73S 
THE GARDENERS MAGAZINE. 
Septembke27.191J 
ANSWERS TO 
CORRESPONDENTS. 
Editorial Commuiiioatioius should be addressed to the 
Editor of The Gardeners’ Magazine, 148 and 149, 
Aldersgiate Street, E.C. 
Secretaries of horticultural societies are invited to 
send early notification of forthcoming' exhibitions 
and meetings, and are requested to advise us oon- 
oerningr change® of dates. 
Specimen® of plant®, flowers, and fruits for naming 
or opinion ^ould be sent to the Editor of The 
Gardeners’ Magazine, “ Endsleigh,” Priory Park, 
Kew, Surrey, and as early in the week as possible. 
All paroele must be eufaciently prepaid. 
The Editor will be glad to receive photographa of 
gardens, plants, flowers, trees, fruHs, etc., for 
reproduction in The Gardeners’ Magazine. He will 
alM be greatly obliged by correspondents sending 
early intimation of interesting local events relating 
te hortioulture. In sending newspapers contain¬ 
ing matter to which they wish to draw attention, 
oorrespooidento are requested to distinctly mark 
the paragraph. 
DISEASED STRAWBEKRY LEAVES. — 
F. D., Taunton: For some time past my 
strawberries have been infested with a 
disease which makes itself evident in the 
form of blackish spots upon the foliage. 
There does not appear to be any marked re¬ 
duction in the vigour of the plants as a 
result of this infestation, but I feel sure it 
must have a weakening influence. I encl<^ 
a few spotted leaves, and seek your advice 
concerning the trouble.—The -disease is the 
strawberry leaf spot (Sphaerella fragariae), 
and one that is b^min^g more common in 
this country. . In some parts of the United 
States it is a very troublesome pest. The 
disease so weakens the constitution of the 
plant that after a very bad attack the fruit 
crop may be a failure in the succeeding year. 
We wish you had written us before as one 
of the best means of curing the trouble is to 
mow the leaves from the bed as soon as the 
fruits have been gathered, add some dry 
litter when the leaves are somewhat dry, 
and set fire to the whole. "Riis may seem 
very dra^ic treatment, but it is a method 
that has been adopted with considerable suc¬ 
cess, and it is followed by a vigorous crop of 
healthy foliage. It is rather late to adopt 
such a method, but it is worth the risk; 
failing this, the best that can be done is to 
remove old infested foliage, runners, and 
weeds, and spray with Bordeaux mixture. In 
the spring, as n«3w leaves appear, spray with 
weak Bordeaux mixture at intervals up to 
the time the flowers expand. If you are 
planting new beds make quite sure the 
young plants are perfectly free from signs 
of the disease. 
CAPABILITY BROWNE.—C. P., Berks : I 
have recently been reading a gardening book 
published some years ago, in which a land¬ 
scape gardener is frequently mentioned 
under the designation of " Capability 
Browne."' Perhaps you can tell me some¬ 
thing about him.—Launoelot Browne', who 
became to be very generally known as “ Capa¬ 
bility" Browne, was a landscape gardener 
who attained a high position as an exponent 
of his art about the middle of the 18th cen¬ 
tury, and this position he maintained until . 
his death, which occurred somewhat sud¬ 
denly on February 6, 1783. Browne com¬ 
menced life as a gardener at Stowe, and, 
possessing a cultivated mind and consider¬ 
able taste, he soon made headway when he 
left Stowe and devoted his whole attention 
to landscape gardening. He was consulted 
by the majority of those who, in his day, had 
gardens of importance, and succeeded 
in amassing a lar^ fortune. He re¬ 
ceived the designation of “ Capability"" 
owing to his usual practice of stat¬ 
ing to his patrons after making a sur¬ 
vey that the gardens possessed great capa¬ 
bilities; and he appears to have supported 
his views upon this point by effecting great 
changes in those gardens which he was en¬ 
gaged to improve. His work was regarded by 
some of his critics as monotonous and tame, 
while others bestowed the most lavish praise 
upon it. His most severe critic was perhaps 
Sir Uvedale Price, who, in the course of one 
of his criticisms, writes of “ the tameness of 
the poor pinioned trees of a gentleman’s 
plantation drawn up straight,’" and describes 
one of his river banks as the bare' shaven 
border of a canal."’ Daines Barrington 
wrote that Browne “ undoubtedly hath 
great merit in laying out pleasure grounds, 
but I conceive that in some of his 
plans I see rather traces of the kitchen 
gardener of old Stowe than of Poussin or 
Claude Lorraine.’’ Loudon expressed the 
opinion that, while Browne possessed con¬ 
siderable talents, he was not imbued with the 
taste for picturesque beauty which distin- 
uished the work of Kent, Hamilton, and 
henston. Browne was admired *by George 
Mason, who not unreasonably asks “why 
Browne* should be charged with all the de¬ 
fects of those that have called themselves his 
followers. I have seen no good reason 
alleged, nor can I suppose it possible to pro¬ 
duce' one."" It would appear from contem¬ 
porary literature that Loudon’s estimate of 
Browne’s abilities may be accepted without 
any great difficulty. 
