August 13, 1904. 
THE QARDBMNO WORLD . 
659 
Sweet Lavender. —The annual crop of Sweet Lavender is now 
being rapidly harvested, as the plants have been in full bloom 
for some time. The shoots are laid on sheets of sacking, which 
are rolled up, piled on carts, and taken to the distilleries, where 
the oil is extracted. 
* * * 
SoLANtXM guatemalense .—Mr. Sutton exhibited fruiting 
plants of this species at the meeting of the R.H.S. Scientific 
Committee on the 26th ult. The egg-shaped fruit is known as 
the “Melon Pear.” These are remarkably juicy, cool, and with 
a distinct flavour, suggesting the name. 
* * * 
Heath Malforhld. —-Mr. Kitson, of Newton Abbot, sent 
flowers of the common Heath, with the petals free, and only 
four stamens opposite the sepals,, which were subpetaloid, to the 
meeting of the R.H.S. Scientific Committee, on July 26tli. 
* * * 
A Mongoose amongst Fruit. —On unpacking a consignment, 
of Bananas, a Wycombe fruiterer discovered a mongoose which 
had made its nest in the stalk of a cluster of the fruit. The 
animal was placed in a cage, from which, however, it escaped 
one night and devoured a valuable canary which was in another 
cage in the same room. The mongoose was recaptured. We 
hear of many strange arrivals of foreign animals in cases of fruit 
and plants from abroad, but surely the mongoose must have 
been very tame or complacent to sit still while the Bananas were 
cut down and shipped to this country. The animal belongs to 
the weasel familv, but is several times larger. 
* * * 
Mount Etna Lilies. —The present time is the most suitable 
for planting the species of Stembergia, also known as Mount 
Etna Lilies, whether intended for.flowering late this autumn or 
the following spring. The oldest and best known is S. lutea, 
which blooms in the autumn. S. macrantha also blooms in the 
autumn, and produces flowers which recall some of the finer 
forms of Oolchi'cum, which, however, are.seldom yellow like.the 
Sternbergias. S. fischeriana blooms in winter or early in spring, 
according to the nature of the weather. In a very mild wintei 
it makes its appearance at a time that renders its display un¬ 
certain should we have a very* severe frost. Rains, however, ate 
as detrimental to their beauty as frost, though, generally speak¬ 
ing, the Sternbergias have much firmer flowers than either the 
Crocus or Colchicum. 
* * * 
Blairgowrie Fruit Crop.— Fully 260 tons of fruit were, in 
the last week of July, despatched by rail from Blairgowrie, com¬ 
pared with 280 tons in the corresponding week last year. The 
Strawberry market was glutted towards the end of the week, 
and the fruit was practically unsaleable. Prices have fallen as 
low as £13 per ton, and part'es who sold at that figure were asked 
to send no more fruit meantime. Last week Raspberry picking 
was at its height. The demand for Raspberries continues good, 
and prices have risen to £33, and still tend upwards. It is 
estimated that there is now less than one-fourth of the total 
crop unsold. At this time last year Strawberries were selling 
at £31 per ten, and the previous year at from £20 to £25 ; while 
Raspberries were realising fully £40 last year, and from £17 to 
£20 the previous year. Black Currants are bringing 4gd. per 
lb. on the market, and Red Currants 2d., against 6d. and 2£d. 
respectively at the same time last year. 
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 
The Editor invites enquiries for reply in this column. These 
enquiries may cover any branch of gardening. Questions should be put 
as briefly as possible, and written on one side of the paper only; a 
separate sheet of paper should be used for each question. 
Readers are also invited to give their fellow gardeners the benefit 
of their experience by sending supplementary replies. 
Replies cannot be sent by post, even if a stamped, addressed 
envelope is enclosed, and the return of specimens cannot be undertaken. 
Anonymous communications are treat&l in the usual editorial manner. 
Address letters: The Editor, ‘‘The Gardening World, 37 and 
38, Shoe Lane, London, E.C. 
Anthracite Coal and Greenhouse Boilers. 
Would anyone in your valuable Gardening World say if 
they have found anthracite coal to burn greenhouse.boilers any 
more than other fuel 1 My employer has been told it does., and 
I am anxious to know, as it is proposed to use the anthracite in 
the place of coke. (Stock Hill.) 
