December  16,  1897. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
571 
Mr.  Abbey’s  successful  results  or  Mr.  Dyke’s  decided  failure.  Mr. 
Abbey  is  quite  right ;  Little’s  original  soluble  phenyle  is  of  some 
theoretical  manurial  value,  as  it  contains  1  per  cent,  of  potash.  This 
means  that  the  application  of  as  much  potash  as  that  in  Mr.  Dyke’s 
dressing  of  kainit  (12  ozs.  per  square  yard)  would  require  over 
80  gallons  of  soluble  phenyle  liquid  for  each  square  yard  !  The 
manurial  value  of  softsoap,  as  applied  in  washes,  is  not  worth  the 
consideration  of  any  practical  man.  The  potash  in  soap  costs  just 
five  times  as  much  as  that  in  a  potash  manure. 
It  should  be  noted  that  Jeyes’  disinfectant  contains  no  potash,  and 
therefore  quite  free  from  any  pretensions  as  to  manurial  value. 
The  nitrogen  in  creosite  is  in  the  form  of  highly  unsuitable 
material  for  plant  nutrition,  and  is  not  only  useless  to  plants  but  also 
capable  of  doing  them  serious  harm  if  applied  too  liberally. 
I  believe  Miss  Ormerod  was  the  first  authority  to  recommend 
soluble  phenyle  for  root  eelworms,  and  that  it  is  quite  possible  that 
it  may  be  efficacious. 
2,  What  is  an  eelworm  9  Many  people  talk  lightly  of  “  eelworms,” 
and  point  them  out  as  vi.sible  to  the  naked  eye.  These  visible  eel¬ 
worms  are  not  eelworms  proper,  but  mostly  the  larvae  of  small  flies, 
and  for  these,  I  am  told,  the  soluble  phenyle  may  be  sound  treatment. 
The  “  eelworm  ”  proper,  or  nematode,  is  only  visible  under  a  fairly 
high  power  of  the  microscope,  and  anyone  who  can  free  soil  of  this 
pest  at  small  expense  would  be  worth  £50,000  to-morrow. 
Meanwhile,  experiment  is  open  to  all,  and  there  is  no  reason  why 
a  reader  of  this  Journal  should  not  be  the  lucky  man.  Sugar  Beets, 
Hops,  Cucumbers,  and  Clover  are  all  victims  of  nematodes.  Kainit 
and  lime  are  the  only  palliatives  at  present  recognised  by  scientific 
experts  as  of  any  practical  use  and  application. 
Unfortunately,  I  have  not  access  to  diseased  Tomato  and  Cucumber 
plants,  and  am  at  present  unable  to  test  “soluble  phenyle”  or  other 
possible  remedies.  I  would  suggest  that  Mr.  Dyke  might  find  success 
with  one  of  the  following  materials : — (1)  Carbon  bisulphide  ; 
(2)  xanthate  of  soda ;  (3)  antinonin  (potassium  nitro-cresylate). 
1  and  2  obtainable  from  Hairington’s,  City  Eoad,  E.C. ;  3  from  Fuerst 
Bros.,  17,  Philpot  Lane.  1  and  2  have  cured  the  phylloxera  pest  of 
the  Vine  ;  3,  a  new  German  remedy  for  caterpillars  and  other  pests. — 
Halogen. 
In  turning  my  back  on  eelworm  a  few  months  ago  I  had  hoped  that 
this  evil  pest,  with  its  accompanying  discouragement  and  disappointment, 
was  for  my  part  really  finished  and  done  with.  However,  let  me  in  as 
few  words  as  possible  give  the  comments  for  which  “W.  D.”  has  asked. 
I  used  Little’s  soluble  phenyle  at  varying  strengths,  as  advised  bj' 
“  Phenyle  Adviser  ”  and  Mr.  Abbey  in  the  Journal.  I  have  kept  no 
notes  as  to  the  exact  per-centages,  as  the  results  of  fair  trials  proved  of 
so  little  value,  but  certainly  the  applications  were  stronger  than  those 
mentioned  by  “  W.  D.”  I  have  noticed  on  one  or  two  occasions  that 
after  what  I  thought  was  a  too  heavy  saturation  of  the  soil  in  which  the 
plants  were  growing,  there  was  a  slight  flagging,  such  as  one  may  see  in 
Cucumbers  when  a  sudden  burst  of  sunshine  follows  a  period  of  dull 
weather,  but  nothing  serious  ;  the  leaves  did  not  hang  like  “wet  clothes.  ’ 
With  these  exceptions  I  have  not  noticed  phenyle  take  any  effect  on 
Cucumbers,  nor,  worse  luck,  on  the  eelworm,  and  I  have  done  with  it. — 
By  the  Sea. 
