House and Garden 
A lady writes: “ I wonder if you can tell me what 
ails my geraniums and begonias. 1 he edges of 
their leaves turn brown, and become so dry that they 
crumble at a touch. This condition finally extends 
over the whole leaf. Sometimes I find leaves spotted 
with pale green, or yellow. These look, at first, as 
if an insect might have bitten them, but a little later 
the spot becomes a hole, as if the tissue of the leaf 
had broken down under the disease. For disease I 
am confident it is, rather than the work of any insect, 
as I cannot find an aphis or scale about my plants. 
Many of my geraniums are almost skeletons, and 
some of my begonias have died. Soap-washes, 
tobacco teas, and fumigation do no good. Some 
of my friends have plants affected in the same way. 
What is the matter ?—and can anything be done to 
check or put an end to the trouble ?” 
Similar complaints come to me from all over the 
country. Hundreds of correspondents have sent 
specimens of foliage, showing the ravages of the 
disease, for disease it is, as 
the correspondent infers. It is 
of fungoid character, prop¬ 
agated by spores which are 
given off' from the affected 
foliage. These spores float 
about in the air, and when 
they come in contact with an¬ 
other plant they lodge there, 
and in this manner infection is 
communicated to an entire 
collection. There is no use of 
trying to end the difficulty by 
the application of insecticides, 
as no insect is responsible for 
it. The proper thing to use 
is a fungicide, like Bordeaux 
mixture. This, if ap plied 
promptly, and used persist¬ 
ently, will, in time, rid one’s 
plants of the disease. But if 
your plants are neglected until 
their constitutions seem under¬ 
mined by the trouble, it would 
be advisable to throw them 
away and start a new collection. It is an easy 
matter to tell the difference between diseased foliage 
and ripened foliage, for the latter will be yellow 
throughout, as a general thing, while leaves attacked 
by the disease will look green except at the edges, 
or in spots. Pick these offi and burn them as soon 
as discovered, and provide yourself with some of the 
remedy mentioned as soon as possible. 
It can be procured of nearly all florists, in both 
paste and dry form, needing only the addition of 
water to put it in shape for use. This is the only 
remedy I have any knowledge of. I have given it a 
thorough trial, and know it to be effective. But one 
application will not be sufficient. You will have 
to continue its use until the older foliage of your 
plants has been replaced by new. Even then the 
disease is likely to break out afresh, at any time, 
therefore it will be found necessary to make fre¬ 
quent applications of the fungicide to prevent a 
recurrence of the trouble. 
SWEET ALYSSUM AND ZINNIA 
120 