GROUPS OF SHRUBS WITH COLOURED 
FOLIAGE.—D. S. S., Sawston: Will you 
please give me a brief list of shrubs and 
small trees suitable for hold grouping for 
effect? Some should be deciduous and some 
fairly evergreen, as the proposed group is to 
be within sight of the house.—We suggest 
the following for your consideration: Prunus 
Pissardi, P. cerasifera atropurpurea, Ber¬ 
ber is vulgaris, B. Thunbergi, Cornus sibiri«a 
elegantissima, C. alba spathi, C. Mas argen- 
tea variegata, C. controversa variegata, Acer 
Negundo variegata, and A. N. aureo- 
variegata, golden privet, forms of Euony. 
mus japonicus, lavender, Santolina chamae- 
cyparisus, golden elder, golden-leaved 
catalpa, purple hazeb Photinia serrulata, 
various gold and silver hollies, Eleag- 
nus pungens variegata, and the various 
gold and silver conifers, provided coni¬ 
ferous plants do well in your district. 
Arrange the planting go thai there is a good 
background for the group if possible, and see 
that the dark-leaved subjects are placed so 
as to throw into sharp relief the golden and 
silvery-foliaged shrubs. 
HARDY AARON’S BEARD.—E. G., Sher¬ 
borne : In the course of a recent discussion 
I was given to understand that there is a 
moisture-loving grass which is practically 
a hardy counterpart of the very popular 
Isolepis gracilis, so commonly used as an 
edging plant in greenhouses and conserva¬ 
tories. My informant could not tell me the 
name of the plant, but he was very emphatic 
in his statement that there was such a 
species.—It may he that your friend has seen 
Isolepis gracilis (known also as Scirpus ri- 
arius ami S. ncdosus) growing out of doors 
uring the summer in sonie favoured spot, 
as it is nearly hardy in the South of Eng¬ 
land. Possibly, also, the plant referred to 
is Scirpus setaceus, a British tufted species, 
that has a distinct resemblance to the popu¬ 
lar isolepis; but, after all, w« can only make 
a shrewd guess at the name needed, failing 
specimens or a more definite description. 
IMPROTED WINTER WASH FOR 
FRUIT TREES.—A. 8^., Skipton: I believe 
there is now an improv^ method of making 
a caustic wash for spraying fruit tr^s during 
winter, and I think it was first tried at the 
Duke of Bedford’s Experimental Fruit Farm. 
If you; can give me the formula I shall be 
greatly obliged.—^The improved wash is used 
for the same purpose as the caustic soda 
wash, but is more effective, and in every way 
superior to it. The wash is the invention of 
Mr. Spencer Pickering, and has been used 
with much success at the Woburn Experimen¬ 
tal Fruit Farm. To make 10 gallons of wash 
Mr. Pickering recommends: Iron sulphate 
^Ib., lime ilb., caustic soda 211bs., paraffin 5 
pints, and water to make 10 gallons. Dis¬ 
solve the iron sulphate in about 9 gallons of 
water, slake the lime with a little water, 
and then add sufficient to make it into a 
milk; strain this through a piece of sacking, 
and add to the iron sulphate solution. Churn 
the paraffin into the mixture, and add the 
caustic soda, and when this has dissolved the 
wash will be ready for use. By the addition 
of paraffin the work is rendered more efficient 
in the destruction of mussel scale, and the 
use of iron sulphate ensures the emubiiira. 
tioii of the paraffin. 
SPOTS ON ODONTOGLOSSUM LE.WEs 
—P. T., New Brighton: I am sending v<.a i 
few odontogiossum leaves which are mor. ^ 
less spotted, in the hope that you will W 
able to tell me the reason for puch spottier 
and the cure.—Spotting is due chiefly 
combination of low temperature and exM*. 
sive moisture. The moisture in the air e<6. 
denses on the leaves at night and form* 
drops, and when the temperature falh lot 
these drops of water severely chill the ti^ioe* 
and disease is set up. More fire-heat accjw- 
panied by ventilation will improve mattn» 
give water with great care, and avoid exivv 
sive damping down at this season of tk 
year. 
NAMES OF PLANTS. 
C. R., Dalkey.—1, Escallonia macranthi. 
2, Stokesia cya'nea. 
G. S., Liskeard.—1, Veronica Traver^i; I 
V. Andersoni variegata. 
M. M. J., Beverley.—1, Aglaonenw 
tata; 2, Adiantum fissum; 3, Polypodim 
vulgare cambricum. 
J. A. S., Harrogate.—1, Sedum spectabile; 
2, Kniphofia rufa; 3, Tamarix gallic*; i 
Leyoesteria formosa. 
F. H. W., Frinton.—1, Probably AmeUa 
chier canadensis, send when in flower, wil 
spring; 2, Sarracenia Drumraondi; 3, ^tiw 
bilanthes Dyerianus; 4, Acer colchicwi 
rubrum; 5, Clematis integrifolia. 
HOLLYHOCKS. 
Can any reader of, or advertiser '"'jy 
Sabdeners’ Magazine recommend a strn 
free from the fateful fungus? V\e * » 
rrow old plants, and we most Mrefully smr 
vet the foliage of our hoUyhwks • 
"a disgrace to a gibbet.’ Has 
angle healthy hollyTiock? 
short time ago, and found the pla 
worse than those in my 
Horticultural Hall this year I saw a ^ 
of fine spikes, yet not h"*, J**,!',!, I 
healthy foliage. Hollyhocks »» j 
sav. should hi) a feature of myboi^,* 
