YOL. LV.— No. 3,045 



SATUEDAY, MARCH 9, 1912 



THE 



GARDENERS 



MAGAZINE 



NOTE OF THE WEEK. 



♦ 



In the histoa'y of the evolution of or- 

 ganic forms of life, both animal and plant, 

 th;i(t of the parasites forms certainly ono 

 of the mo'>t int(^re^ting chapters. There 

 are. li:nvever, parasites and parasites, som 

 havin^i; 



manently, but it is eomewliat hard to <lra\v 

 the line between, say^ the dodder and a 

 brood of aphis or greenfly as regards capa- 

 cities of parasitic suction. The ba-by dodckM' 

 no sooner touches a growing plant with its 

 sleaider fingers than it grips it fast, plunges 

 a series of ^suckers through its epidermis, 

 and commences t{> grow apace at its host's 



delicate-winged 



banclu' an<[ Latbra'a, are not uncommon, 

 and often grow iind sliow tlicir in<*omspicu- 

 ous flowers in pl;u-e>. where their parasitic^tl 

 chai JH^tej- is uoi known until it is attempted 

 to t rniisphuit or (Madicate them, wlu^ji 

 their ahsrn< *^ ot a pi opor root nvsIohi be- 

 trays them. As re»:ard> plants, inere asso- 

 ciation with iheni hy extriiial attat-liment 

 by no means iiii])]ies ]>ara>itisni. Tuder 



reached such a degree of degrada- floating in the air, drops upon a tender very <lani|) and waini foiestal conditions 



tion tliat they do nothing for their own plant, and in like fa.sliion plunges a sucker w( 

 living, but exctedvely prey 



hall find tlie hirger tree trunks 



upon their hosts, while others 

 help a httle. In the familiar 

 plaint world these two kinds 

 may be typified hy the Dodder 

 and the mistletoe. The for- 

 mer is the relentless blood- 

 sncker which does its A^ery 

 best to deplete its involuntai'y 

 host of every drain of sap 

 wliich it has collected for it>? 

 own benefit and convert it into 

 an intricate labyrinth a]id 

 network of mere stalks and in- 



mg 



-V I 



flowers 



while 



character t-o some 



and 



even branches oovere^l with 

 innnnu'rable plants, all grow- 

 without a iiv <'oi meet ion 

 v.ith th(^ soil. :uh1 t hi^rt'tore 

 appan^ntly depc^ulent upon 

 the tr<*e foi* board as well as 

 lodging, so to sj)eak, which, 

 however, is not llie <'ase. On 

 examination, sliall find 



that all the roots, fibrous and 

 other , simply travel super- 

 ficially, and at the most 



be- 



pentrate 

 bark without 



m 



1- 



significant 



leaves which^ in a properly 

 conducted ;;md self-respecting 

 plant would do some of the 

 vital wo rk, a re reduced to 

 mei-e rudiments. The mistle- 

 toe, on the other hand, al- 

 though still a blood-sucker, 

 dws form a bunch of green 

 leaves, and wherever that 

 green is seen iu vegetation^ it 

 1^ a sign of some self-support- 

 redeems 



" sponge " 



^'xtent. In defining a para- 

 ^1 1 ' ' as an orga/ni&m which 

 lives at the expense of an- 

 ther, we Biiust go further 

 Ix'th botanioally and zoolog 

 cally by assuming a hodily 

 Ji^soeiation and connection, 

 t'i<^ parasite either living 

 fixed upon or in the host, and 

 »n most caises unable to exist 

 ^^'tHout it. In tliis sense we are invaded 

 l^^a ever pervaded by myriads of parasites, 

 Hnisibie, It may be, but none the less dan- 



The air is full of these germs, and 

 horl ^^^^^'^ means an inroad of fresii and innumera-Die see^is, ioul nic^ttra^ 

 ovttvT' certain living hodies (phago- calndy proceeds to multiply itself on such 



. ]u oui* blood are constantly engagc^l an extreme scale that mvriads result in a 

 2^^ne^^^u^ and desti-oying. With plants 

 . "1^ ^"'1' provision in their sap, nor 



" ^^'*'y n. e,! ,t -.0 much, though thev. too, 

 ^"^<Mhe,r battle to fight against iuva<linu 



ever ready to attack a wonnde<l spot 

 taJve advantage of a weakened constitu- 

 cine to injudicious treatment or net^- 

 t.) l' . ^ '^'^^"^^^ parasite propi^r 



nxed to its victim more or less np-r- 



going 



neatli it. The necessary plant 

 f oi ) d is supp 1 i ed by f all i n g 

 leaves and vegetable debris, 

 plus, of course, the liberal 

 supply of hnmi<lity which such 

 a habitat affor<ls. It is such 



lioiues as thes<» in tropical re- 

 t^ion-' which have given us the 



orchids. 



bulk of 

 The efiv 



our finest 



giving of lodging, how- 

 ever, even minus board, may 

 be fa-tal to the host. Many a 

 fine irvv lias rielded under 

 the fa t a 1 eni b race of 



assertive ivv, 



and 



the 



MR. J. B. RIDIXG. 



^'t^rous. 



through the ep^cUu-niis. and sucks the sap 



beneath it. Being, however, an insect and 



not a plant, it is incapable of branching light and air. 

 out in all directions and pro<lucing flowers 

 and innumerable seetls, 'but instead it 



tropics the battle betw<HMi the 

 immense lianes or vines and 

 the tall tree,- for a niH^dtul 

 >hare ot sunshine i^ ever dras- 

 ti<a!!y wai^inl. the originally 

 blender shoot of the "paira- 

 site in one sense, though not 

 in another, eventually invad- 



r 



in*' a nujnster of tlu^ forest 

 and strangling it in its i>crfidious embrace 

 after lohbino; its foliage of theh nee<1ful 



Mr. J- B. Riding:, of Fore.st Side, 



Chingford, has always l)een closely asso- 

 ciated with horticulture, and at fifteen 



very short time, each one of which is husy ^i^^eo wun nu, .u.u.. , ... • . 



.11 ^.1.. .on^.ninl narasitic task, years of age he conu)HMu.Hl the serious busi- 



all the time in its congenial parasitic task. 

 In the plant world, however, thwe are 



ness of life under his father, who was gar- 

 ilener at Beecli H;l! Park, Waltham Abljey. 



parasit.^ of a still more insidious type, in- <l-ner at nee. . .x.. . ' ^ l:^,^^ 

 ' , . xu.™.„K,^. „,vf Seven vears later lie \\ent to I oies. near 



asmucli as th-n* attach themselves, not 



openly, like the uo.m.,- manager to 



the sterna and l)ranches above the ground, toui , ais. > - Xur..^v\^< WMre 



-t ™ r. l..i.".u..l5- to the root bo- .^1 ' ^,, - 1'-;-, 'r': 1^ , i. 



mistletoe, to 



Ware, as furenian. and theie stayed about 



more or less per- noath it. 



this 



In -Mr. Hiding started business on his 



