VOL. XLVIII. NO. 2062 
NEW YORK, AUGUST 3, 1839. 
PRICE FIVE CENTS, 
$2.00 PER.YEAR. 
(Entered according to Act of Congress, In the Year 1889, by the Rural New-Yorker, in the Office 
of the l ibrarian of Congress, at Washlngton.j 
floilculturiil. 
THE “SUNSET PLANT.” 
ARLY in the 
past winter a 
catalogue 
was sent to us 
by the Lewis¬ 
ton (Idaho) 
Seed Compa¬ 
ny, which 
gave consid¬ 
erable space 
to what the 
company 
deemed a 
new plant. 
The cata¬ 
logue gave it the name of “ Sunset Plant,” 
and was at that time endeavoring to ascertain 
its botanical name if, indeed, it were known 
to botany. At the R. N.-Y.’s request a plant 
(or rather the roots) was sent to the Rural 
Grounds in January. We append a descrip¬ 
tion as given by the Lewiston Seed Company: 
“The floral plant which we have named 
‘Sunset was first observed by us four years 
ago growing on ihe high sandy bluffs on the 
east side of Snake River. Specimens trans¬ 
planted at that time to our grounds proved 
so interesting that we sent several of the 
plants to prominent botauists, floral writers 
and horticultural journals for identification. 
It wa3 then we ascertained its rarity. Up to 
this time no one has named it, although hand¬ 
led by so many for the purpose. The larger 
out-door plants are two feet in bight and three 
feet in diameter, formed by shoots sent up in 
early spring bearing leaves closely resembling 
those of the Fish Geranium, and half hidden 
in the leaves appear long spikes of sunset- 
tinted flowers. Iis hardiness is simply won¬ 
derful, thriving in the driest locations when 
every other kind of vegetation surrounding it 
withers, and enduring our greatest cold with¬ 
out the least protection.” 
Our own plant grew vigorously and began 
to bloom in early May. The flowers start 
from the axils of the leaves, as shown by Fig. 
ISi drawn from natuie, and are borne on 
short petioles in clusters of two, three or four. 
The petals are heart-shaped, five in number 
and the flowers of a salmon color, are about 
an inch in diameter. The color of the buds is 
a pleasing shade of deep orange. The plant 
continued to bloom profusely until it was set 
out in the open border and it is now again in 
bud. The stems are about two feet long and 
need support. The leaves, as shown, are, in 
form, like those of the currant and of a light, 
glaucous color. The whole plant bears a gen¬ 
eral resemblance to Malva rotundifolia, the 
“Cheeses” of the children. 
Now as to the name: we at first supposed it 
to be Malvastrum coccineum. We then found 
that the same plant is printed in Thorburu 
& Company’s catalogue as Malva miniata. 
To settle the question, a flowering branch wa 8 
sent to Prof. Vasey, Botanical Division of the 
United States Department of Agriculture, 
who identified it as Sphseralcea Munroana, 
formerly Malvastrum Munroauum. 
The Lewiston Company writes us as follows: 
“ We removed a plant to our grounds four 
years ago, which is uow probably eight or 10 
years old. The plant then was perhaps four 
feet across and three feet high. It is now 
seven feet in diameter by four feet high with 
about 100 stems or stalks, all of this seasou’s 
growth. The leaf and bloom also show a pro¬ 
portional increase in size. We are pleased to 
learn that you have decided upon its identity. 
It has been sent to a great many for identifica¬ 
tion, but you are the first to locate it.” The 
“Sunset” plant may not set the world on 
fire, still it may prove of considerable 
value for certain positions and uses. 
Pumo Logical. 
APPLE SCAB. 
FUS1CLADIUM DENDRITICUM. 
