October  16,  1896 
journal  of  horticulture  and  cottage  gardener. 
373 
€0  far  as  the  cells  are  ruptured  and  the  parts  dry,  presenting  a  barrier 
through  which  no  fungal  spore  will  pash  its  germinal  tube.  For  lesser 
wounds,  or  all  for  that  matter,  a  coating  of  Stockholm  tar  thinned  with 
petroleum  to  the  consistency  of  paint  and  applied  with  a  brush  answers 
perfectly  ;  indeed,  it  is  the  best  preservative  of  wood  or  timber  from  the 
entrance  into  it  fungal  germs,  which  cause  it  to  rot.  About 
three  parts  Stockholm  tar  and  one  part  petroleum  form  a  suitable  con¬ 
sistence  for  wounds,  and  one  part  petroleum  to  four  of  Stockholm  tar 
for  timber.  Whether  applied  to  wounds  or  timber  these  must  be  dry. 
It  does  not  injure  living  bark  unles?  soft  and  young,  therefore  may  be 
used  for  dressing  wounds  caused  by  canker  fungus,  which  it  will  destroy, 
as  the  mycelium  is  not  deeply  seated,  and  enough  of  the  tar  and 
petroleum  composition  is  absorbed  by  the  wood  to  reach  it  and 
deitroy  it. 
It  is  equally  efficacious  for  destroying  American  blight,  brushing  it 
well  into  the  excrescences,  and  to  be  eflEeotual  every  part  must  le  reached 
where  the  pest  harbours.  When  applied  to  the  woodwork  of  houses, 
stages  and  cutting  boxes,  it  does  not  give  off  any  fumes  injarious  to 
plants,  being  unlike  gas  tar  aud  creosote  in  those  respects.  Stockholm 
tar  thinned  with  linseed  oil  also  answers  well  for  dressing  wounds, 
drying  better,  hence  some  prefer  it  for  woodwork,  especially  oak  palings, 
as  the  colour  is  darker,  that  of  Stockholm  tar  and  petroleum  being  a 
somewhat  light  brown.  For  woodwork  two  coats  are  necessary.  Either 
will  take  the  usual  oil  paints.  For  priming  wood  they  are  first  rate 
and  coming  into  use  extensively,  especially  for  palings  In  fungicidal 
value  they  far  excel  the  usual  paints,  but  are  not  by  any  means  new, 
especially  the  tar  and  linseed  oil,  which  has  been  in  use  half  a  century 
or  more,  and  the  others  for  more  than  half  of  that  period. 
In  the  case  of  wounds  caused  by  canker  fungus,  bruises,  or  other 
cause,  once  brushing  out  with  the  Stockholm  tar  and  petroleum  paint, 
and  afterwards  using  a  clay  pigment,  either  with  or  without  soluble 
petroleum,  encourages  the  growth  of  new  bark  over  the  wood,  and  the 
part  is  sooner  grown  over.  Badly  cankered  parts  are,  however,  best  cut 
away  when  they  can  be  spared,  and  remember  that  neither  the  pruning 
nor  any  sort  of  pigment  will  be  of  much  benefit  unless  the  soil  is  charged 
with  wholesome  food.  Taking  all  from  and  putting  nothing  on  the  land 
is  sure  to  result  in  poverty,  and  an  ill-thriven  tree  has  little  chance 
against  its  enemies  :  therefore  do  not  take  the  trimmings  off  or  only  to 
burn  them  safely,  taking  care  to  return  the  ashes,  scattering  them 
evenly.  If  there  are  cesspools  that  contain  rich  stuft  from  animals,  as 
it  runs  away  from  farmyards  and  seen  in  ditches  like  colour  of  porter, 
give  each  square  rod  about  half  a  ton.  Tuis  costs  nothing  but  the  labour, 
and  is  oftener  wasted  than  otherwise.  Basic  slag  phosphate  is  a  cheap 
means  of  supplying  phosphoric  acid  and  lime,  with  other  elements  found 
in  fruits.  Haifa  ton  maybe  applied  per  acre,  and  5  cwt.  of  kainit, 
which  supplies  potash,  magnesia,  soda  and  chlorine,  with  sulphur. 
