Derember  23,  1897. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
597 
placed  upon  the  dried  limewash.  The  turf  should  be  cut  and  stacked* 
at  the  same  time  interlacing  with  good  fresh  horse  manure,  and  in 
addition  a  good  quantity  of  l)asic  slag  and  kainit.  Before  the  soil  is 
used,  saturate  with  boiling  water  to  kill  any  eelworm  living. 
Yes,  Mr.  G.  Abbey,  last  year  I  reported  a  failure  with  kainit  when 
1  oz.  in  a  gallon  of  water  was  used.  On  page  .547  I  was  able  to  rejiort  a 
success  because  tbe  medicine  was  used  about  twelve  times  stronger,  and 
in  conjunction  with  basic  slag.  Like  Mr.  Abbey,  I  do  not  wish  to  enter 
on  another  discussion  about  eelworm,  for  these  notes  finish  all  I  now 
have  to  say  upon  the  subject  ;  but  I  would  like  to  ask  your  correspondent 
if  he  be  sure  that  4  ozs.  of  kainit  per  square  yard  is  sufficient  to  kill  any 
species  of  eelworm  in  England,  why  he  cannot  advise  one  of  your 
numerous  readers  to  rush  off  for  that  £50,000  named  by  “  Halogen”  in 
last  week’s  issue?  Four  ounces  per  square  yard  is  only  about  10  cwt. 
per  acre  ;  cost  25s.  What  would  Anyone  have  cheaper  ? 
With  regard  to  the  substance  used  so  disastrously  on  Cucumber 
plants,  as  reporteil  on  jjage  547,  I  wish  to  inform  Mr.  G.  Abbey  (1)  that 
Little's  soluble  jffienyle  was  the  liquid  used  ;  (2)  it  was  obtained  direct 
from  their  works  at  Doncaster  ;  and  (3)  it  had  the  formulae  C^Hg  upon 
the  bottle.— W.  Dyke. 
THE  AWAHDma  OF  EQUAL  PRIZES. 
The  disposition  of  judges  to  award  prizes  of  equal  merit  to  exhibits  at 
autumn  shows  seems  to  be  on  the  increase.  This  is  a  proceeding  of  which 
I  much  doubt  the  necessity  or  the  advisability.  Prizes  are  offered  for 
various  exhibits— it  may  be  a  collection  of  fruit,  one  of  vegetaldes,  a  group 
of  Chrysanthemums,  a  collection  of  stove  and  greenhouse  plants,  or 
possibly  two  dozen  cut  blooms.  The  duty  of  the  judges  is  to  find  the 
best,  and  in  all  such  classes  I  maintain  th^re  is  a  difference,  and 
that  distinction  ought  to  be  made  between  the  competing  exhibits. 
As  Mr.  J.  Douglas  once  said  (or  was  credited  with  saying),  the 
awarding  of  equal  first  prizes  is  an  easy  way  out  of  a  difficulty  for  the 
judges. 
Personally  I  do  not  think  it  is  possible  for  two  exhibits  of  a  similar 
nature  to  those  noted  above  to  be  so  arranged  that  the  merits  of  each  are 
absolutely  equal.  Take,  for  example,  twent^’-four  Japanese  or  incurved 
Chrysanthemums  ;  it  is  not  to  be  expected  that  two  competing  collections 
can  be  so  arranged  that  they  contain  exactly  similar  varieties.  Surely, 
then,  the  placing  of  two  stands  on  an  equal  basis  of  merit  cannot  be  in 
accordance  with  the  individual  merit  of  each  variety.  Where  two  stands  of 
blooms  run  each  other  so  closely  that  tbe  difference  between  the  two 
cannot  be  determined  by  comparison,  resort  is  usually  had  to  judging 
them  by  the  allocation  of  points.  I  have  frequently  had  instances  of  two 
competing  stands  totalling  up  the  same  number  of  points.  The  arrange¬ 
ment  of  colours  and  the  “  setting  up  ”  of  the  blooms  is  then  generally 
sufficient  to  give  the  casting  vote. 
In  a  group  of  Chrysanthemums,  interspersed  with  foliage  plants, 
there  would  appear  to  be  more  points  for  consideration,  and  consequently 
more  opportunities  of  finding  weak  spots  in  the  same  way,  that  there  is 
greater  scope  for  merit.  Apart  from  the  quality  of  the  Chrysanthemum 
blooms,  there  is  the  question  of  their  foliage  and  the  disposition  of  the 
plants  themselves  as  to  whether  due  regard  is  paid  to  harmony  of 
eolour,  or  otherwise,  with  the  quality  and  placing  of  suitable  foliage. 
All  these  points,  combined  with  a  pleasing  margin  to  complete  the 
group,  not  forgetting  the  hiding  or  the  exposure  of  the  pots  containing 
any  of  the  plants,  must  be  considered. 
