38 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
f July raj 1989 
have not produced the practical results we had hoped for. We 
trust, however, that in the near future the conservatory ornamen¬ 
tation will be improved correspondingly during the warmest months 
of the year.—W m. Bardney. 
CANKER IN FRUIT TREES—THE INSECT THEORY. 
I DO not know whether Mr. J. Hiam (page 6) wishes me to demolish 
his insect theory or not. It would almost be a pity to do so if I cou’d, 
as it would deprive him of a subject evidently of great interest to 
him, and naturally so, as its discoverer. I like to see a man adhere 
to his convictions as long as he can, and to abandon positions that he 
finds untenable. This indicates firmness of character with prudence— 
an undeniably excellent combination. 
When Mr. Hiam tells us he has been obliged to give up the idea 
that his insects only attack certain sorts, or “ those they like best,” I 
suspect he nearly throws away his case. If they do not attack those 
they “ like best” they must devote their attention to others which are 
less palatable, and that is scarcely in accordance with the economy of 
existence. By the admission I think he must lose his only supporter, 
Mr. Harrison Weir. I remember having a pleasant conversation with 
this gentleman on the subject in question ; he based his argument in 
support of the insect theory on the very point which Mr. Hiam says he 
has “ had to give up.” I do not expect, however, that Mr. Weir will 
thus capitulate. I have been careful not to deny the possibility of 
some insect puncturing the branch of an Apple tree and causing injury 
that may develope into a wound ; but I believe the insect has yet to be 
discovered that causes canker. Mr. Weir had not seen it at the time of 
our conversation, and I feel certain such a good naturalist as he is 
would not admit that the insects Mr. Hiam finds so plentifully in 
cankered wood, and which anyone may find with the aid of a good mag¬ 
nifying glass, are the cause of the canker. 
I happen to have had the opportunity of examining insects from 
Mr. Hiam’s trees, not through a magnifying glass alone, but under the 
microscope, and they were precisely the same as those I have seen in de¬ 
caying wood any time the last forty years. Some of the same insects were 
in the cankered wound on the specimen figured (page 434, May 30th), and 
they were the consequence and not the cause of the canker. Unless 
Mr. Hiam has another kind than those I have seen in wood from his 
garden I am bound to express my conviction that his theory breaks 
down. He will not agree. May I suggest, then, that he forward samples 
to the Scientific Committee of the Royal Horticultural Society "for 
examination by its experts ? In my belief the insects to which I refer 
from Mr. Hiam’s trees could not live on the smooth wood of the Apple ; 
and without the least hesitation I would place a hundred of them on 
the choicest tree in my garden. They might find their way to the 
rougher bark and there live, but I am convinced they are without the 
means of puncturing smooth, healthy wood. 
Clearly they do no harm in cankered crevices when the wounds are 
healing as in the Impney specimen, for if they did the wounds would 
not heal. It would be quite as reasonable to say they were the cause 
of the healing as the cause of the disease. 
Mr. Hiam says the insects “ move from the healing parts and take 
up a fresh abode and produce canker.” If that is so we might expect 
them to move to another branch of the same tree as more convenient 
than making a long journey in search of a variety they do not like, as 
Mr. Hiam says they do not choose sorts “they like best.” I do not 
think he lives very far from Impney, and I am sure if he can call there 
Mr. Parker will show him the branch from which the cankered part 
above referred to was cut, and I think he will have some difficulty in 
finding a speck of canker on the tree or any others near it. In my 
experience the insects do not move very readily from their old abodes ; it 
is in fact about as difficult to drive them away as it is to drive a lot of 
hungry pigs from a trough in which food is placed. I was so well aware 
of this that I took no precautions to preserve them in the canker-healing 
cavity. The branch was passed to and fro, was examined by Mr. Tonks, 
carried loosely about, brought to London, and all the time they stuck 
to their cabin with the tenacity of a Tipperary man. 
Further, if they cause canker then move and take up a fresh abode 
to produce more, whither can the millions have gone that according to 
Mr. Hiam’s theory must have been at work in Mr. Tonks’ garden ? 
There are thousands of healing wounds there since the soil was improved 
and supplied with the essentials for producing healthier growth, and 
no fresh wounds are visible. The insect theory entirely breaks down as 
applied there. 
Mr. Hiam’s experience in establishing healthy growths by grafting 
on cankered stocks is not evidence that insects caused the canker 
because the results would in all probability have been the same if he 
had not limewashed and insecticided the stocks and scions. Thousands 
of cases prove this, and not many more conclusively than the trees in 
Mr. Garrod’s garden at Ipswich, the originators of the discussion on 
the whole subject. If Mr. Hiam had cured his cankered Hawthornden 
by painting alone, he would be in a much stronger position. I have 
tried my best to cure a favourite tree of that variety, and no doubt 
destroyed every insect on it, but that did not suffice. The nuts I 
presented will not, I think, be cracked by insects. 
