January  2,  1896. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENA 
13 
CUCUMBER  ROOT  DISEASE. 
In  replying  to  “  W.  E.  H.,”  on  page  605  of  our  last  issue,  we 
promised  to  reproduce  an  illustration  which  we  thought  would  be  of 
interest  to  him  and  to  others.  This  we  now  do  (fig.  3)  and  accompany  it 
with  Mr.  Worthington  G .Smith’s  explanatory  remarks  : — The  root-nodules 
in  question  are  generally  assumed  to  have  a  fungous  origin,  but  the  Rev. 
M.  J.  Berkeley  long  ago  described  the  disease,  and  showed  it  to  be  caused 
by  a  parasite  of  another  nature.  The  description  he  illustrated  with  the 
utmost  accuracy.  It  would  seem  that  the  pest  which  causes  the  mischief 
is  not  always  readily  seen,  or  maybe  it  escapes  into  the  surrounding  soil, 
or,  after  working  the  mischief,  perishes  ;  but  that  it  is  sometimes  difficult 
or  even  impossible  to  detect,  Mr.  Berkeley  himself  confesses.  For  our 
part  we  have  frequently  seen  the  interior  of  the  nodules  just  in  the 
condition  described  by  Mr.  Berkeley,  with  the  parasites  in  all  stages  of 
growth,  from  the  egg  condition  upwards. 
Our  illustration  represents  on  the  left  the  diseased  roots,  natural  size,  and 
Physic  and  water  sometimes  do  wonderful  things,  and  in  the  case  of 
worms  in  the  roots  of  Cucumbers,  the  best  remedy  is  to  destroy  the 
plants,  thoroughly  cleanse  the  house,  and  in  planting  again  get  soil  and 
manure  from  another  source. 
HARDY  FLOWER  NOTES. 
We  have  had  an  excessive  quantity  of  rain  of  late,  and  the  sun¬ 
less  weather  is  now  delaying  or  making  havoc  of  some  choice 
Crocus  species,  which  in  a  more  propitious  time  would  have  been 
attractive.  Few  there  are  in  bloom,  and  those  look  weather-Bick, 
and  in  need  of  what  they  are  not  likely  to  have  now — a  good  sun 
bath.  Snowdrops  there  are,  however,  and  though  they  do  not 
expand  their  segments  in  such  weather  their  eardrop-like  pendent 
blossoms  are  very  pleasing. 
ixat  o 
Fig.  3.— CUCUMBER  ROOT  DISEASE. 
on  the  right  a  thin  slice  through  one  of  the  nodules  of  the  roots.  The  latter 
is  an  exact  reflection  from  a  camera  lucida  attached  to  the  microscope, 
and  shows  the  cellular  tissue,  A ;  pitted  and  spiral  vessels,  u  ;  the 
worms  coiled  up  in  the  eggs,  in  the  centre  of  the  figure  ;  worms  emerged, 
D  ;  and  empty  eggs,  E,  from  which  the  worms  have  escaped.  Mr. 
Berkeley  refers  these  parasites  to  vibrios,  which  belong  to  the  infusoria 
(properly  confervoid  Algse),  common  in  foetid  water,  &c.,  and  alwayB, 
we  believe,  extremely  minute  in  size ;  but  it  will  be  seen  from  our 
figure,  which  is  enlarged  160  diameters,  that  the  animals  there  shown 
are  just  over  one  one-hundreth  of  an  inch  long,  whilst  vibrios  are  ten 
times  smaller,  and  do  not  arise  from  eggs,  but  increase  by  the  formation 
of  new  joints  and  separation  at  the  articulations.  The  parasite  appears 
to  us  to  belong  rather  to  the  oviparous  section  of  the  genus  Anguillula, 
which  includes  the  “  vinegar  eel,”  and,  except  that  it  is  only  about  one- 
half  the  size,  it  is  very  similar  in  all  stages  of  growth  to  A.  Tritici,  an 
eel  found  infesting  blighted  Wheat. 
It  is  often  complained  that  men  of  science  cannot  specify  cures  for 
the  diseases  they  describe,  but  it  should  always  be  remembered  that  in 
regard  to  cures  pathological  botanists  considerably  resemble  doctors  of 
medicine.  It  does  not  follow  that,  because  a  doctor  can  tell  by  certain 
symptoms  his  patient  may  have  Asiatic  cholera  or  cancer,  that  he  can 
therefore  cure  the  disease  ;  or  because  a  fireman  sees  your  house  is  being 
destroyed  by  fire,  he  can  from  that  mere  fact  extinguish  the  blaze. 
The  one  I  had  as  Galanthus  gracscus  has  finished  its  blooming 
season,  but  another  with  shapely  flowers  of  good  size  is  in  bloom. 
This  I  got  as  G.  macedonicus,  and,  as  with  so  many  of  these,  “  one 
name  is  as. good  as  another,”  it  remains  in  the  meantime  with  the 
original  label  attached.  Since  I  got  it  this  one  has  increased  very 
little,  and  one  wearies  for  the  time  to  come  (if  it  ever  come  for  me) 
when  it  shall  have  increased  to  such  a  degree  that  a  good-sized  mass 
should  be  seen  in  the  garden.  Another  one,  however,  of  which  I 
have  written  before  in  laudatory  terms,  is  more  promising  in  this 
respect.  This  is  the  one  received  via  Holland  from  Albania,  and 
which  appears  to  be  still  known  as  G.  species  from  Albania.  It  i3 
very  hardy,  free-flowering,  and  is  beginning  to  increase  fairly  well. 
G.  corcyrensis,  or  what  I  have  as  such,  is  still  in  bloom,  and  one 
received  among  some  G.  Redontei  (true)  is  over  for  some  time. 
G.  Elsas,  found  by  Professor  Mahaffy  on  Mount  Athos,  for  a 
bulb  of  which  I  am  indebted  to  the  kindness  of  Mr.  F.  W. 
Burbidge,  is  almost  ready  to  open,  and  a  seedling  of  Mr.  W. 
Thomson’s  raising  at  High  Blantyre  is  almost  a»  far  advanced. 
Among  some  of  the  other  kinds  in  my  garden,  many  of  which 
were  collected  and  unselected  bulbs,  are  several  which  appear  more 
precocious  than  others,  and  look  as  if  they  would  afford  material 
