520 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND, COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ June 22, 1882. 
trees were so much infested with aphides that they had to be 
repeatedly washed ; the effect was a contraction of the leaf tissue 
to such an extent that most of the foliage was curled and de¬ 
formed, yet there was not a blistered leaf on either of the trees. 
The same correspondent further observes :— 
“Mr. Smith confounds blister with curl, which is caused by the 
attacks of aphides. Curl is often present in the foliage of Peach 
trees growing under glass, but blister is never found in a well- 
managed house. Mark ! I say ! well-managed ’ advisedly, because 
a little mismanagement of the ventilators during the prevalence of a 
cold wind induces blister to appear even with ‘ great virulence.’ 
Many examples might be quoted, but one will suffice. I was once 
asked to examine a rather bad case of blister under glass, and found 
that all along the house immediately under the ventilators the foliage 
was much blistered. Traces of the scathing power of the cold air 
were visible in other parts of the house, but nowhere was there so 
much affected foliage as in the direct line of the ventilators, thus 
showing plainly the source of the mischief and its remedy.” 
The above is in reply to a statement by Mr. Smith that “ Peach 
blister often occurs with great virulence inside the most care¬ 
fully constructed houses, and he further (after denying that 
he confounds curl with blister) observes, in maintenance of his 
view as to the fungus being the real cause of the evil and not the 
effect of a predisposing cause— 
“ No doubt the east wind will shrivel and wither all sorts of leaves 
and prepare them for the attacks of all sorts of fungi; but this is 
quite beside the question. A man may expose himself to the east 
wind and then die of bronchitis, consumption, inflammation of the 
lungs, or other diseases, but no one but a quack would say that man 
died of the wind. A child may sit by a drain and speedily die of dip- 
theria or typhoid fever, but although the drain may have predisposed 
the child to the attack, he dies of diptheria or fever, not of drain. 
The truth of these statements is proved by the fact of diptheria, fever, 
and bronchitis infecting healthy subjects who have not been exposed 
to winds and drains. It is known to be the same with Peach blister 
and a large number of other fungoid diseases of plants.” 
We turn now to the opinions of some other gardeners. Mr. 
Taylor of Hardwicke Grange says he is convinced, after much 
experience, that— 
“ Cold is the cause of blistering, and the remedy is protection. I 
have carefully protected the trees in my charge for the last two 
springs, and though it would be difficult to find trees more blistered 
than those always have been before, I have had no blistering since I 
adopted the above plan. I repeat that blister is caused by the leaf 
being chilled, and the remedy is protection. The curl is distinct from 
the blister, being undoubtedly caused by insects, but neither curl 
nor blister need be allowed where time and means are provided for 
preventing them.” 
Mr. Jenks of Brambletye, who is a close observer and excellent 
cultivator, has also written on this subject, and we cite the fol¬ 
lowing sentence :— 
“ We do not confuse blister with what is commonly called curl, and 
shows great neglect, for that we can cure or prevent in a few hours 
with a solution of quassia chips, soft soap, and sulphur. It is the true 
blister that ruins our trees, and of which we know of no remedy but 
glass houses or cases. Canvas will not do it. My trees are thoroughly 
protected with canvas, and I have suffered this year greatly. The 
sap being retarded we have found, instead of leaves and branches, 
large ugly masses of thick blistered leaves as thick as one’s finger. 
Why do we have this most when the extreme of temperature is the 
greatest ? If it is not the cold winds how is it we do not have it, or 
very little of it, in a mild spring ? Why doe3 it not come later in the 
season or in the autumn ? We never find it then. It is a fact that it 
is the worst when the trees are the most exposed to cold ; it is a fact 
that if not exposed to cold winds we do not have it; it is also a fact 
that the two extremes of temperature are the worst—very hot sun in 
the day and extreme cold at night. I have a wall well sheltered from 
the east by Poplar trees, and after eleven o’clock no sun reaches the 
wall. On that wall I have young Peach trees, and this year they 
escaped better than those on a south wall. I consider that the 
extremes of heat and cold were not so great on the east as on the 
south wall.” 
