THE COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 
11 
[OCTOBER 24 . 
A hatiier extensive inquiry, suggested in the first 
instanco by letters wo had received and statements 
noticed in the pages of our contemporaries, leads us to 
the unsatisfactory conclusion, that of late years ulcers 
in some form have been greatly on the increase among 
our cultivated plants of foreign origin, whilst our native 
plants, whether wild or cultivated, are entirely exempted 
from the epidemic. 
We need scarcely refer our readers to the potato 
murrain as a prominent illustration of the fact, hut we 
may add to these, onions, dahlias, the larch and the 
vine, though we could largely increase our catalogue 
of species that have been extensively suffering from 
ulcerous diseaso. 
This mildew, and the ulcerations we have noticed, in 
every instance we have personally examined, are con¬ 
nected with excess of moisture at the roots. Even where 
there was not any stagnant water in the soil, yet in the 
case of vines their roots by having penetrated far down 
into the earth, were subjected to one of the worst con¬ 
sequences of stagnant water—cold, whioh prevented 
their action keeping pace with that of the leaves. We 
believe that excess of cold or of moisture to the roots— 
an excess unknown to them in their native climes—is 
one of the principal causes of these ulcerated forms of 
diseaso. We have always contended for this in the case 
of the potato, and we have confirmatory evidence in 
this letter from Mr. J. Turner, of Neepsend, Sheffield. 
Whole beds of onions we know have been so destroyed 
by ulcers, that if you took hold of the leaves the slightest 
pull separated them from the bulbs, and these were then ! 
found to be in a state of putrefaction. Dahlias, in very j 
numerous instances, we have heard of failing to bloom 
as nobly as formerly; and when the roots were examined 
their tubers were found to be similarly decayed. We 
read of vast plantations of larch suffering also from 
ulceration, but here the disease developes itself in the ! 
branches; and in the vine, wc remember no years like 
the last and the present in which ulceration, or shank¬ 
ing, in the bunches has been so prevalent. The in- ; 
stances of this that have been examined by ourselves 
are painfully numerous, the destruction being so ex- J 
tensive. Mildew—that form of fungus invasion so j 
usually attendant upon a plant with diseased juices—is 
also increasingly prevalent upon vines; and whilst pre- 
paring these notes, we received the following from a j 
correspondent at Maidenhead :— 
“ In the early part of the season, my vines gave promise j 
of a very large crop of grapes, both in the greenhouse and 
out of doors, but as the season advanced they exhibited 
symptoms of an unhealthy nature; instead of filling out ! 
plump and large, they ceased to grow and began to split, 
wither and decay away; others of a more healthy appear¬ 
ance became covered with a kind of mildew or mould, similar 
to that disease in hops, and eventually they split and died 
away as those which had gone before. I, for some time, be- j 
lieved that the aspect, which is easterly, sheltered at every 
point of the compass, was unfavourable, to their culture, but 
on inquiry find another cause must operate to effect their 
destruction, as they may be found in this town in every | 
aspect; some beautifully large and ripe, others green, 
small, and blighted. Tho freaks of this disease are most 
singular and partial. In the gar-dens of four neighbours, 
living in a line, the vines of the two outside aud one middle 
are diseased, while the other is quite free from the scourge. 
Ablutions witli soft soap and water have been recommended 
by some, but that is a commodity with anything but an 
agreeable flavour; as some of the fruit I have saved affords 
abundant in-oof. Saving grapes with soft soap is very much | 
like heaving china out of an upstair window when a house is i 
on fire. Sulphur has also been tried without success.” 
The splitting of the grapes, we think, from actual ex¬ 
periment, arises from the house being kept too warm; a 
conclusion we wore led to test further by observing in a 
greenhouse where cracked grapes prevailed, that none 
appeared at the end of the bouse in which some of the 
glass was extensively broken. Tho mildew on the 
grape certainly may be vanquished by assiduous dust¬ 
ing with flowers of sulphur, provided the application be 
commenced as soon as the mildew is first noticed. 
“ I was, in 1848 and 1840, one of the directors of a small 
farm, and in looking over a field of potatoes in the year first 
named, to ascertain whether the disease had commenced its 
ravages amongst them, we found no symptom of it in any 
part of the field, except one. That part, lying lower than the 
rest, was wet, and here a great portion of the potatoes were 
diseased. It forcibly struck me that wet or moisture might 
be one cause of disease in tho potato, and I thought I would 
try the experiment of planting mine the following year on 
the tup of the ground, instead of in trenches, and to place 
upon them something that would not retain much moisture. 
For this purpose I procured some sawdust (not from resinous 
wood), and an equal quantity of fineish coal ashes, and when 
the ground was dug I placed my hue where I wished to have 
the row of potatoes, planted the potatoes under the line, at 
a distance of 12 inches apart, and then taking away the line 
I covered the sets with the sawdust and ashes, about 5 or 0 
inches deep, drawing up the earth from each side with a hoe, 
about IJ inches dee]), and thus forming a ridge over the sets 
about 0 or 7 inches in depth. The result was most satis¬ 
factory, having very few diseased ones amongst the crop, and 
this year I have added about one-fourth part of soot to the 
sawdust and coal ashes, planting them the same way I did 
the year before, and on taking them up last month (Sep¬ 
tember) I had a fine crop of perfectly clean grown potatoes, 
with only three potatoes at all touched with the disease 
amongst the whole of my stock. These are Bylotl’s Flour 
Sail; for I grow none else for second early or late varieties. 
My neighbours, on the same flat of land, have had one- 
third, and, in some cases, nearly one-half diseased. I do 
not wish it to be understood that I think I have found out a 
“ specific ” for the potato murrain, I only give the result of 
an experiment; if any of your readers will try the same on a 
small scale, and report progress in your pages, it might be ad¬ 
vantageous to the gardening public. "While writing on po¬ 
tatoes, perhaps I shall not do wrong to state that in Decem¬ 
ber, 1848, my worthy landlords, Messrs. H. and W. Cooper, 
The Tannery, Neepsend, had from me about 4^ lb of Flour 
Sail Potatoes , which they had planted, and the produce of 
these, they informed me, was from 160 to 170 Jb ; taken up 
September, 1849.” \ 
NEW PLANTS: 
THEIR PORTRAITS AND BIOGRAPHIES. 
Under this bead we purpose publishing drawings 
aud descriptions of the new plants, flowers, and fruits 
which are introduced by the aid of the numerous col¬ 
lectors who are now exploring far-off lands for no other 
purpose than to increase our vegetable ricbes. For 
these portraits we shall be chiefly, but not exclusively, 
indebted to our contemporaries. With their beautifully 
coloured and larger drawings we liave no pretension or 
intention to compete; those who wish to see the plants 
of their natural colours aud size must go to the splendid 
pages of The Gardeners Magazine of Botany , Paxton's 
Flower Garden , and The Botanical Magazine ; but what 
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