THE GARDENERS’ MAGAZINE. 
November 29, 1913. 
I AMERICAN GOOSEBERRY MILDEW: | 
I A REMEDY WANTED | 
Some SIX or seven years have passed since less to save the gooseberry-giwing indus- 
^ “r there. Disinflination w^adop/prompt 
^ ^ ^he measures was shown, and there wis even 
gooseberries m AV orcestershire, and mot organised resistance to the Board’s Order- 
long afterwards it w^ found that this which the local authority conceived it their 
disease, the American Gooseberry Mildew, duty to enforoe, however—and there was 
was present in gwseberp^ plantations prac- now every reason to believe that the disease 
tically all over the country. The latter dis- in that county would be reduced to verv 
wvery was of course, made after the mil- small dimensions, and the county be freed 
dew w^scheduJed as a notifiable disease from an expense and an embarrassment 
by the Board of Agriculture, and sance then that had seriously handicapped it.” Figures 
inspectors have been appomted and a large were given showing how the disease had de 
sum of money has been spent in attempts creased in Worcester and increased in Kent 
to^adicafe the disease. since 1909-10, but the arguments did not 
What is the position now? Either the appear to have much influence on the 
measures adopted have not been drastic Kentish men in arriving at their decision 
enough or they are inadequate, for com- and the position is interesting in regard 
paratively little progress has been made, to what will be done with ^mencaii 
That American mildew is not an easy thing Gooseberry Alildew in the future because 
to get nd of many of us know from ex- the voice of such an important fruit 
perience, and I am acquainted now with growing county as Kent must necessarily 
several plantations which have been in- be listened to. It seems to be a question 
fected for five or six years. Every effort of either leaving growers to their own de 
has been made by means of spraying and vices, continuing present methods or if 
pruning to get rid of the disease, and, 
though these attempts may have prevented 
its ^read, they have not been success¬ 
ful in eradicating it. It has peculiarities, 
too, that are not easily understood. For 
several years the summer stage of the 
mildew appeared first on the young shoots, 
but this season the fruit, in many cases, 
was attacked before any traces were seen 
on the leaves and shoots. Some people are 
better. 
finding out something that 
H. 
A REMARKABLE GRAFT 
HYBRID. 
(Cratseg^o-mespilus Dardari). 
The “ Kew Bulletin records how, in its 
issue of 1911, p. 267, it gave an illustrated 
apt to blame growers for the little pro- ■account of this graft hybrid, and its com- bermos cherries 
gress made in stamping out the disease, panion of similar origin, C.-m. D’Asnieresii, _4. 
but, as far as my experience goes I given. They both originated at Bron- 
have found them ready to obey the near Metz, from shoots borne on a 
Order and adopt the methods that are tT 
recommended. 
It seems, however, that better remedies 
COMPETITIONS IN THE 
PACKING OF SOFT FRUITS 
^h^ules of the Royal Horticnltmar 
bocietys fortnightly meetings on June 16 
and July 14, 1914, and the Fruit Show on 
^ptember 29, 1914, will contain the follow- 
mg class: — 
Class 3. —^Soft fruit, packed in an attrac¬ 
tive manner, and so as to travel un- 
bruised either by rad or post. The pack¬ 
age mu^ be sent by parcels posit from 
the exhibitor’s nearest post ofHoe, or be 
handed in at his nearest or most gener. 
ally-used station, and delivered by the 
TOlway company, or by post, at Vincent 
Square, either on the Monday before the 
show or before 10.30 a.m. on the day it- 
self. Under no circumstances may a oom- 
petitoT brinig the package or send it by 
hand, or otherwise convey it further than 
his nearest or most usual post office or 
railway Station. If sent by rail, a post 
card addressed to the Secretary, R.H.S. 
Offices, Vincent Square, Westminster, 
must be sent at once, saying from what 
station land at wkat time the parcel was 
despatched. Separate packages, or pun¬ 
nets, may be used inside the parcel if 
desired, but the whole package must not 
exceed 18 inches in length, 10 inches in 
breadth, an/d 5 inches in depth—all inside 
measurements. The packages may be of 
any miateiiial so long as they are suffi¬ 
ciently strong, but not too heavy. 
The Council’s desire is to obtain a really 
good and useful lesson in the packing of soft 
fruits, so as to enable them to be sent by 
post or by passenger train, and arrive in a 
condition ^tab]#> for a gentleman’s table. 
The Oouncil will, on June 16 and July 14, and 
on September 29, give special awards in ac¬ 
cordance with the above conditions. 
Market growers may compete as w'ell as 
pritvate gardeners. 
