JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
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the Committee are desirous he should te largely supported on this 
oceasion. 
- Several recent consular reports upon the agriculture of San 
Francisco and its neighbourhood give considerable prominence to the 
rivages of a new Vine disease. First noticed in 1887, it has spread 
stead.ly, and last year several whole vineyards were destroyed. Experts 
have completely failed to identify it, so that there can be little doult 
that it is really new. The course it runs is short. The young leaves of 
the affected Vines turn yellow and drop off when the young branches 
have acquired a growth of 1 to 3 feet. No cure or preventive has yet 
Jaeen found, and the epidemic bids fair to be as disastrous to American 
Vine growers as the phylloxera was to those of France. The Californian 
Orange orchards are not in a much better plight. The white cotton 
scale, as it is called, has killed grove after grove of vigorous trees. Thi 3 
pest is familiar enough. There have been outbreaks of it in Australia, 
but it is said to be all but extinct now, thanks to the action of a parasite. 
Consignments of this useful and somewhat peculiar medicine are arriv¬ 
ing at San Francisco. Some planters have resorted to an extraordinary 
device for killing the grubs. It is to cover each tree with a tent, and 
then brew some prussic acid inside, which kills the grubs and eggs, but 
does not damage the tree. It is to be hoped the method may prove 
generally successful. The climate of California and the Pacific States 
generally is perhaps the best in the world for fruit-growing, but it is 
getting an unenviable notoriety for new diseases.—( Dai’y -.Yews.) 
CANKER IN FRUIT TREES. 
In reply to “W.,” page 434, whatever other readers of the Journal 
may say on the subject, I must confess that so far as I am concerned I 
have had “ too much canker.” I have wasted too much time writing 
on the subject, not that I regret my researches and experiments, and the 
treatment I have advocated. If I have any friends to the insect theory 
in the Journal they must be very quiet ones, for, so far as my memory 
carries me, the only friend to the same view was Mr. Harrison Weir 
some years ago, and we were working and writing pretty much the 
srme, quite independent of each other’s movements. So long as the 
controversy is carried on with the same good feeling I will endeavour 
to crack “ W.’s ” nuts, however hard the shells may appear. I know I am 
commencing a difficult task in attempting to adequately reply to the 
forcible and excellent article on page 434. If I could forget my ex¬ 
periments and experience I would not waste a moment in replying. 
Mr. Tonks is quite able to take care of his theory without my 
interference. My experience on the point is that many trees can be 
restored to a fairly satisfactory condition by stimulating to new growth 
and vigour by the addition of fresh soil to the roots, or by top-'dressing 
with manure, but that canker is not permanently cured, although a 
cankered place may grow up, as fig. 70 is represented to be approaching 
—and I have many specimens quite grown over—my contention is that 
unless certain insect life is destroyed canker will break out again at 
other points on the tree, whither they move and take up a fresh abode, 
and in time produce a canker. 
It may be I shall be considered dogmatical to adhere to mv conviction. 
When Jack Frost asserts his power, and “bites” here a'branch and 
there a branch, as represented in the Impney specimens, and causes 
'•chilblains” on the trees that I consider cured on the insect theory, 
then I will honestly acknowledge my mistake. Six or seven years of 
working and watching have altered my opinion on some points, and 
one of “W.’s” “nuts,” I confess, I have had to give up—viz., that 
insects only attack certain sorts, or those they like best. I have had to 
give up that opinion on some of the worst known sorts for cankering, 
that of Dumelow’s Seedling, Eibston Pippin, and Hawthornden. My 
present idea is derived from practical experiments since I held the 
opinion that insects preferred certain sorts, which I believe was written 
some years ago. 
Here is a case in point. About six years ago I grafted a Dumelow’s 
Seedling on a Hawthornden stock, which was cankered half way through, 
worse than is represented in fig. 70, the trunk being about 2 inches in 
diameter. This was cut back to within a foot of the ground, and I took 
particular care that every particle of the remaining stock below the 
grafts was enveloped in limewash and a strong insecticide, so that the 
infested part, if any insects still remained, were entombed. The scions 
were from a healthy tree, and were carefully examined, and no insects 
appeared to be on them. That tree is now the healthiest in mv garden, 
and has never shown a symptom of canker since, and frost has 
been very merciful to it ever since, although the sappiest and worst 
ripened wood on the premises often retaining its growing leaves into 
November. I hope “ W.” will crack that nut on the “ frost bite ” 
theory. That tree is worth photographing as a comparison to the 
hundreds of acres of orcharding eaten up by “ blight.” Another case : 
I have a Eibston Pippin grafted on a stock raised from seed about 
seven years old. W hen I was about to graft it I had my doubts about 
taking scions from an old cankered orchard tree, but as I had no other I 
took the precaution to get my magnifying glass, and found a quantity 
of insects on it. These I carefully removed, and to make sure that none 
escaped, the scion was encased in limewash and an insecticide. The 
tree grew, and is as healthy as can be, and unless any communication 
with other trees on which insects are established takes place, I have, 
faith that it will remain healthy, while young wood on the old tree 
still cankers. 