This  is  a  strong  dose,  but  the  case  is  a  bad  one,  and  requires  drastic 
treatment.  The  materials,  however,  are  cheap,  costing  about  £3  per 
acre,  including  labour.  There  is  scarcely  anything  in  the  shape  of  an 
insect  that  can  live  in  such  treated  soil,  and  that  is  what  we  are  aiming 
at,  as  well  as  enriching  the  soil,  which  will  not  need  anjthing  in  the 
spring,  as  the  liquid  manure  put  on  in  autumn  or  winter  as  available 
will  supply  the  requisite  and  costly  nitrogen,  so  that  sulphate  of 
ammonia  or  nitrate  of  soda  may  be  dispensed  with,  and  that  means 
keeping  money  in  the  pocket. 
The  procedure  proposed  is  all  that  can  be  done  until  the  leaves  are 
all  off,  then  measures  can  be  taken  against  pests  on  the  trees.  Foremost 
is  the  good  old  plan  of  using  what  we  call  quicklime — that  is,  slaked. 
Let  the  lime  be  freshly  burned,  and  use  no  more  water  than  is  absolutely 
necessary  to  cause  it  to  fall  to  a  fine  powder.  Then,  choosing  a  day 
when  the  trees  are  damp  dust  the  quicklime  over  them,  this  being  easily 
effected  by  means  of  a  coarse  bag  mounted  on  a  pole,  using  a  ladder.  Do 
it  thoroughly,  no  half  measures  are  of  any  use,  and  when  the  tops  have 
been  done  form  a  whitewash  of  the  lime  and  apply  it  to  the 
trunk  and  large  limbs,  coating  them  as  thoroughly  as  a  wall.  This  will 
make  an  end  of  lichen  and  moss,  eggs  of  insects,  addling  them  as  it  does 
those  of  hens,  codlin  moth  caterpillars  in  their  cocoons,  and  every  other 
pest  it  encompasses  or  coats.  All  the  fine  theories  about  eggs  of 
insects  or  the  perfect  creatures,  or  even  tbeir  larvas,  being  difficult  to 
destroy  is  literature,  not  natural  history.  The  thing  is  to  do  it  without 
injury  to  the  tree,  and  at  the  same  time  benefit  it  in  the  way  of  nutri¬ 
tion.  Lime  is  of  this  nature — the  oldest  of  all  fungicides  and  insecticides, 
and  still  unbeaten. 
Second  is  the  almost  equally  ancient  salt  wash,  which,  as  everybody 
knows,  keeps  eggs  so  well  that  they  never  hatch.  It  should  be  so  strong 
as  to  float  an  egg  perpendicular  in  it,  not  on  it,  and  be  sprayed  on  the 
trees  while  they  are  dry,  moistening  them  evenly  all  over.  Then  wash 
the  trunks  and  large  limbs,  not  letting  the  solution  run  down  so  as  to 
soak  the  soil  about  the  roots,  yet  reaching  into  every  crack,  bole,  and 
crevice.  This  will  destroy  lichen  and  moss,  eggs  of  insects,  larvje,  pupae, 
imago.  There  is  nothing  in  it  of  a  manurial  nature,  and  it  hinders 
rather  than  makes  plants  grow,  always  excepting  the  Cabbage  tribe  and 
other  lovers  of  salt ;  but  the  chlorine  is  useful  as  enabling  the  plants  to 
resist  its  enemies. 
