JrNE 29, 1912. 



THE GARDENERS* MAGAZINE. 



499 



NOTES OF OBSERVATION. 



Cineraria. Matador.— llii 



ciue- 



raria, wliicli has been }:)efore the public for 

 two or three years, has gained many admirers 

 during the present season, the di.stinguishing 

 feature being its beautiful colour. It is of 

 sturdy habit, Avith large flowers ; that is to 

 say, it belongs to what are usually termed 

 florists' cinerarias. The colour is difficult to 

 define, but it is of a somewhat light velvety 

 crimson-scarlet. — S. W. 



ing the Double 



The double-flowered gor.se is a 

 very beautiful shrub, and well worthy of a 

 pia«£* in the lx)rder8 of a garden. It will 

 succeed in almost any kind of soil, but e^pe- 

 ■cially in one that is light, sandy, or gravelly. 

 In some parts of the New Fore.st, and in 

 gardens of that part of the county of Hamp- 

 -(shire, the double gorse may l>e seen thriving 

 in V3?ry shallow and poor soil. Propagation 

 is easy if the tips of the shoots are int>erted 

 in a sandy bed on the north side of a wall 

 at the end of the summer. Plants so rairi-ed 

 make pretty little standards about HOin. 

 high.— G. B. 



Scutellaria Indica var. japo- 



nica- — Among the choice alpines which 

 have been displayed this spring in the alpine 

 house at Kew is a Japanese variety of the 

 Indian Skull Cap. Its full lx)tanical name 

 is Scutellaria indica var. japonica, and this 

 lengthy appellation is certainly against its 

 popularity. On the other hand, it is a 

 beautiful little plant with neat greyish- 

 green foliage, both pleasing in form and in 

 hue, and giving a good supply of purple 

 flowers. At Kew it was onlv a few inches in 

 height, and it is evidently a rock plant of 

 no little merit. It is understood to be hardy, 

 and a comparison of notes regarding it would 

 lead to the belief that it is so. It ahould be 

 cultivated in a dryish and sunny position, 

 and, although not showy, it will be a neat" 

 and pretty little plant for the rock garden. 



Propagation is effected by division or by 

 seed. — S. A. 



The Whitethorn, or Quick, for 



S- — Mr. Day, in dealing with this 

 subject a short time ago, advocated double 

 lines as preferable to single ones, but he 

 did not say why. I have had much to do 

 with this form of hedge plant, and think none 

 other is eqxial to quick where cattle are con- 

 cerned, and I have always held to the idea 

 that a single row of plants is preferable, as 

 I have many instances here supporting that 

 view; but I am willing to learn, and 

 would be glad to hear tln^ reason that 

 prompted Mr. Day to nrgo the contrary. 

 We have single-row hedges of quicks that are 

 one hundred years old, not more than 4ft. 

 6in. high, and perfect cattle fences. My ex- 

 perience of double rows is that, though a 

 hedge can thus be grown c] nicker than when 

 in >iiity]o i(>\\>, tile bottom is less thick. The 

 conuiiou taiilt with th? management is that 

 of allowing the hedges to get up too quickly. 



Pyrethrums.— At this season of the 

 year there are no more useful flowers to \ye 

 found in the garden than pyrethrums. They 

 are excellent subjects for table and room 

 decoration, standing a long time when cut. 

 When planted in the herbaceous borders thoy 

 brighten them up considerably. To see them 

 at their best, however, they require to be 

 planted in their separatt^ colours. They will 

 succeed in nearly any good garden soil, but 

 they are bad drought resisters, and need 

 liberal waterings in dry weather. Ground 

 intended for pyrethrums should be well 

 manured and trenched in the autumn. There 

 -are many excellent varieties on the market, 

 but the following dozen are about the best: 

 Doubles — Duchess of Edinburgh, mauve ; 

 ^onard Kelway, rose; Bonamic, sulphur; 

 H. Murger, purple; Dulcina. white; and 

 Eximea, pink. Singles— Albion, white ; 

 Emblem, lilac: James Kelway, crinuson; A. 

 ^elway, rose; General Gaselee, scarlet ; 

 Kimberley, crimson.— D. S. A. 



