May  22,  1902. 
447 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
So  much  interest  has  been  displayed  among  growers  of 
Auriculas  during  the  present  season  on  the  points  of  perfection 
required  by  the  strict  fancier’s  standard,  and  so  many  inquiries 
have  been  made  as  to  wdiat  constitutes  a  perfect  (?)  flower,  that 
we  have  had  an  illustration  prepared  by  means  of  which  certain 
features  are  emphasised.  Thus  the  corolla  is  seen  to  be  smooth, 
even,  and  the  zones  in  absolutely  regular  circles.  The  colours 
•should  be  distinct  and  good,  and  no  running  or  merging  is 
Florists’  Type  of  an  Alpine  Auricula, 
or  both,  should  be  given  at  each  watering,  as  all  stone  fruits 
swell  very  quickly  during  the  three  distinct  periods  that  they 
increase  in  size,  the  last  stage  being  from  the  time  they  begin 
to  show  the  first  tinge  of  colour  until  they  are  fully  ripe. 
There  are  several  excellent  manures  advertised  in  the 
Journal  of  Horticulture  which  are  of  great  value  in  grooving 
Peaches  and  Nectarines,  as  well  as  other  fruits.  They  are 
easily  applied  by  being  scattered  on  the  border,  or  by  mix¬ 
ing  with  the  water  given ;  the  former  is  the  simplest  way, 
and  I  find  it  quite  as  effectual  as  the  latter.  Sulphate  of 
potash  and  sulphate  of  ammonia,  if  mixed  in  equal  proper 
tions,  and  applied  at  the  rate  of  2oz  per  square  yard,  forms 
a  splendid  manure  for  stone  fruits  when  bonemeal  has  been 
applied  early  in  the  season,  and  if  the  mixture  is  applied 
just  as  the  fruit  begins  to  colour,  it  will  help  to  give  that 
high  finish  which  exhibitors  always  like  to  secure. 
The  manner  in  which  the  fruits  are  exposed  to  light  also, 
of  course,  has  a  marked  effect  on  their  colour.  They  ought 
to  be  fully  exposed  to  light  some  weeks  before  colouring 
commences,  because  if  some  parts  of  a  fruit  are  partially 
shaded  with  leaves  when  colouring  begins,  no  amount  of 
The  Florists’  Type  of  an  Alpine  Auricula. 
•after  exposure  will  put  matters  right,  but  such  fruit  will 
always  be  comparatively  pale  on  the  parts  not  fully  exposed 
early.  When  trees  are  grown  on  a  trellis  beneath  the  roof, 
.an  excellent  method  of  exposing  the  fruits  is  to  fix  a  stick 
beneath  the  shoot  carrying  a  fruit,  letting  the  stick  rest  on 
the  wire,  or  other  trellis,  beneath.  This  will,  of  course,  raise 
the  fruit  slightly.  Sometimes  it  is  necessary  to  tie  the 
cross  sticks  to  the  trellis.  The  same  system  may  be  prac¬ 
tised  on  trees  growing  on  a  wall,  and  in  many  instances  it  is 
also  necessary  to  tie  back  some  of  the  leaves,  or  even  to 
remove  a  few  entirely.  All  these  operations,  however,  must 
be  performed  early,  in  order  to  secure  highly  and  evenly 
coloured  fruits. — H.  D. 
tolerated.  The  characters,  however,  are  numerous,  and  were 
fully  detailed  hi  our  issue  of  May  1,  page  378,  which  we  trust 
those  who  are  interested  in  the  Auricula  will  have  kept  for 
reference.  And  the  cut  on  this  page  will  serve  as  a  finishing 
illustration  after  the  description. 
Apple  Scab  Fungus. 
Writing  from  Ngelani  Mission,  Machakos  (via  Mombasa), 
British  East  Africa,  a  correspondent  says :  — “  In  the  industrial 
department  of  our  Mission  we  have  been  planting  large  quan¬ 
tities  of  Apple  trees,  and  have  experienced  great  trouble  with 
pests,  which  we  do  not  understand,  and  for  which  we  can  see 
no  remedy.  During  the  year  1901  we  carefully  scrutinised 
every  number  of  your  valued  Journal,  but  never  saw  any  of  our 
pests  referred  to.  We  have  also  got  your  “Garden  Manual,” 
“Profitable  Fruit  Growing,”  and  “Fruit  Growing  for  Profit,” 
but  we  have  looked  through  them  in  vain  for  help  on  this,  to  us, 
vital  question.  On  twenty  acres  of  land  w’O  have  planted  about 
twelve  leading  kinds  of  table  and  cooking  Apples.  They  are  all 
terribly  de.stroyed  with  the  following:  — 
“  Cracking. — Perhaps  the  one-half  of  all  the  Apples  that 
form  commence  cracking  when  about  the  size  of  WaJnuts,  and 
these,  if  allowed  to  remain  on  the  trees,  become  absolutely 
useless. 