Third  is  the  Coates’  solution  of  caustic  soda  and  commercial  potash 
(pearlash),  J  lb.  each,  and  6  gallons  of  water.  This  is  sprayed  on  whilst 
the  trees  are  dry,  making  them  wet  in  every  part,  then  it  destroys  lichen 
and  moss,  eggs  of  insects,  and  everything  in  that  way  it  gets  on,  bringing 
off  all  overgrowths,  and  leaving  the  bark  quite  clean  and  bright.  The 
potash  has  considerable  value  as  manure,  and  as  it  does  not  pass  off  in 
the  air  must  get  into  the  soil  and  prove  beneficial.  It  is  the  cleanest  of 
the  three,  though  not  much  bet’er  than  salt  solution  in  that  respect,  and 
all  should  be  applied  whilst  the  trees  are  completely  dormant,  and  on 
account  of  the  •  winter  and  other  moths  depositing  their  eggs  on  trees 
during  the  autumn  and  early  winter  the  treatment  is  generally  deferred 
until  the  turn  of  the  days,  especially  with  the  caustic  soda  and  pearlash 
wash.  Spraying  high  trees,  however,  is  no  light  matter,  but  an  expensive 
process  in  labour  as  well  as  material,  therefore  we  advise  the  lime  and 
sticky  banding  for  orchard  trees,  putting  on  a  good  band  a  short  distance 
from  the  ground,  and  a  second  just  below  the  lowest  branches  on  the 
trunk.  Tbe  moths  have  put  in  appearance  some  time  ago,  and  they  will 
keep  on,  one  or  another  of  them,  until  December  or  later,  so  that  waiters 
for  one  thing  to  ba  effected  lose  much  in  other  ways,  therefore  use  the 
bands,  and  when  the  leaves  are  all  off  apply  the  lime. — G.  Abbey. 
(To  be  continued.! 
THE  “YATES  THOMPSON  CONSERVATORY”  AT 
LIVERPOOL. 
the  occasion  of  tbe  presentation  of  the  splendid  conservatory  to 
the  City  of  Liverpool  by  the  donor  whose  name  it  will  worthily  bear, 
speeches  were  delivered  which  bad  the  right  ring  in  them,  and  were  so 
suggestive  that  tie  purport  of  two  of  them  will  be  read  with  pleasure  in 
these  pages. 
Mr,  Yates  Thompson  said  his  connection  with  Liverpool  parks 
went  back  a  long  way.  His  esteemed  relative  Mr.  Richard  Vaughan 
Yates  souoe  fifty  years  ago  started  the  idea  of  a  semi-public  park 
which  at  that  time  was  quite  novel.  He  was  before  his  age,  but  had 
the  audacity  to  create  Prince’s  Park,  and  to  arrange  it  under  a  trust,  on 
a  system  which  had  gone  on  to  this  day,  and  which  would  go  on  until 
the  park  was  merged  in  the  other  parks  of  the  city.  Thereby  he  set  an 
example  not  only  to  Liverpool,  but  to  all  tbe  country. 
But  while  the, general  public,  here  and  elsewhere,  responded  to  the 
idea  of  public  parks,  it  never  occurred  to  them  that  the  climate  was 
rainy,  that  the  winters  were  cold,  and  that  it  was  a  qualified  benefit  to 
give  people  a  park  unless  they  gave  them  shelter  into  which  they  might 
run  when  it  rained,  and  where  they  might  see  the  beauties  of  exotic 
cultivation  for  their  instruction  and  edification.  “  He  who  loves  a  garden 
loves  the  greenhouse  too”  was  the  motto  he  proposed  to  attach  in  some 
form  to  the  new  building.  He  hoped  that  just  as  in  the  last  century 
the  system  of  public  parks  had  extended  all  over  the  country,  so  in  the 
next  half  century  a  system  of  winter  gardens  attached  to  public  parks, 
I  and  supported  by  tbe  town  as  shelters  for  the  people,  might  also  be 
widely  extended,  and  that  the  humble  edifice  that  he  had  given  might 
be  the  precursor  of  many  such  throughout  the  country. 