Turnips are the l)etter if frequent .sow- 

 inof^ iii'e made at this seaison. Choose a isite, 

 if pocs^sible, on a border facing north. Treat 

 advised for carrot*?. If a northern border 



crnnot be spared tiow on the >;hady side of 

 peas and beans. Red Globe is an excellent 

 variety for sowing at this time of the year, 

 and indeed at all times.- G. K. 



Kerria japonica flore plena.— 



This iis certainly entitled to a place among 

 the most l>eautiful of our hardv slirul^s. for 



-like })lossoms of 



with its charming double 

 a rich golden-yellow colour, there is nothing 

 to which it can be compared. Owing to 

 its early season of blm)ming. it is s4H^n as a 

 rule to the best advantage when trained to 

 a wall, and thereby protected from spring 

 frosts and cutting winds. Though deciduou 

 the bright grtHm iKirk renders it during the 

 winter season almost as eflf^H'tive as an ever- 

 green. Apart from its value out of door.s, 

 it also readily lends itst^lf to gentle forcing, 

 and. brought on in this way. the fiowcrs are 

 much appreciated in early s])ring. — K. 



Pelargonium ardens.— Tliis be- 

 longs to the old-fashioned race of ]>elargo- 

 niums; in fact, it is often looked U])on as a 

 true species, but the ** Dictionary of Garden- 

 dening *' states it is a hybrid l>etween Pelar- 

 gonium fulgidum and P. lobatum. It is of a 

 free brandling habit of growth, with neat, 

 dark green leafage, and bears its umbels of 

 bright coloui-ed flowers in great profusion. 

 These blossoms are d(H*j) warlet, with an 

 almost black blotch in the centre. Tliere is 

 a tendency in favour Oi these old-fashioned 

 pelargoniums, many of which have such fra- 

 grant leaves that in the nosegays of bygone 

 days were always much appreciated. Tlie 

 nomenclature of these is terribly confusing, 

 but as a collection is to ]>e grown at Wigley 

 this year, that trouble may be, to a certain 

 extent, overcome. — S. W. 



Centropogon Lucyanus.— Tliis 



})retty flowering plant, wliich is st'cn at its 

 l>est at the cool end o.' the stove, or in the 

 intermediate house, at all events during the 

 winter, has a season of blooming which ex- 

 tends over a lengthened ])eriod. It is fairly 

 well-known as a rather loose-growing plant, 

 tliat bpars towards the points of the shoots 

 clusters of peculiarly curved bright rosy- 

 carmine coloured ftowers. As a pot specimen, 

 from its loone, partially drooping ha})it, it 

 needs to be secured to a stake, but it may 

 be also grown in a suspended basket, under 

 which conditions the drooping chu?.ers of 

 flowers are seen to considerable advantage. 

 It is readily struck from cuttings of the 

 young growing shoots, taken in the spring, 

 inserted in pots of sandy soil, and placed 

 in a close i)]0|)agating case with a gentle 

 bottom lu';it In the potting compost a 

 Iil)eral suppiv of good leaf-mould should be 

 mixed. — W. T. 



St reptOCar puses. — ^Comparisons be- 

 tweeii tlie International Exhibition just past 

 and the one held forty-six years previously, 

 are very generally met with. Among the 

 >ubjeets at that time unrepresented, and one 

 may truthfully siiy undreamt of as popular 

 garden plants, are the different forms of 

 streptocar])U<s, which now (icctijiv i ioicnin-t 

 position among decorativ;' fln\\erij];4 '-ubj;'( ts. 