By soft fruit ” is intended such as straw- 
melons, or unripe plums. Tomatoes are ex¬ 
cluded. 
are wanted than those at present known, 
and matters in reference to future proce¬ 
dure have been brought to a head 
by the action of the Kent County Council. 
FLORAL TABLE 
DECORATIONS. 
Referring to page 866 of The Gardeners’ 
Magazine for November 15, I would wmind 
Mrs. Bide that my article was directed 
against the style of table decorations in the 
exhibition tent as compared with the style 
in private establishments. And although 
Of the two, the latter is the more 
beautiful as a garden tree, but C.-m. 
Dardari is the more interesting in having 
(like Laburnum Adami) the faculty of pro¬ 
ducing several kinds of growth on the same 
individual. 
At the time the article was published the 
At the last meeting of this authority a specimen of C.-m. Dardari in the Kew col- 
Special Committee reported that a year lection carried a branch of pure medlar and 
ago they decided, after anxious considera- C.-m. D’Asnieresii; but no branch of ^ _ 
tion, to recommend the Council to con- hawthorn, the other parent, had ap- at the show she mentions the awards were 
tinue the administration of the Order, but ^ present, given to tables decorated with rustic stands, 
the experience of the twelve months had howeve^ on May 27 last, it does not ne^^rily mean such a s^le of 
been so discouratrinH and erowers i ^ forward to Kew from his decoration would do in a gentleman s dining- 
remarkable collection at Aldenham a flower- room. By - a gentleman’s dining-room ” I 
woT^ opinion that the uig spray gathered from C.-m. Dardari. This mean the dining-room in a large establish- 
work carried oijt by the Council was of spray is Crataegus monogyna—the form with ment, where, I take it, one would expect to see 
-ittle It any, value, therefore the commit- hairy flower stalks, calyx-tube and deceptacle, the highest excellence in table decoration, 
tee decided te recommend the Council distinguished by Beck as var. lanigera. Mr. Money is not spared to obtain it, and I doubt 
not to appoint any more inspectors, and to Gibbs observed that the flowers, borne on a whether any decorator has ever used a rustic 
terminate the appointment of the one shoot 3 feet long, were fully open on May 27, stand in such a house as defined above. At 
already engaged on the work. In present- whilst the rest of the tree had only unopened the recent Birmingham Show, out of over 
ing the report attention was called to the of^ the white, m^lar-like blossoms cha- two dozen exhibits, I believe ^three-fourty 
fact that there were 3,600 acres of goose- ^4? n ^ ty j 
berries in the county affected, and Aider- 
man Quested argued that the disease would 
have considerably diminished if the 
rem^ies applied during the six years’ 
administration of the Order had been 
effectual. 
So much for the local authority. But - - _ 
the Board of Agriculture, on the other tabulated as follows 
hand, in a letter urging the Council to con- ^ataegus monogyna 
tinue to administer the Act, stated that so 
far as the Board was aware there had been 
1^0 serious attempt by fruit-growers of 
Kent, as a whole, to free their county from 
infection-. By way of contrast, Worcester¬ 
shire was quoted in the following words : 
“ Disease was found to be widespread and 
ferious in Worcester before it was known in 
Kent, and at one time it was thought hope- 
racteristic of C.-m. Dardari. A shoot of were arranged in rustic stands, and the 
true medlar has since been found on awards had to go to displays made by their 
the tree. help. But a gardener has to ask himself. 
Thus this graft hybrid shows a phenome- “ Would such exhibits suit my employer . 
non, unique so far as we are aware, of one I have never used a rustic stand. My 
kind of tree (not as yet, however, one indi- duties are to decorate dinner tables, etc., 
vidual) producing four types of growth, two not to embellish a bent-metal construction, 
of which are distinct species and two of a Surely your correspondent is writing entirely 
hybrid or intermediate nature. They may be from an exhibitor’s point of view. ^ 
2. Mespilhs germahlca f 
3. Crataego-mespilus D’Asnieresii, hybrid 
approaching No. 1. 
4. Crataeg^mespilus Dardari, hybrid ap¬ 
proaching No. 2. 
Laburnum Adami has not been known to 
ail exnioiiors point- oi vi^w. Private 
decorators have to provide a rich scheme oi 
decoration, perfect in taste and 
ment, without the aid of tubes distribu^ 
about the receptacles used. The decoration 
has to be changed every day, and our hardes 
work is to secure fresh ideas. 
Mrs. Bide says the public are the best 
critics. How many visitors to flower shows 
produce more than one hybrid type of flower have seen a table laid and decorated for din 
besides those of its two parent species ner in a large private establishment? 
(Laburnum vulgare and Cytisus purpureus) E. B. Wise- 
three in all. Swinfen Hall Gardens, Lichfield. 