From  the  newspaper  reports  we  learn  that  a  unique  occurrence  took 
place  at  the  autumn  show  at  York.  The  regular  judges  could  not 
agree  as  to  the  merits  of  a  group  of  Chrysanthemums  and  foliage  plants, 
two  others  were  called  in,  and  they  also  were  unable  to  settle  the  point  of 
supremacy.  A  third  couple  were  deputed,  and,  strange  to  say,  they 
also  disagreed.  Here  we  have  six  persons  failing  to  agree  over  the 
awarding  of  the  first  prizes,  and  this  may  be  taken  as  a  strong  argument 
for  the  advocates  of  equality  in  prizewinning.  Eventually  at  the  show 
named  equal  first  prizes  were  granted.  From  such  a  conclusion  there 
seems  reasonable  grounds  in  this  class  that  substantial  justice  was 
done.  Still  it  is  difficult  indeed  to  imagine  two  large  groups  of  plants 
even  in  every  point  of  quality,  and  the  reverse.  At  the  Ipswich  show  a 
similar  decision  was  arrived  at  over  a  collection  of  fruit  in  six  dishes.  In 
that  particular  class  a  faulty  dish  of  Doyenne  du  Comice  Pears  gave  an 
equal  award  to  the  competing  collection. 
The  only  legitimate  ground  that  I  have  ever  seen  for  the  awarding  of 
“  equal  ”  was  where  prizes  were  offered  for  one  bunch  of  Grapes, 
irrespective  of  variety.  Handsome  specimens  of  Black  Hamburgh,  in  every 
respect,  competed  against  faultless  ones  of  Madresfield  '^'ourt.  Here,  then, 
was  a  really  a  difficulty.  The  question  of  deciding  which  was  the  superior 
bunch  was  really  a  matter  of  personal  taste,  liking  or  disliking  one  variety 
as  against  the  other.  Black  Hamburgh,  in  superb  condition,  is  hard 
to  excel  by  any  other  variety,  while  the  difficulty  of  “finishing” 
Madresfield  '"ourt  is  recognised  as  demanding  more  skill,  and  this,  coupled 
with  tbe  fine  flavour  possessed  by  the  variety,  give  it  an  equal  position  as 
a  Grape.  —  Sadoc. 
[If  a  silver  cup  had  been  offered  for  tbe  best  group  at  York  it  would 
seem  that  it  could  not  have  been  awarded.  As  to  Grapes,  if  the  Black 
Hamburgh  and  the  Madresfield  Court  bunches  were  equal  in  merit  as  to 
size,  shape,  uniformity,  and  finish  of  berries,  ought  not  the  “  more  skill” 
required  in  producing  the  latter  to  have  been  the  determining  point  1 
Were  equal  prizes  ever  awarded  in  the  cast  of  the  “premier”  bloom  in  a 
Chrysanthemum  show  ?] 
EELWORM  ON  YOUNG  VINE  ROOT-STEMS. 
The  young  Vine  submitted  by  “Cross”  to  the  Editor  on  the  eve  of 
the  Chi-ysanthemiun  season  well  represents  the  attack  of  root-stem 
eelworm  (Tylenchus  obtusus,  Bastian),  hence  a  representation  of  the 
attacked  part  (fig.  87,  A)  may  be  interesting  to  some  readers  of  the  Joui-nal 
of  Horticulture. 
The  Vine  in  (piestion  was  planted  in  March,  1897,  evidently  a  cane 
from  an  eye  of  the  previous  year,  and  had  not  been  deeply  planted  ; 
indeed,  there  was  only  2  inches  from  the  setting-on  of  the  roots  (a)  and 
the  surface  of  the  soil  (6).  The  cane  had  been  cut  back  to  two  buds,  and 
the  wound  thus  made  had  healed  over  (c).  It  had  made  abundance  of 
roots,  a  complete  “mat”  of  fibres,  which,  when  cut  off,  weighed  lb., 
and  the  extending  roots,  one  of  which  is  shown  at  d,  were  quite  clean, 
perfectly  free  from  vegetable  or  animal  parasites.  The  growth  of  the 
Vine  had  been  excellent,  as  shown  by  the  canes  (e),  and  these  also  were 
quite  clean  and  healthy.  They  are  reduced  one-half  of  the  natural  size, 
and  do  credit  to  the  grower, 
being  short-jointed,  stout  in 
bark,  hard  in  wood,  and  small 
in  pith. 
There  was  nothing  to  indicate 
disease  except  a  decay  of  the 
bark  at  what  is  called  the 
“  collar,”  and  some  of  this  had 
fallen  off.  as  represented  at  /, 
leaving  the  wood  exposed  [g). 
