NOTES AND ABSTRACTS. 



255 



(2) Bean blight, caused by the bacterium B. j^haseoll, is known by 

 the large watery brown patches that appear on the leaves. These patches 

 soon become dry and brittle, and the diseased leaves curl more or less 

 and look as though they had been scorched. Affected pods also show 

 the watery patches, and the whole pod may become soft and rotten. 

 Rotation and spraying with Bordeaux mixture are most useful. 



(3) Bean rust, caused by the fungus Uroinyccs appendiculatuSj 

 characterised by the leaves remaining green, or, if badly attacked, 

 becoming yellowish, and having very small rusty brown or black spots 

 upon the lower surface. This disease seldom attacks the stem, and is 

 rarely so prevalent as to prove detrimental to the crop. All diseased 

 plants should be burned as soon as the beans are harvested. — F. J. C. 



Birch-borer, The Bronze. By M. V. Slingerland {U.S.A, Exp. Stn. 

 Cornell, Bull. 234 ; Jan. 1906 ; 10 figs.). — Much havoc is being wrought 

 among silver birches by this beetle {Agrilus anxius Gory). Its presence 

 in the birches is not easily determined until it has been at work a year 

 or more ; but at times a reddish or rusty brown spot is to be seen on 

 the bark, under which the insect is at work, and a ridge often develops 

 over the burrow on the branches ; later some of the topmost branches 

 of the tree die, and finally the tree succumbs. The grubs feed in the 

 sapwood, and are of a creamy-white colour, slender, flattened, and footless ; 

 they make burrows up to five feet in length within the course of a few 

 months. They hibernate when full-fed just below the bark, and the 

 perfect beetles appear in April or May. There is no known way of 

 preventing this birch-borer from attacking white birches, and the only 

 practicable and effective method yet found for checking its ravages is to 

 promptly cut down and burn the infested trees in autumn or winter, or 

 before May 1, so as to destroy all the hibernating insects. There is no 

 possibility of saving a tree when once the branches at the top have 

 begun to die. {Agrilus hetulcti and A. viridis behave similarly in 

 Europe.)— i^. /. C. 



Browallia speeiosa major. By F. W. Gooch {Gard. Chron. 

 No. 1006, p. 214 ; April 7, 1906).—" This Browallia has decided attrac- 

 tions over its congeners, chiefly on account of its more robust habit and 

 its larger flowers, which are produced in great profusion." Directions as 

 to the culture of this plant are then given. — G. S. S. 



Cacti. By Ad. van de Heede (Le Jardin, vol. xx. No. 455, p. 40, 

 February 5, 1906 ; and No. 456, p. 52, with coloured plate and 4 figs.).— 

 Describes various kinds of Ccreus, Epiphyllum, Melocactus, Bhipscdis, 

 Echinocactus, Mamillaria, &c., with hints as to cultivation. — F. A. IF. 



Carnation, Origin of the Name of. By G. Henslow {Gard. Chron. 

 No. 992, p. 449 ; December 30, 1905).— In this article the writer traces 

 the origin of this word from coronaria, used by Conrad Gesner in 1561, 

 through coronation, a corruption of coronaria and cornation. — G. S. S. 



Chemical Substances used as Insecticides. By J. Barsacq 



(Lc Jardin, vol. xx. No. 455, p. 48. 1906 ; see also No. 457, p. 72, and 