We could quote more to the same effect, but it is scarcely neces¬ 
sary to do so. We have stated both sides of the question fully 
and fairly, and those who are interested in the matter must judge 
for themselves on which side the weight of evidence lies ; but 
one circumstance we cannot overlook—namely, we very rarely 
indeed have examples of Peach blister sent to us during a genial 
season, and seldom if ever from trees grown under glass. It is 
when a change from warm days is succeeded by a period of cold 
weather, and when dry cutting winds prevail, that blistered Peach 
sprays invariably reach our hands. The blistered leaves, as ad¬ 
vised in our “ Work for the Week,” should be removed and 
burned. 
NYMPELEA ALBA ROSEA; 
A HARDY PINK WATER LILY. 
On March 24th, 1880, I received by post from Messrs. Daniels 
of Norwich two plants of Nymphasa alba rosea. They were 
seedlings of such small proportions that I regarded the pea-like 
tubers and curious little leaves with feelings akin to dismay. Was 
it possible that the most careful tending could ever bring such 
tender infants to anything like the sturdy maturity of Nymphsea 
alba, or even to a size approaching that of N. odorata ? They 
were potted separately in a rich mixture of loam and manure, and 
placed in the stove in pans of water sufficiently deep to bring the 
leaves to the surface. The quick appearance of larger leaves gave 
pleasing evidence that they were growing, and they soon required 
larger pots and more soil. In four months they became so large 
that I took them from the stove to an open pond, not turning 
them out of the pots, but placing the pots upon the pond bottom 
near the edge in about a foot of water. They made very little 
more growth that summer, but the leaves assumed a sufficiently 
stout appearance before dying in the autumn to induce me to 
leave the plants to winter there. 
It is my custom to empty the pond containing the principal 
collection of aquatics in spring shortly before growth begins, in 
order to re-arrange the plants, to reduce the size of clumps be¬ 
coming too large, and to clear away the annual accumulation of 
leaves and rubbish from the pond bottom, which we had to cover 
with concrete some years ago to eradicate Anacharis. Stations 
were then prepared for the two Nymphasas, and they were turned 
out of the pots and planted—one in 15 inches and the other in 
27 inches of water. Both made a little progress last summer, but 
none of the leaves were full-sized. This year the plant in 
27 inches of water has already produced several large and singu¬ 
larly handsome leaves 8 inches in diameter and almost circular, 
with curved lobes where the leaf divides behind the leafstalk, one 
lobe quite overlapping the other, which tends very much to impart 
the appearance of an unbroken circular outline to the leaves, in 
striking contrast to Nymphsea alba, which has a distinct opening 
and straight edges behind the leafstalk. 
The first flower on this plant opened on June 7th, and is so 
lovely as to induce me to enter fully upon its history for the 
benefit of other admirers of aquatics. The flower is about two- 
thirds of the size of N. alba ; it has a green calyx and five rows of 
petals, the outer white and delicately mottled with pink, which 
deepens to the inner row, which has a bright rosy hue. The 
prominent yellow stamens have a narrow pink stripe upon the 
outer side, and add much to the beauty of this loveliest of hardy 
Nymphasas. The plant in less depth of water is still weakly, with 
small undersized foliage and no sign of flowers, and will be re¬ 
moved to deeper water, for it is certainly worthy of every advan¬ 
tage that can be afforded it. 
I may add that Menyanthes trifoliata has been very lovely 
again, but its flowers are all faded. Aponogeton distachyon is in 
full bloom and the air is laden with its sweet perfume. The 
double Arrowhead (Sagittaria sagittaefolia flore-pleno) is fast 
throwing up its curious foliage, and as the bulbs are very fine it 
will doubtless have some handsome flowers later on. Nuphars, 
Nymphaeas, Callas, and Irises are in full bloom, and all the other 
aquatics are flourishing.— Edward Luckhdrst. 
WORK.F0fi.THE WEEK.. 
HARDY FRUIT GARDEN. 
The leading shoots of Apricots, where required for filling vacant 
spaces, should be regularly attended to in tying or otherwise securing 
them, and the foreright shoots pinched back to three or four buds, 
so as to induce the early formation of short-jointed spurs, which are 
essential for the production of well-matured bloom buds for next 
season. Grubs should still be looked after, which are this season 
unusually abundant. They are readily detected by the folding-up of 
the leaves, and may be destroyed by squeezing. Provided the trees 
are well furnished with young and healthy wood the present is a 
good time for removing any superfluous, barren, or projecting spurs. 
