APRIL 23 



1898. 



GA RDENERS' MA GA ZWE. 



*57 



0 . ~ri« site of many kinds and very numerous, and amongst the less 

 $cale insew m«hilr*n for the San Tose scale (Aspidiotus 



ipecies 



that are 



laceae from an 



Monksh 



•iiri 



Ranuncu 



econormc point of view, in Knowledge, Mr. J. R. Jacksor, 

 t0 , the acrid and Poisonous properties of the Monkshood [Acomium 

 napellus). He shows that the aconite is valued economically both for the rhizome 

 or rootstock and for the leaves, both of which contain the alkaloid tconitint, 

 though the rhizomes are said to be six times stronger than the leaves. The root- 



resuu - 1 . , . . ~ C * * m ° St iD the winter and early spring, and for medical purposes 



iLdine very early in Ohio that year ; the consequence was that trees but should be collected at those periods. The fresh rhizome varies in size from 



^ /? T nole mussel scale (Aspidiotus conchiformis ), common 

 1 7 Z camellia scale (Aspidiotus camellice) ; the English ^ 

 England; and the scurfy bark-louse (Chionaspis furfurus). 



(^ lMu \ ^ W arm weather of April, 1896, the San Jose scale 



As the result & ,, nn cpmience was that trees but 



Paraffin oil 



centre 



fcst ed in the spring were thoroughly coated with scale by the time 

 !? b the leaves dropped in the autumn. There being four or five generations in 

 it is calculated by Professor F. M. Webster that a single female may be 

 VTr^enitor, during that period, of 1,608,040,200 individuals. 



red with a sprayer is, says an experienced Ohio fruit grower who has sprayed 

 hundred apple trees, " the remedy for the San Jose scale." It may be 

 V Hed that it was on " Californian pears " that quantities of living San Tos6 

 le were found lately in a consignment which was landed at Hamburg, and led 

 to the prohibitive action of the German Government. California contains the 

 -at least in North America — from which the pest has gradually 

 been spreading. At the annual session which has just been held in 

 Paris of the Societe des Agriculteurs a motion was unanimously adopted in 

 fevour of a resort to such measures as should preserve France from invasion by 

 the San Jose scale. With regard to Great Britain the Board of Agriculture is 

 making inquiry into the subject, and will probably publish a report for the 

 information of fruit growers. In a matter of this kind promptness is of the 



The circumstance that the San Jose scale particularly 

 dislikes cold and wet should rather militate against its becoming acclimatized in 

 this country. 



The Paris Sewage Farm.— A large sewage farm has been laid out at 



Acheres for purifying the Paris sewage before allowing it to pass into the Seine. 

 The inhabitants of Paris number 2,500,000, and the total flow of sewage is stated 

 tn aven&e i7.66o.ooo cubic feet Der diem. This is collected in great intercepting 



~~ — broad one ena, ana tapering to a fine point. It 



descends perpendicularly into the ground, and gives off numerous rootlets. It 

 has an earthly odour, and a taste which is slightly bitter at first, but which is suc- 

 ceeded in a few minutes by a burning sensation, and a tingling or numbness in the 

 hps, cheeks, or tongue. The market is mostly supplied with aconite root from 

 the wild plants, but some cf the dried root is imported from Germany. Though 

 aconitine is one of the most virulent poisons known, it is an Extremely valuable 

 medicine. Tincture of aconite is much used for outward application to allay pain 

 in rheumatic and similar affections. The accidents that sometimes occur from 

 mistaking aconite root for horseradish can only happen at the time when the 

 plants are leafless, as the foliage of the two plants is very distinct ; and even 

 then the tapering and dark-coloured root of the aconite is quite different in appear- 

 ance to the long, cylindrical light-coloured root of the horseradish. Several other 

 plants belonging to die same order, natives chiefly of America and India, furnish 

 useful medicines. 



utmost importance 



prod 



Levant 



The small black seeds known as fennel-flower seeds are also 



Nigella sativa, an annual of the south of 

 The common name is deiived from the fennel-like odour 

 the seeds have when fresh. In the East they are used as a carminative medicine 

 and for flavouring curries, as well as to keep insects from woollen cloths. 