Last  year  Mr.  W.  Dyke  recorded  a  failure  with  kainit  in  solution  for 
destroying  eelworms  in  Cucumbers,  and  on  page  547  registers  a  success 
with  the  salt  in  conjunction  with  basic  slag  phosphate — two  of  the  most 
economic  substances,  supplying  potash  and  magnesia,  phosphoric  acid, 
lime,  and  iron,  also  manganese.  The  latter  I,  at  one  time,  regarded  as 
of  considerable  importance  in  the  treatment  of  parasitic  diseases  as  caused 
by  animal  and  vegetable  micro-organisms.  Its  value,  however,  was 
found  to  rest  upon  combination  with  other  substances. 
I  am  not  going  to  enter  on  another  discussion  about  eelworms,  only  I 
should  like  the  Editor  to  publish  an  illustrated  article  I  sent  him  some 
time  ago  on  root-stem  eelworm  in  Vines,  and  I  do  not  criticise  the  article 
on  page  547  further  than  to  say  that  4  ozs.  of  kainit  per  square  yard 
suffices  to  kill  any  species  of  eelworm  known  in  England,  and  a  solution 
of  it,  2  ozs.  to  a  gallon  of  water,  answers  every  useful  purpose.  I  say 
nothing  as  to  bad  cases  requiring  sharp  medicine,  or  deep-rooting  plants 
necessitating  more  abundant  dressings.  Cultivators  must  exercise 
Judgment  in  this  as  on  all  other  matters  of  management  in  particular 
cases. 
Your  correspondent  records  a  failure  with  soluble  phenyle.  I  wonder 
if  the  grow'er  alluded  to  by  Mr.  W.  Dyke  has  used  the  genuine  article,  for 
I  notice  he  omits  the  prefix  “  Little’s,”  as  have  other  correspondents,  and 
an  inquirer  recently  received  a  substance  from  a  chemist  to  order  of 
soluble  phenyle  labelled  “  Soluble  phenol,”  and  on  the  purchaser  pointing 
out  the  divergence  between  the  definition  on  the  label  and  the  order,  the 
chemist  said  they  were  the  same.  Perhaps  there  were  faults  on  both 
sides,  the  orderer  not  having  written  “Little’s  ”  soluble  phenyle  and  the 
seller  not  knowing  the  difference;  hence  the  mistake,  and,  if  the  wrong 
kind  were  used,  that  would  account  for  the  disaster. — G.  Abbey. 
[The  illustrations  mentioned  will  shortly  be  published,  and  we  think 
they  will  be  interesting  to  many  readers.] 
iESCHYNANTHUSES. 
Gesneraceous  plants  are  some  of  the  most  brilliant  ornaments  of 
our  stoves,  the  majority  of  them  producing  very  gaily  coloured  flowers 
in  abundance,  and  these  seem  even  more  attractive  in  comparison  with 
the  rich  diversity  of  foliage  which  Palms,  Crotons,  Dractenas,  Alocasias, 
and  Innumerable  others  present.  Gesneras,  Tydaeas,  Gloxinias, 
Achimenes,  and  Streptocarpus  include  many  handsome  plants  of  great 
value  not  only  for  the  stove  but  for  cooler  houses  also,  though  the 
majority  are  more  at  home  in  a  rather  high  temperature. 
The  genus  ASschynanthus,  to  which  especial  attention  is  now  called, 
similarly  comprises  several  species  of  much  beauty,  particularly  as  basket 
Eig.  83. — ASschynanthus  tricolor. 
plants,  for  which  their  epiphytal  and  pendulous  habit  well  fits  them,  and 
in  gardens  where  they  are  carefully  grown  no  better  plants  for  that 
purpose  could  be  desired.  The  rich  scarlet  and  orange  shades  dis¬ 
tinguishing  their  flowers  are  unrivalled,  and  the  blooms,  being  produced 
in  large  trusses  or  clustered  closely  along  the  stems,  have  a  very  imposing 
appearance  when  pendulous  from  elegant  baskets  near  the  path  of  a 
stove.  The  plants  are  not  more  difficult  of  management  than  many  other 
epiphytal  plants  ;  but  it  is  no  use  attempting  their  culture  in  any  house 
where  a  high  and  moist  temperature  cannot  be  maintained  with  regularity, 
and  perhaps  most  of  the  failures  that  occur  in  the  growth  of  these  plants 
are  due  to  a  misapprehension  of  their  requirements  in  this  respect.  The 
baskets  should  be  prepared  in  the  ordinary  way  with  a  layer  of  large 
potsherds  and  some  pieces  of  charcoal,  over  which  a  layer  of  rough  moss 
or  peat  can  be  placed,  upon  which  the  plant  should  rest,  with  good  fibrous 
peat  in  lumps  placed  firmly  round  the  roots.  Water  must  be  liberally  but 
judiciously  supplied  ;  and  if  at  any  time  the  temperature  becomes 
unduly  reduced  the  amount  of  water  given  must  be  proportionately 
