe need nc 



early 



issue. We 



t(» Ml". Massee's eminence 

 as an authority on plant 

 diseases, for that is widely 

 known and generally ack- 

 nowledged; but it may 

 '•e mentioned as a matter 

 of importance that his in- 



vestitrations 



addi- 



possess 



tinnal value from the fact 



tliat 



not at any stage 



in making them he 



'^•^e sight of the practical 

 ^ de of the question in- 

 volved. The view^s to which 



Chittenden, .the Di- 

 leetor of the Wisley 

 1-iboratory, gave expres- 

 in his address at the 



CH M5 



nference 



held by the 

 :\;itional Sweet Pea Society 



December last, on the cause of the 

 <"^ea,se and the value of soil sterilisation as 



en amply confirmed 

 gations. This is 

 'xpected by those \ 



«' f^ acquainted with t 

 - i-ntists. They, of course, deal wTth the 

 l" t in a quite different manner, and 

 : " wanly so. Mr. Chittenden, when civ- 

 i»R particulars of the results he had ob- 

 ^'I'ned m the course of his invest p.tion.. 



addressing an audience 

 al'nost exclusively of those who are engage<i 

 n bp oultn-ation of sweet peas, and dealt 



ihl ^"^'J^* a popular manner. On 



other hand, Mr. Massee so records the 



cons sting 



it on llir nenioj)hiln and also on tlio ])cas 

 tbat Ik^Iool:: to tlii' kit ( li.wt ganh-n . 'J'ln* 

 i-i^adiiH'ss with \\-|ncli tlu- scien i i^t ^ lia\e 



f'^'i'*' ''M lit' ai.l .)t Cull i\ ;i;oi s n 1 li;s itiatter 

 IS oi inicrr.vi , ;is i'\ i(|,.|ic(. i f ;, fuller ;ipj)re- 



ciatiini than was loi- a I^^n_^ inne tlh- ca^e 



<»t tlio \ aine of tlio oo- 

 opt>r;ition ol onll ivat<ns 

 and sr ;<']il ists in 1 lu^ soln- 



of dillicult |»i*(iMcn}>. 



I his asso( i;it jo[i ol so -tMice 



M-itli ]n aol '\( v Useful 



anollicr uav. Ji 

 tho 



a ^s].>ts 



oiul i\ atnr 

 stand ]\n\\ 



t n n 1 o l» '[■- 



neoessa r\ 1 1 k 



■ 



that important qmst ions 

 should f nllv considered 



from all jioiuts of 

 hrtoi'c an answer 



view 

 is at- 



Tli 



V i 



liificutties 



i*'mptrd. 



that hesi't investigators, 

 ni(u-e es])ecially of diseases 

 of fungoid origin, is very 

 clearlv .shown l>v Mr 

 Alas^oe. who i^tates at the 



o(utiinencoment of his 

 ]toi t I hat in his earlier 

 invost igations of Tliielavia 

 l)asi<'(»la . tile fungns caus- 

 it)U the streak disease, 

 he found the fnngns in 



known as the 



what 



is 



and. 



M ilowia stage, 

 girding the flelioato Avhite 



m<ndd at the hase of a 



d vniir 



])lant 



av ;in t 



ntity, 



and wortli v of iieneric 

 rank, he ])ui)tish< d it as 

 Milowia ni\ea. We 



1 101^ 



men- 

 all ilhistra- 



ME, JAMES VERT. 



rn \ ea . 

 this as 

 ti<»n of the no( cssity for 

 not read ly a<ee]>ting a 

 stat(^menl that a <iisease of 

 wh;<]i littlo i> known is 

 hie to this or that <'anse, 



well- 



unless 



ma<le l)v a 

 aiitlioiitv. 

 not less noi (•--arv 



known 



It is 

 that 



their strenuous endeavours, whether en- care should be shown 



gaged in the production of flowers for mar- statements to 

 ket, for exhibition, or for the decoration of 

 the garden and home, should take the two 

 papers and study them together. 



m acrej>ting 

 the effect that injury 

 to vegetation has been <aused by a 

 certain set of circumstances, and of this we 

 had a remarkabh^ pntof at tho lonference 



referred to in the great <livei-^ity of opinion 

 expresstnl by those wlu) took pait in tlie 

 discussio!i. t'ult i\aTors ha\e now the most 

 conclusive proofs thai the cause of "streak" 

 is Thielavia basicola, and snificieut inform- 

 ation with re>:;ard to its life cycle to enable 

 them U) atlopt methods of culture that will 

 value to cultivators of ( ul naiy j)eas, for not favour the develo]>ment of the fungu.s. 

 these, under certain <-onditions, "are equally The point that it is hoth sai»rophytic ami 

 as liahle to infection as the >wcet j^ea ; and jiarasitic. and that it can ]>ass through its 

 the Kev. J. M. Berkeley, who was the first complete course of development as a pure 



Thev 



should be closely studied, for while neces- 

 sarily they do not contain a panacea for 

 the restoration to health of a disease- 

 stricken crop, they afford information of 

 immense value on the prevention of the at- 

 tacks of the fungus by which the disease is 

 camsed. This information is hardlv of le 