B. T. GALLOWAY. 
There is perhaps no disease of fruits more 
familiar than that which forms the subject of 
this paper. From the earliest times it has 
been talked of and written about, but despite 
all this it is only within the last few years 
that an intelligent effort has been made to 
study and combat it. As is now pretty gen¬ 
erally kuowD, scab is caused by a minute par¬ 
asitic fungus which attacks the fruit, leaves 
and young branches. This fungus, it must 
be remembered, is a plant like the apple upon 
which it lives, and, like the latter, it exists 
for a certain period, produces bodies analog¬ 
ous to seeds and then dies. Its appearance up¬ 
on the fruit (Fig. 188) is so well known that a 
description of the effects it produces is not 
necessary here. It might be well, however, 
to say a few words in regard to the time 
when the scab spots first appear, as this 
knowledge will enable the fruit grower to 
combat it in a more intelligent manner. In 
the first place, scab often, and we may say, as 
a rule, makes its appearance early in the sea¬ 
son, frequently in fact before the apples have 
attained the size of peas. At this time it of 
course requires very close scrutiny to detect 
the little blacu specks which mark the points 
of infection. They are usually present, how¬ 
ever, and, if suitable conditions of moisture 
aud heat exist, they soon develop into the well 
known scab spots. If only a few of these 
spots occur, the general contour of the apple 
is not materially affected; if, however, the 
spots are numerous, the fruit rarely attains 
full size, is very likely to become hard and 
knobby and when in this condition it is fit 
only for the hogs. 
It is not generally known that the scab 
spots increase in size after tne fruit is har¬ 
vested and stored for the winter. This, how¬ 
ever, is the case, as has been shown by care¬ 
ful observations; moreover, it is known that 
if there is much moisture present, as is fre¬ 
quently the case in cellars where fruit is 
stored, the diseased apples will infect 
healthy ones when brought in contact with 
them. With these facts in mind, let us turn 
for a moment to the fungus as it occurs upon 
tte leaves, and note the effects it produces 
there. The leaves are rarely attacked before 
they have attained full size, and the presence 
of the disease is first made manifest by the 
appearance of small, more or less circular, 
greenish, velvety spots (Fig. 189). These 
rapidly enlarge, soon run together and in 
many cases ultimately cover the greater por¬ 
tion of the leaf. 
The spots are visible on both sides of the 
leaf, but, as a rule, they are darker and more 
velvety upon the upper surface. As the sea¬ 
son advances the affected leaves often become 
twisted, and finally, if the disease is more than 
ordinarily severe, they drop from the tree. 
It is obvious that where the foliage is affected 
in this way, the vitality of the tree is greatly 
impaired and in consequence a crop of small 
and inferior fruit is the result. It will be 
seen therefore that whether the fungus occurs 
upon the leaves or fruit or both, the apples 
are in the end certain to be injured. 
Having now noticed some of the more 
familiar effects produced by the scab, let 
us direct our attention for a moment to the 
MICROSCOPIC CHARACTERS OF THE FUNGUS, 
WITH THE VIEW OF ASCERTAINING HOW 
IT GROWS AND REPRODUCES ITSELF. 
A thin cross-section of one of the scab spots 
on the fruit, shows, under the microscope, 
that the tungus is confined almost wholly to 
the surface, and that for the most part it con¬ 
sists of a compact mass of more or less dark- 
colored, minute cells which are seated directly 
upon the healthy tissues of the fruit. This 
mass of cells is the body of the parasite; it is 
at once the root, stem and leaves of the plant, 
or in other words, it appropriates the nourish¬ 
ment necessary for its existence; not, how¬ 
ever, from the air and soil as the apple does, 
but from the apple itself. In doing this it de¬ 
stroys the delicate tissues of which the fruit 
is composed and as a result a scab spot is 
formed. From the exposed surface of the 
mass of cells referred to above—which by the 
way may be called the stroma or bed—there 
arise numerous short, brown stalks, upon the 
free ends of which are borne the spores or re¬ 
productive bodies of the fungus. These are 
as a rule,egg-shaped and are attached by their 
larger ends. They are very minute, frequent¬ 
ly less than one fifteen-hundreth of an inch in 
diameter, and are occasionally divided by a 
transverse partition. Each scab spot gives 
rise to immense numbers of these bodies; in 
fact the greenish, velvety appearance already 
referred to is due to their presence together 
with that of the stalks that support them. 
They germinate readily in water by sending 
out usually from the small end a slender tube 
which, if in contact with a healthy apple or 
leaf, bores into the tissues and once therein 
soou develops into a stroma. The develop¬ 
ment and spread of the fungus may proceed 
in this way throughout the growing season, 
its most rapid growth taking place during 
the spring and autumn months. This is a 
wise provision of nature for the fungus, but 
an exceedingly unwise one for the apple, as 
thereby the parasite is enabled to produce a 
big crop of spores the last thing in the fall. 
These live over winter on the young twigs, 
the old leaves and fruit; and the following 