Black Currant Bushes Dying. 
Please can you give me any information regarding the enclosed 
shoots from Black Currant bullies? The bushes are young, and 
were planted in the spring of the year 1903. Last year they 
did not grow much, but this year have made a good start into 
growth and set a heavy crop of fruit, when about the end of 
.June the disease appeared, and some of them have died out 
altogether. I shall feel greatly obliged to know if there is 
any remedy for them. (Cabrager.) 
We fail to find any trace of disease caused by a fungus, either 
on the shoots or the few leaves sent. We have no doubt as to 
the cause of the mischief, howevti*. The bushes have been very 
badly attacked by the Currant aphis (Myzus Ribis), which is a 
very destructive pest when it appears in large numbers. 
Usually it makes its appearance in spring, when the leaves are 
unfolding and yet young and tender. The insects rapidly in¬ 
crease, and cause the leaves to become very much curled and 
ultimately to turn brown and fall off the bushes. The only 
leaves_you sent us were those at the tip of the shoots made 
by the bushes in their last efforts to overcome the enemy. The 
drought was also against good growth, and favoured the fly. 
Some aphides, including that which attacks the Currant bushes, 
have a very bad effect upon the leaves, causing them to curl 
up and make it difficult even to apply a remedy with effect.. 
Old bushes are often served in the same way, but as they have 
a greater vitality they are often able to come through the 
injury and to recuperate their vigour in the following year, pro¬ 
vided they are not again severely attacked. As the wood of the 
shoots you send us appears quite healthy, we think the bushes 
will start again lower down next year, if not this. Your best 
plan would be to keep a good outlook in spring when the 
attack commences, and syringe the bushes with strong soapsuds 
m which you have put some tobacco water to sicken the fly. 
Next morning the bushes might be well washed with clean water 
from the garden engine, driven rather forcibly upon the bushes. 
This will knock down the aphides whidh have not been entirely 
killed by the application, and help further to clean the bushes. 
If the attack has been commenced some time, one application 
of the soapsuds and tobacco water may not be sufficient, but 
you can repeat the operation. If the plantation of Black 
Currants is in a sheltered place, this is favourable to the fly, 
and if you are very liable to attacks of this kind it would be 
well to make a plantation in a more open situation. Half the 
battle is to commence as soon as you detect the presence of 
the fly. 
Marrows not Fruiting. 
Our Vegetable Marrows are doing very badly this year, the 
leaves turning brown and the fruit falling off. I should be 
much obliged if you could give me any explanation. (E. M: R.) 
Very likely the prevailing drought has been the cause of the 
mischief to your Marrows. The check would also encourage 
red spider, and most probably you will find the leaves very 
badly infested with this enemy. We should cut off and burn 
the worst of the leaves, then give the plants a good syringing 
with strong soapsuds and water. Give plenty of water at the 
roots to encourage fresh growth, and when the plants have 
fairly well commenced to grow, applications of weak liquid 
manure may also be given at alternate waterings. The ground 
should not be dry when liquid manure is applied. The 
blossoms may also be hand fertilised to make sure of their 
setting. 
Mildew on Vines. 
Notwithstanding the dry weather, mildew has made its ap¬ 
pearance in one of our Vineries, and seems spreading on to the 
bunches in places. What would you advise me to do to stop 
it? (R. C.) 
The best and most effective remedy is to dust all the affected 
leaves and bunches with flowers of sulphur. If the mildew has 
affected many leaves, it would be a long and tedious operation, 
but certainly effective. You can, however, use a sulphurator, 
which will enable you to carry out the operation equally effec¬ 
tually and with more expediency. A day or so after the sulphur 
has been applied to the bunches they should be lightly syringed 
to wash off the sulphur, which has a disfiguring effect on the 
bunches brought to table. The syringing would be less likely to 
injure, the bloom if done at once before the berries reach the 
matured state. About this period of the year and earlier you 
should keep a close outlook for the first commencement of the 
disease, which may have been encouraged by too close and damp 
an atmosphere, especially during showery times when the atmo¬ 
sphere is kept moist, as it has been, by recent thunderstorms. 
Carnation Seedling. 
I should be pleased to have your opinion of the flowers en¬ 
closed of a seedling Carnation raised here. The pods do not 