In respect to the frost, if Mr. Hiam reads what I wrote on the pa-re 
above quoted with the care that is requisite for the purposes of effective 
criticism, he will find that I did not attribute canker to frost solely, 
though I have no doubt it has a much larger share in producing it than 
insects have, and the healthier the growth the less liable it is to injury. 
His six-years-grafted Dumelow’s Seedling was in a condition to resist 
the action of frost during the comparatively mild winters in Worcester¬ 
shire during the past few years. If he had practised in the north for 
five times that period, and noted the the disastrous effects of frost on 
trees when the thermometer falls below zero, he would be bound 1 to 
admit its canker-producing power, though the results are not apparent 
the first year, except to persons who are familiar with the affection in 
its early stages. 
In respect to Mr. Hiam’s facetiousness over Dr. Hogg’s trees, I can 
assure him the one that has so far escaped was not “-wrapped upi;’' 
therefore, according to his theory, it ought to have been attacked by 
insects the same as the other two. When canker affects the main stem 
of one tree and another by its side escapes, and the stocks have beers 
raised from the pips of different varieties of cider Apples, as is cus¬ 
tomary, there are varietal differences, and it would be a wonder if all! 
of them were equally hardy, and as hardy, as I said before, as stocks off' 
the genuine Crab. If Mr. Hiam has ever had a chilblain on one of 
his fingers, it does not follow that all other parts of his hand were- 
“ wrapped up,” nor if frost has bitten one of his toes that it crept in< 
through a hole in his stocking. If he can prove that it has his wrapping- 
up observation will have force, not otherwise.—W. 
POPPIES. 
Poppies are most interesting in their forms and colours, easy 
to grow, and do not require much space or attention. They are- 
effective in a cut state either in large masses by themselves or with 
other flowers. The most beautiful are those known by the name- 
of the “ Shirley ” Poppies, raised by the Rev. W. Wilks of Shirley 
Vicarage, Croydon, who has obtained a diversity of colours without 
the black spot at the base of each petal. Amongst many seedlings; 
I fail to find two flowers alike ; they range in colour from a brilliant 
scarlet to the faintest blush and pure white. The soft forms of 
rose and pink are exquisite. Some red varieties have a pure white 
edge, and others graduate from a deep rose to a faint pink, while 
those which are characterised by blotches on the petals are not the- 
least showy. All possess that rounded form so much admired, the 
petals being entirely free from serration. In no way in a cut state- 
do they show to the same advantage as when arranged in a tall 
glass of any shape. The base should have a setting of foliage 
which will hang over the sides of the glass, then place the Poppies, 
in lightly with long stems, associate with them a few long feathery 
Grasses, and nothing more is needed to set them off. I find they 
are best cut when the flowers are fully expanded ; the stems are 
then more firm and matured, while the petals are fully developed. 
In this manner they last from twenty-four to thirty-six hours in 
good condition. If they are cut too early and before the stems are 
hardened they droop directly. When cutting the blooms have a 
vessel containing water alongside, place the stem into the water 
immediately, which prevents the end being sealed over by the milky 
sap exuding ; in this manner they are able to absorb more moisture,, 
and consequently last a longer time. 
The best mode of cultivating these Poppies is by making three 
sowings in the place where they are to flower, as they cannot be 
transplanted readily, especially if the weather be hot and dry. If 
of necessity any plants are treated in this manner with a view to- 
fill gaps in the rows or beds, cover the plants with an inverted pot 
during the bright part of the day. Transplant them in a young 
state, and in showery weather if possible. Make the first sowing 
in October, choosing a warm sheltered position. Plants from this- 
sowing will flower at the end of May. The second sowing should 
be made the first week in March to flower the middle of June,, 
while a later sowing may be made about the middle of April, when 
a continuance of bloom may be assured. I sow them in different 
positions, such as in the herbaceous and Rose borders, in a bed on 
an east border, and another one on a warm south border which 
slopes towards the path. I sow the seed thinly, as sowing too 
thickly necessitates severe thinning of the plants, and if this is not 
done freely they become drawn. They should not be less than 
G inches apart all ways, and if a trifle more all the better. 
Papaver orientate is the next in importance to the Shirley strain,, 
this being a very hardy perennial, which is increased freely by 
dividing the roots. The foliage is deeply cut, of a dark green 
colour. The flowers are 6 inches across or more, and are produced 
on stout stems 3 to 4 feet high during May and June, the colour 
being a showy scarlet, with a black spot at the base of the petals. 
In the herbaceous or shrubbery borders, backed up with other 
greenery, they show to advantage, and being a perennial this Poppy 
is all the more valuable. 
The Iceland Poppies (Papaver nudicaule) are charming plants, 
and being of dwarf habit they can be used in a variety of positions. 
We have them in rows, the yellow and white colours alternately 
planted. In mixed borders of summer flowering plants,such as scarlet 
