187G.] 
A PLEA FOE THE FANCY POLYANTHUS. 
199 
A second series of experiments was instituted, in which the spores were 
dipped in a nourishing solution of fruit-pulp, in which they could germinate and 
form a mycelium, and this was laid on sound fruit with a pencil. Soon some of 
the fruits began to show here and there, in the least-protected places, symptoms 
of decay spreading with varying degrees of rapidity over the whole fruit. Nothing 
was easier to observe than that the penetrating fungus was actually the cause 
of the decay. Another set of experiments more fully proved this to be the case. 
Some sound Apples were artificially wounded and infected with the spores, which 
grew and spread in the same manner. Other sound Apples, bruised, but not in¬ 
fected, showed no symptoms of decay. From a large number of experiments it 
was found that the more unripe the fruit and the denser its tissue, the less 
power the fungus had of taking possession of it; but with the increase of 
saccharine matter, and the decrease of acids, the fruit becomes more susceptible. 
Unripe fruit artificially infected with fungus did not decay, as the fungus did 
not find a suitable host. 
Concerning the relative rate of growth of the fungi named above, it was found 
that Mucor stolonifer was by far the most rapid. Pears infected with this 
fungus become thoroughly decomposed in a few days, and strange to say, no out¬ 
ward trace of it is usually discernible before the whole interior is destroyed. Now 
arises the question,—Do fungi always cause the decay of fruit ? This is easily 
answered in the negative, for many Pears, and in a still more striking manner 
the Medlar, exhibit a kind of spontaneous decay, equally as rapid in its course as 
in cases where moulds are present. This kind of decay is what we find in a 
“ sleepy Pear and a bletted Medlar, in which, according to Brefeld, there is no 
fungus present. Otherwise the decomposition of the tissue proceeds in exactly 
the same manner in both cases. 
The foregoing conclusions, drawn from Dr. Brefeld’s experiments, are quite 
in accordance with practical experience, and suggest the means for preventing 
the spread of these insidious moulds in the fruit-room. 
A PLEA FOR THE FANCY POLYANTHUS. 
® HIS is simply a designation of convenience, employed to distinguish a fine 
strain of large bold Polyanthus fiowers from the old gold-laced florist’s types. 
It is necessary they should receive some designation, and the term Fancy 
appears to be the one best adapted to cover the great variety of marking 
they present. The same term has been applied to a race of Alpine Auriculas, 
which are ignored by the strict florists, because they are either edged with only 
one hue of colour, or because three or four shades can be detected on the 
margin. They have such great claims as decorative objects, that it would be a 
great pity were they thrust out from cultivation, hence they have been grouped 
under the general term “ Fancies.” Several First-class Certificates of Merit have 
been given to these flowers by the Royal Horticultural Society. 
