NOTE ON A DISEASE IN THE ASH. 
135 
must rank of right amongst the highest of human studies, so 
should its nomenclature be correspondingly distinctive and accurate 
—fit instrument for a lofty purpose. And as gardening is one 
of the purest and most beneficial of human pursuits, ministering 
to our needs, enhancing our pleasures, and revealing to those who 
have eyes to see no small number of the marvels of created Nature 
—no mere passing glance into the working of her machinery— 
so should its nomenclature be not only adapted to its utilitarian 
purposes, but also be made consistent with good taste, refinement 
and elevation of spirit. 
XXI.— Note on a Disease in the Ash. By W. Wilson- 
Saunders, Esq., E.B.S. 
[Bead at Meeting of Scientific Committee, 16th April, 1878.] 
Some little time since I brought tor the notice of the Boyal 
Horticultural Society a peculiar disease affecting a species of 
Poplar in the neighbourhood of "Worthing, and which sooner or 
later was fatal to the life of the tree. 
I beg now to offer some remarks on another disease in which I 
found two Ash trees suffering from near Torquay—a disease which, 
although it does not appear to cause the death of the tree, is one of a 
very serious character, eating its way to the very centre of the wood, 
and swelling and breaking up the bark in a very remarkable manner. 
One of the diseased trees grows near the roadside at Watcombe, 
and the other in a garden at Warberry Hill, [removed some 
three miles or so from each other. I examined many other 
Ash trees in the vicinity of Torquay, but found the disease only 
on the two trees I have mentioned. Several other Ash trees 
showed signs of stunted growth, either from being subject to the 
winds off the sea, or being in situations as regards soil where a 
healthy growth could not be expected. The disease which I am 
about to describe and illustrate by drawings seemed to prevail 
more or less all over the trees, from the youngest branches to the 
main stems. It first appears as an irregular crack in the bark, 
with a raised rufescent margin. This crack soon assumes an open 
gaping aspect, widening and enlarging until it often surrounds the 
branch, although the branch be several inches in diameter. 
Within the gaping margin the bark is seen of a dark brown colour, 