Above  this,  on  the  root-stem, 
appeared  an  excrescence  (h), 
commonly  called  root  -  stem 
“  canker,”  and  in  this  a  white 
mould  was  seen  with  a  pocket 
lens.  Its  hyphffi  did  not  pass 
into  the  living  tissues,  therefore, 
was  considered  a  saprophyte 
which  it  is.  I  happen  to  know 
it  well,  but  it  can  also  break 
down  living  cells  by  contact  of 
ferment  or  extruded  juices, 
though  that  only  happens  under 
certain  conditions  not  in  this 
instance  present. 
Taking  a  small  bit  of  the 
excrescence,  and  placing  it  in 
a  drop  of  aniline,  I  got  the 
animals,  shown  under  B,  as 
“  still  as  mice.”  They  were  all 
forms  of  the  blunt  eelworm 
(Tylenchus  obtusus),  the  root- 
stem  pest  of  various  herbaceous 
plants  — weeds  in  Britain — and 
about  as  common  as  ditch  water. 
I  do  not  know  what  they  do 
not  live  on,  but  they  seem  to 
delight  in  exotics,  such  as 
Fucumbers,  Melons,  Tomatoes, 
Chrysanthemums,  Gardenias, 
and  Ixoras. 
The  pest  is  not  uncommon  on 
Vine  stems — that  is,  the  root- 
stem,  but  somehow  gets  stopped 
in  its  work,  and  all  goes  well. 
Occasionally,  however,  it  hap¬ 
pens  otherwise,  and  “  Cross’s  ” 
case  is  one  to  the  point.  Four 
Vines  planted  in  March  last 
with  many  others,  have  gone  like  the  one  represented,  and  that  by 
root-stem  eelworm,  which  never  attacks  any  part  of  the  plant  but  the 
root-stem  ;  by  so  doing  it  makes  sure  of  a  supply  of  nourishment  in 
abundance,  the  roots  catering  for  it,  and  the  descending  current  supplying 
bounteous  assimilated  matter,  forming  an  excrescence— growth  of  cellular 
tissue. 
The  eggs  were  many;  one  is  shown  at  i.  One  more  venturesome 
inmate  than  the  rest  must  come  into  this  great  world  of  things,  but  the 
animal  only  gets  partly  out  of  the  shell  (/).  There  were  cysts,  one 
represented  at  k,  and  several  small  fry,  some  before  and  others  after 
encysting  (J).  There  were  males,  one  shown  at  m,  and  females,  one  repre¬ 
sented  at  n,  staid  adults — Tylenchus  obtusus— o,  male  ;  jo,  female.  In 
“  Cross’s  ”  specimen,  everything  appertaining  to  root-stem  eelworm  was 
there  that  is  to  be  seen. 
The  eelworm  leads  a  very  simple  life,  lives  on  organic  vegetable  sub¬ 
stances  in  a  state  of  decay,  and  performs  a  very  useful  office  in  the  great 
work  of  Nature — the  reduction  of  organic  material  into  inorganic— the 
food  of  plants.  The  larvae,  so  called,  emerge  from  the  eggs,  sport  about 
in  the  decaying  matter  the  parent  has  shed  them  in,  then  they  encyst  in 
the  less  decayed  parts  of  the  vegetable  matter,  or  even  in  living,  always 
soft  cellular  tissue,  and  after  a  time  come  out  very  active  creatures,  feed, 
grow  and  pair,  the  female  gives  forth  some  200  eggs,  and  like  her  pre¬ 
ceding  consort,  dies  when  her  life  work  is  done,  the  whole  thing  in 
summertime  lasting  four  to  six  weeks.  In  winter,  outdoors  at  least, 
breeding  ceases,  but  under  glass  proceeds  more  or  less  the  year  round. 
I  know  no  more  about  this  eelworm,  and  have  put  the  matter  in  the 
Fig.  87.— Eoot-stem  Eelworm 
(Tylenchus  obtusus,  Bastiaii) 
ATTACK  ON  YoUNG  VINE. 
References. — A,  part  of  Vine  (half  natural 
size)  showing  :  a,  setting-on  of  root-system  ; 
h,  surface  of  soil ;  c,  point  of  pruning  or 
cutting  hack  of  cane  in  previous  season  ;  d, 
healthy  root,  free  from  eelworm  ;  e,  canes  ; 
f,  barkless  stem,  arresting  (partly)  ascent 
of  sap  and  descent  (wholly)  of  assimilated 
matter  ;  g,  exposed  stem  ;  h,  excrescence 
— “  canker  ” — caused  by  eelworm.  B,  root- 
stem  eelworm,  enlarged  (130  diameters) ; 
i,  egg  ;  h,  eelworm  emerging  from  egg  ;  k, 
cyst-eelworm  coiled  inside  ;  I,  young  found 
in  part  of  excrescence  ;  m,  growing  male  ; 
71,  developing  female ;  adults— o,  male ; 
p,  female. 
