NOTES AND ABSTRACTS. 



253 



bulletin, and the conclusions arrived at, after an experience of three 

 seasons, are that the liquid sprays, viz. Bordeaux mixture against fungi, 

 and arsenious sprays against insects, are much more effective than dust 

 sprays. The foliage of the apple trees to which dust was applied suffered 

 in the same manner and to the same extent as the trees which were not 

 treated, while those that had been sprayed with liquid spray did not suffer 

 from the attacks of fungi, but remained green and healthy throughout the 

 season. The applications of dry insecticides were not so effective as liquid 

 sprays when directed against insect attacks. The only advantage arising 

 from the use of dry applications is the ease of transport. — F. J. G, 



Arachnanthea annamensis. By " Anon." {Gard. Chron. No. 

 1011, p. 290, fig. 118; May 12, 1906).— This orchid bears a most 

 remarkable flower. The petals and sepals resemble each other very 

 much both in size and coloration ; they are both yellowish, with irregu- 

 lar bands and blotches of a reddish-brown colour, and are very narrow. 

 The flower measures, according to the figure, 5J inches from the tip of 

 the upper sepal to the tip of the lower ones. The plant is a native of 

 Annam.— a. S. S. 



AsparagfUS. By Owen Thomas {Garden, No. 1793, p. 181, March 31, 

 1906,; and No. 1794, p. 193, April 7, 1906).— The soil on which it naturally 

 establishes itself is invariably light and sandy. There is an idea among 

 amateurs and our working population that it is difficult to grow asparagus. 

 This is unfortunate, as the asparagus is well adapted for growing in cottage 

 gardens, and I venture to assert that, once beds are planted and well 

 established and the culture of the plant understood, no other adjuncts of 

 our cottage homes would give the cottager more profitable return than the 

 asparagus beds. In France, we know, it is an immense and profitable 

 industry. In some districts every cottage has its asparagus garden, chiefly 

 cultivated by the wife and children, and for the produce a ready market is 

 found, chiefly in England.— T. C. 



Austrian Brier, The. By M. T. M. [Gard. Chron. No. 1019, p. 1 ; 

 July 7, 1906). — " What is the Austrian brier, and whence did it come ? " 

 These questions the author answers in this article, and in support of his 

 views quotes a large number of authorities, and says : — "From what has 

 been said it seems clear that Rosa httea, or the so-called Austrian brier, 

 is of Eastern origin, and that it is not really native in any part of Europe, 

 though met with here and there in a naturalised condition. How it re- 

 ceived the name of ' Austrian ' is a mystery, though it is easy to conjecture 

 that it may have been introduced from the Levant into Austria and 

 distributed thence into Flanders in the fifteenth or sixteenth century." 



G. S. S. 



Bacterial Diseases of Plants in Michigan. By W. G. Sackett 

 (U.S.A. Exp. Stn. Michigan, Bull. 230 ; June 1905 ; 6 figs.).— The know- 

 ledge of bacterial diseases of plants is gradually extending, and in this 

 bulletin six bacterial troubles are mentioned as prevalent in Michigan : 

 pear blight, bacteriosis of Lima beans, black rot of cabbage, wilt of 

 cucumber, musk-melon and squash, soft rot of sugar beet, and bhght of 