Mr.  I’'ate8  Thompson  spoke  of’  the  assistance  he  had  received  from 
Lord  Mayor  Watts,  the  present  Lord  Mayor,  and  other  city  authorities 
in  its  erection,  by  giving  him  a  splendid  site  and  a  free  hand,  and  he 
could  not  too  warmly  express  his  thanks  to  the  contractors,  Messrs. 
Mackenzie  &  Moncur  of  Edinburgh,  for  their  splendid  work,  and  for  tbe 
fact  that  they  had  done  what  few  builders  did — namely,  keep  within 
tbeir  estimate.  (Laughter.)  He  had  to  thank  Mr.  Harry  J.  Veitch, 
who  had  supplied  a  collection  of  plants  which  took  high  rank  ;  and  Mr. 
Starkie,  gardener  ;  and  Mr.  Herbert,  the  Park’s  Superintendent,  whose 
aid  had  been  continuous,  thoughtful,  and  sympathetic. 
He  would  like  to  say  that  Mr.  Dyer  of  Kew  had  pronounced  it  the 
smartest  conservatory  in  the  world,  his  only  criticism  being  that  the 
pathway  was  rather  too  wide,  but  that  was  from  a  botanist’s  point  of 
view.  (Laughter.)  Their  idea  was  to  give  people  plenty  of  room  in 
which  to  walk  about  and  shelter  in  times  of  rains  and  tempests.  He 
hoped  in  time  to  modify  the  extreme  width  by  the  addition  of  statues, 
as  he  thought  that  a  conservatory  was  a  very  good  place  for  the 
exhibition  of  statuary. 
He  intended  to  put  on  the  pedestals  outside  the  building  statues  or 
eight  of  the  principal  men  who  had  helped  the  science  of  botany, 
horticulture,  and  landscape  gardening.  He  had  only  got  one  as  yet,  and 
it  was  that  of  John  Parkinson,  who,  in  the  time  of  James  I,,  was  the 
first  Englishman  who  ever  appreciated  flowers  in  a  garden,  as  compared 
with  herbs  and  plants  connected  with  medicine.  The  presence  of  the 
Lord  Mayor,  than  whom  no  one  more  distinguished  in  public  service 
had  ever  occupied  the  position,  had  lent  eAat  to  their  proceedings  that 
day,  and.  he  (Mr.  Yates  Thompson)  now  formally  presented  the  building 
to  the  citizens  of  Liverpool  through  the  Lord  Mayor. 
The  Lord  Mayor  (the  Earl  of  Derby)  said  be  found  a  difficulty 
in  expressing  the  deep  gra’itude  which  they  all  as  citizens  of  Liver¬ 
pool  felt  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Yates-Thompson  for  the  magnificent  gift 
which  they  had  presented  to  the  city.  He  spoke  also  for  those  who  in 
future  time  would  look  at  the  building  as  a  monument  of  how  pleasant 
things  could  be  brought  to  the  eye,  how  botany  could  be  studied,  and 
how  flowers  could  be  cultivated,  under  conditions  more  favourable 
perhaps  than  those  which  our  natural  climate  would  lend  to  them; 
Tbe  conservatory  would  not  only  be  a  cherished  landmark  but  a  guide 
pointing  the  way  which  it  might  be  hoped  other  citizjna  would  follow. 
They  had  a  good  object  lesson,  and  more  than  that  they  had  the 
example  of  a  noble  citizen  who  was  willing  to  present  that  great  and 
splendid  gift  for  the  delectation  of  the  public.  He  had  to  ask  the 
donor  to  allow  his  nami  to  be  associated  with  it,  so  that  it  might 
never  be  forgotten. 
A  brief  reference  may  be  made  to  the  house  itself.  The  building 
is  a  huge  octagon  of  iron  and  glass  work  on  a  Peterhead  granite 
foundation,  with  eight  projecting  pedestals.  The  roof  rises  by 
pleasing  gradation  of  slopes  to  a  central  point,  above  which  is  a 