Now, another nut for “ W.” to crack. If the frost bit two of 
Dr. Hogg’s Dumelow’s Seedlings in a row of three trees, why did the 
other escape ? Was it wrapped up? Will anyone find a cankered tree 
without the same species of insect appearing ?—J. Hiam. 
TOMATOES AT FOXHOLES, HITCHIN. 
In looking through the gardens and glass houses belonging to 
Mr. Tindal Lucas my attention was called to a grand house of Tomatoes. 
Mr. Sheppard, the head gardener, informed me the variety was Sutton’s 
First Crop The seeds were sown in the first week of January, and when 
the plants were strong enough they were planted in shallow boxes and. 
stood along the front of one of Newton’s new patent houses, just over 
the pipes, and in the full light. They are trained up wires in the same 
way as Vines are usually trained, the one-stem system being practised. 
The plants are not more than 6 or 8 inches apart, and about the same 
distance from the glass. Eipe fruit was taken about the 1st of April, 
and a constant supply has been maintained till the present time. The 
fruit hangs like ropes of Onions, and fine fruit too. Mr. Lucas is justly 
proud of his success. Whether to give the credit to the variety, the 
house, or the gardener, I do not know, but from what can be seen of the 
gardens generally I think there is some praise due to Mr. Lucas for the 
confidence he places in his gardener, and also to the latter for the pains 
he takes to carry out his employer’s wishes. There are other notable 
features of gardening at Foxholes, but I will not trespass on your space 
in describing them now.—G. Merritt. 
A GIGANTIC AROID. 
Although numerous members of the great and peculiar family of 
Aroid plants are cultivated in British gardens there are others that 
are unknown to horticulturists, or not valued from a decorative pointr 
of view, yet possessing much interest for botanists and all who are con¬ 
cerned with the peculiarities of the vegetable world. As botanical' 
studies the whole of the Aroids are interesting in somewhat more than, 
an ordinary degree, and though the remarkable foetid odours exhaled by 
the inflorescence of many species renders them the reverse of favourites, 
for cultural purposes, still it must be admitted that a plant like the 
Itichardia setbiopica, now so extensively grown, possesses a distinctness 
of habit, an elegance of foliage and boldness of floral characters, that 
amply entitle it to its present popu’arity. That, however, is almost the. 
only member of the family generally grown, though a few others are- 
represented in gardens and houses. 
Visitors to the Eoyal Gardens, Kew, have for some time been 
familiar with two pictorial representations of giant Aroids, one of these 
being in the gallery of paintings contributed by Miss North, and the 
o'her in the museum near the main entrance at Kew Green. The first 
depicts Amorphophallus campanulatus as seen in its native home—Javar 
—where it produces a single enormous leafstalk surmounted by a divided 
leaf, and rising from the root a huge somewhat bell-shaped spathe. It 
is said that previous to the bursting of the spathe, which takes place 
suddenly about sunset, there is an accumulation of heat therein. When 
it opens it exhales an offensive odour that is quite overpowering, and s» 
much resembles that of carrion that flies cover the club of the spade with 
their eggs. In the rise of temperature noticed this Amorphophallus is not 
exceptional, as the same peculiar phenomonon has been observed irr 
other members of the same family, whi'e in attracting flies Stapelias 
(commonly known as Carrion Flowers) have a precisely similar influenc r - 
The other representation is that of Amorphophallus or Conophadus 
Titanum, which placed on the ceiling of the Wood Museum has attracted 
much attention, and created no little astonishment for several yeats. 
This shares several characters of A. campanulatum just Doted, but on a. 
magnified scale. It has a single tall leafstalk with its strange snake-like 
markings, and a great divided leaf blade at the apex, and a huge spathe. 
and spadix, but all of enormous proportions, tru : y gigantic in corr- 
parison with its relations generally, and meriting the title with which 
it has been distinguished. The plant was discovered by Signor Beccarf 
in Sumatra, who furnished drawings, and the Marquis Corsi Salviatf 
was the means of calling attention to them in this country. Tubers 
were sent to Kew in 1879, and the production of the immense leaf 
created some sensation in succeeding seasons, forming a prominent- 
object in the Victoria Lily house. This year, however, the interest already 
created in the plant has been considerably increased by the production 
of its spathe, but though many watched its development few saw it 
when it was fully open, and its duration was short in that stage. The- 
spathe and stem attained the height of 7 feet, having in the latter part 
of the time grown at the rate of 4 inches a day. The spathe commenced, 
expanding on Friday morning, June 21st, and when at its largest 