Manures for Celery.— Dr. Bernard Dyer's experiments in celery growing 

 at Hadlow have been conducted under the disadvantage of several dry seasons, and 

 celery is a crop that cannot well do without a plentiful supply of moisture. He 

 has endeavoured, he states in the Agricultural Gazette, to grow the crop with 

 the same dressings of manure that have been used in experiments with many 



sewers, which convey it by gravitation down to Clichy, where it is raised 118 ft. r ..<> * * .1 



by po^rful pumps and distributed by gravitation through the farm. Thepumping TLTZTT^ """H T.r *T " ^T^ 5 wUh m ^ 



engines at present installed are capable of indicating 1,200 horse-power in tne T ' y T > T ' ?? f "f °5 fi ^ ,oads twent y five t0ns > ^ acre ' 

 agnate, but future additions will raise this to 6,000. It is stated that experience ^ dr£SSing ° f ^ ^ tWdVC Md * t0nS) aCre ° n 



ihows that I acre of suitable soil can take 1,580 cubic feet of sewage daily, so that 



. _ _ X — L> n _ _ X. W « a. *M K _ iA i_ - 1 *l 4 a ■ — 



another plot, and a similar dressing of twenty-five loads per acre on several other 



area of about 1 1 ,, 20 acres would be needed to deal with the whole of the ^f' °' T °T of f chemicaI f « tilis « s - In moderately 



, .. - • . .... W1U1 U1C wnoie 01 me wet seasons, or on rich garden soil retentive of moisture, we should probably have 



discharge of the Paris sewers. A very high degree of purification is reached 7 u- ^V"" Ul ™ snouia prooaoiy nave 



the effluent proving to contain fewer bacteria per cubic ^entS tre STtS fh T "T H ^ ' TT' aUh ° Ugh ^ * " 



uncontaminated streams. The land also has been greatly increlsed in vale T TV7' ^^J" "J SU< * dr * seasons " « ^ ^ m ^ 



being now worth five times as much as it was before being'madTthe receptlc e t I t * f >f T° " 5 eaVy h Cr ° P3 ' ^ chemical . ferti,i — • 



r the sewaee. As a natural consent*. n^^ rin „ rece P ta ?. le Jiz. , phosphates with and without kainit, and with nitrate of soda in quantities varying 



from one to four hundredweights per acre, when used in conjunction with manure, 



had 



originally 



«-u „ c .«, y u^cu mc escaonsnment or a sewage farm in their midst aTt > u 1 1 • j , . . 7 ~ *~T ' 



now claiming to have the sewage supplied to their own properties ^TSni^ ^ ^ T \T' ? ™ th ™ QQte a,one ' In l8 9 6 the cro P 

 Vchaes is 2,471 acres in extent, and is under the control of M Bona 1 gr ° WD P hos P hates and four hundredweight of nitrate of soda per acre, in con- 

 engineer, who in the main raises beetroot, though this crop will admit V h j unctlon Wlth twent y- five loads of ^rmyard manure per acre, gave a crop 10 per cent . 

 \m sewage being passed on to the land than certain others Th i ™ CXCeSS ° f that produced by fifty loads farm y ard manure per acre. In 1895 a like 

 be sewage from the pumping station is 43-2 in in diamete hTT C ° nVeymg Messing gave the same results as heavy manuring, but in 1897 the heavy dressing 

 system of pipes, ranging from 31 in. to 16 in. in diameter servers f ^ ^ ^ S ave somewhat the best crop. In ordinary celery growing it is customary to use 

 irrigation trenches, into which the sewage passes throu h '/ ' I ^ iF^nfm M ««f««dvmeiffl«of«li»t«h»«i 1 «l »«i«n«,K««V 

 ground is laid out and the irrigating trenches are so arranged^ thtuheonly'semce 



ust mentioned. The crop which can stand the most sewage is grass a meadow 

 bone, .t is stated, uninjured by a flow of 2,4,0.000 cuhir W S^L * ™ 



ascertain 



dressing 

 manured plot. 