 It is about twentv-five years since the first 

 hybrid atreptocarpuses made their appear- 

 ance, but it was some time after that before 

 tlh'v Wi rt' oiMMTallv cultivated. The collee- 

 ti'ni of tln -i- lit'aut'ful flowers at tlie Inter- 

 national well servi'd to -li(»w ii ;1 (ni'y tlifir 

 high decorat i ve vahiv, hut al^-o ' !i g:io(l liahit 

 of the plants. thvW .vlia.pely blo<»nis, and par- 

 ticularly the wide range of colour that now 

 exists among them. Added to th's, tliey ar;^ 

 of cOimparatively <'a-y ciiltur.'. and can be 

 readily raised fmni seed. I'roni a purrly 

 decorative standp^wnt, they must l>e coi;- 

 sidered to h? the ('(jual of the gloxinia, a- 

 thousrh the flower^ are in tlu-v a' ■ 



wonderfuUv effectivr. and qo,-;l fl-. a fi i n<4- ex- 

 amples of these streptocarpn>ert can gr;>w)i 

 in (juite small pots, and in this way they are 

 very useful for dropping into the small jar- 

 dinieres and other recApfacles now much 

 in vogue. W. 



TOMATO'LEAF RUST. 



The destructive di.-^ease known as tomato- 

 leaf rust, due to the parasitic fungus Clado- 

 sporium fulvum (Cooke), was first described 

 by Dr. M. C. Cooke, from specimens received 

 from North Carolina in 1883, 



Its occurrence in this country was recorded 

 by Plowright in 1887, when it proved very 

 destructive to tomatoes grown under glass, 

 in two different districts. Curiously enough, 

 the fungus was not observed as a source of 

 injury to tomatoes in the United States until 

 the year 1888. It is now a well-known pest, 

 attacking tomat<K*s in France and Italy also. 



Description. 



The leav(»s, stem, and occasionally the 

 fruit, are attacked. The fungus usually first 

 apiH^ars on the leaves, in the form of small 

 scattered s|K)ts, which gradually increjtse in 

 size and encroach on each other, until almost 

 the entire under surface of the leaf l)ecomes 

 covered with a minutely velvety, dull rust- 

 coloured layer, consisting of the spore-l>ear- 

 ijig portion of the fungus, the .spawn or 

 niycelinm being imbcdd<'d in t he tissues of 

 the leaf. The presence of the fungus is first 

 iudicat<^ by the a])pearance of pale yellowish 

 patches on the upi>c*r surface of the leaf, cor- 

 resjM)nding in position to infected areas on 

 the under surface. Thes<* yellowish patches 

 increase in size^ in pro|x)rtion to the spread 

 of the fungus on tlu^ under surface, and 

 gradually change through brown to almost 

 black, often with a tinge of purple. The 

 fungus forms long, rust-coloured, afterwards 

 blackish streaks on the stem, and more or 

 less circular, scattered patches on the fruit. 

 "When the fungus shows a rusty tinge, the 

 leaves wilt and soon die. and. as a rule, the 

 disease spreads very (juickly. This, to a very 

 great extent, is due to tin* usual metliod of 

 spraying horizontally, so that the spores are 

 forcibly driven from one plant to another, 

 if l)v anv means the water could be allowed 

 to fall from alnn^e, after the manner of a 

 steady rain, numerous spores would l>e 

 washed on to the soil, where they would ger- 

 minate and perish, instead of being lodged on 

 the leaves of healthy plants. wIht:* th<y .-.ct 

 up new centres of disease. 



Preventive sind Remedial 



Measures. 



Spraying with fungicid-es is, according to 

 a recent leaflet issued by the IJoard of Agri- 

 culture, of very little avail, unless com- 

 menced the moment the disease first slutws <ni 

 the foliage. The reason for this is lliat no 

 fungicide is a curative agent; neither will it 

 kill fungus spores. All that a fungicide can 

 do is to form a film of some substance on 

 healthy leaves, and act as a poison to any 

 germinating fungus spores that happen to 

 alight on the leaf. Success in this direction 

 depends entirely on the m<'thrd in which 

 spraying is con :I net twl t It ^ < 1 1 » ; ,m J ) m n (t f o 

 cover the entirr mm f.n . *>i < vi ; v ]*!.uil with 

 the fungicide. To a('i "in|!li>li ili - ' '-ji ( t 

 even approximately, rt-pratcd >}o;iyir<^- arc 

 absolutely necessary. 



If the plants are young, half-strentjth Bor- 

 deaux mixture may be employed. When 

 tluwcrs and young fruit are present, a solu- 

 tion of liver of sulphur, loz. in four gallons 

 of water, should l>e used. 



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