“  Black  Spot. — This  destroys  more  than  one-half  of  those  left 
uncracked.  It  comes  upon  the  A^iples  when  they  are  pretty 
well  grown,  and  when  the  Apple  is  cut  it  is  found  to  be  very 
scabby  looking,  full  of  brownish  spots  all  over.  The  next  evil  in 
importance  is  pinhole-like  boring.  The  Apples  all  covered  with 
pinholes  in  the  skin,  and  when  cut  open  are  discoloured  and 
spongy.  Our  Plums  also'  get  these  pinholes.  We  have  also 
what  might  be  termed  brown  rot.  We  would  be  grateful  to 
hear  from  you  what  remedies  we  could  apply,  and  at  what  inter¬ 
vals  or  stages,  which  would  prevent  such  wholesale  destruction  of 
our  fruit. — S.  W.” 
According  to  your  description,  we  consider  the  cyacking  and 
spotting  to  be  due  to  one  cause,  that  of  the  Apple  scab  fungus, 
Fusicladium  dendriticum,  which  is  the  most  injurious  of  fungus 
parasites  infesting  the  Apple,  in  many  instances  rendering  the 
fruit  unsaleable,  if  not  unuseable,  half  or  more,  sometimes  the 
whole,  of  the  entire  crop. 
It  attacks  the  young  leaves  and  shoots  as  well  as  the  fruit. 
The  mycelium  or  vegetative  portion  of  the  scab  fungus  consists 
of  brownish  cells,  which  develop  just  beneath  the  skin  of^the  leaf 
or  fruit,  but  as  a  rule  does  not  penetrate  deeply  into  the’  tissues. 
After  the  fungus  has  grown  in  this  way  for  some  time  it  pushes 
outwards,  rupturing  the  skin,  and  on  the  exposed  surface  short 
brown  vertical  threads  are  developed,  on  the  top  of  which  the 
small  oval  spores  are  produced.  When  mature,  the  spores 
separate,  and  are  scattered  by  wind  and  rain  in  all  directions. 
One  effect  is  to  harden  the  skin,  and  the  fruit  cracks  in  conse¬ 
quence  through  the  swelling  or  growth  from  within.  The  follow¬ 
ing  treatment  has  been  found  most  successful  in  combating  the 
disease: — Spray  with  Bordeaux  mixture,  first,  just  as  the  flower 
buds  begin  to  open;  second,  when  the  petals  of  the  flowers  are 
falling;  and,  third,  when  the  fruit  is  the  size  of  peas  or  slightly 
larger.  If  the  season  be  rainy  a  fourth  treatment  should  be 
given  a  fortnight  after  the  third.  Two  ounces  of  Paris  green 
added  to  each  thirty-two  gallons  of  the  mixture  at  the  time  of  the 
third  spraying  will  hold  the  codlin  moth  in  check.  The  Paris 
green  should  either  be  in  or  made  into  a  paste  by  adding  a  little 
water.  This  paste  readily  unites  with  the  mixture,  and  does 
not  decrease  its  value  in  any  way,  but  enhances  its  usefulness  as 
a  destroyer  of  caterpillars.  i  i  j-  v 
As  ordinai-y  Bordeaux  mixture  is  apt  to  scorch  the  foliage, 
especially  when  young,  it  is  advisable  to  use  a  dilute  form,  namely, 
loz  of  copper  sulphate  and  loz  of  quicklime  to  each  gallon  of 
water,  or  21b  of  copper  sulphate  and  21b  of  quicklime 
to  thirty  -  two  gallons  of  water.  With  the  Paris  green 
added  to  it,  it  is  made  a  combined  insecticide  and 
fungicide.  The  pinhole -like  boring  in  the  skin  of  the 
Apples  is  probably  caused  by  the  Apple  maggot,  or  larya 
of  Trypeta  pomonella,  a  two-winged  fly,  that  appears  earl^y  in 
summer  and  deposits  eggs  in  the  partially  grown  Apples,  and  the 
maggots  burrow  in  the  flesh  in  all  direction  discolouring  the 
flesh  and  rendering  it  spongy  and  tasteless.  This  pest  is  difficult 
to  deal  with,  as  it  cannot  be  destroyed  by  spraying.  It  is  pro¬ 
bable  that  a  dressing  of  kainit,  71b  per  rod,  or  lOcwt  per  acre, 
applied  to  the  soil  would  destroy  the  pupse,  which  lie  in  the 
around  about  an  inch  beneath  the  surface,  applying  it  as  soon  as 
the  fruit  is  gathered,  or  at  the  end  of  summer,  leaving  on  the 
surface,  as  the  rains  will  wash  it  in  fast  enough.  All  fallen  fnnt 
should  be  destroyed,  especially  that  falling  some  time  before  the 
crop  matures.  For  the  pinholes  in  Pluins  and  the  brown  rot  we 
advise  spraying  with  the  combined  fun^cide  and  insecticide  ^ 
advised  for  Apples,  but  commencing  and  following  on  with  the 
rembliied  artides.  All  mummified  fruit  should  be  collected  and 
burned,  whether  on  the  trees  or  fallen  on  the  ground. 