by the liberal use of chemical fertilisers in addition to smaller quantities of manure, 

 but the weather has been too dry to satisfactorily test the question. We have each 

 year grown good marketable celery, and even that is something to accomplish in 



000 



000 cubic feet per annum ; artichokes, 593,000 cut 

 jrsley, sorrel, &c, 536,000 cubic feet ; leeks, cabbag, 



poor and newly-converted agricultural 



dressings 



Larket gardener 



seasons 



measures 



' "»-od, and on lat ^ tt H "° S F the ^ ^ 



entomological qualifiS Dr rL" « Southa -Pton. In addition to his 

 5 ** Anguiliu,i dK Uema B ° S 15 ° ne ° f the h, '8 h «t lining au- horities 



- Spa'etK & y T °L th : EUr ° Pean C °, ndnent U ^ t0 be of the 

 '«*«, include,^ 11 J h s nurser y» according to the National N,„ m _ 



"Cally all the trees anH s i,„,i« *u . . * 7-~ "^'**» wmcn comprises prac- 



^ business w i estb. shed n f C^rT ^ ° PCn ^ ln that ^ 



f( he present propHeto « 1 1111° byCh ". Sto P her Spaeth, the great-grandfather 



1720 t0 '746, ChrisionhL c' . - / T . he order been as follows : 



with stock, which comprises prac- 



1782 to 

 Spaeth 



J '746, Christopher Soaeth • ,^7" „V haS been M foIluws : 



i«3i. Carl FnCdeHcHl'ih U ' ^ F " ederich Spaeth,!.; 



--.u; ,863 to l8 98 F«nfV a c \ 831 t0 l86 3» Johann Carl Ludwig 

 rf d i^hes through uhe 11 g \ * meanS ° f an elabo -te system 



^ h'igauon, LTy ki„ ds of T^' fF* fad,kies for d -ining 



are Sl0ck not ^nerally grown in European 



rS€ries are handled. Th^ onm.ni " * ^ v , ° &«vwu m European 



^ standard fruutj.'^/^^ ° f lhe Spaeth nurseries consistVof 



^.000 shrubs, and 5 ^V^. n ^ 3 ' C °°' 000 Omental trees, 

 ln the nursery< B ^ween 300 and 400 employes are given 



et 5P -° f S00 ' • «2 ganenT hT "S ^ aSS0Ckti0n 



and officers are ad m ht d , W besid « ^ of the 



* n ««ted with the insti ut,^ • " d & restaurant . There is also a library 



^ of the young g ;T en C c 0 r nta,mng ^ f ° rtig ° P ublicati °ns, which are at 



Although good 



celery, however, it has been too small to properly gauge the productive capabilities 

 of the soil and the manure under really favourable circumstances, our best crop 

 having averaged only twenty ounces per "head." Our experiments clearly 

 establish the fact that a liberal use of nitrate of soda in conjunction with phos- 

 phates, when added to manure, greatly increases the weight of the crop, but, in dry 

 weather at all events, it appears to be desirable to use more manure than we did, 

 in addition to the chemical fertilisers, in order to enable the latter to do the full 

 work of which they are capable. 



The Beech-bark Felt-scale ( Cryptocoaus fagi) has special reference 



made to it in Miss Ormerod's annual report, and what she has to ^ay with regard to 

 the pest is specially worthy of notice, the more particularly in that it is a 

 member of the family Coccidtf. The felt-scale itself is by no means new to the 

 insect fauna of Great Britain, for it is not only widely distributed, but it is 

 extremely injurious to beech trees, the bark of which becomes covered with the 

 felt-like material secreted by myriads of the coccids. As their generic name 

 implies, they are exceedingly small, but owing to their immense numbers they are 

 powerful for mischief, which is effected by piercing the tissues of the tree and 

 sucking the plant juices. A year ago, at Rangemore, Burton-on-Trent, on 

 Lord Burton's property, this pest was reported to be 4 1 destroying all the beech 

 trees in the woods," and there are various records of its destructive work in other 

 parts of the country. Scale insects generally have the capacity of multiplying with 

 great rapidity, and this particular member of the group forms no exception to the 

 rule. Unfortunately, no very effective means are at present known for coping 

 with the pest, though it is surmised that soft-soap washes, with a little sulphur or 

 some kind of mineral oil incorporated with them, would be retained by the 



»th. " But," as 



eggs 



remarks 



areas 



reason 



should be preserved, might in all probability be cleared from the attack 

 farther than that remedial measures do not seem available." 



