164 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
August  15,  1901. 
and  require  more  space,  it  will  be  an  easy  matter  to  remove  every  other 
one.  Another  sowing  may  be  made  to  furnish  later  plants,  which  will 
follow  on  in  succession.  Fully  grown  plants  may  be  blanched  ready  for 
use  by  laying  a  slate  over  them. 
Cabbage.  — The  earliest  sown  plants  ought  to  be  thinned  before  they 
beoome  crowded.  The  best  of  those  removed  may  be  pricked  out 
4  inches  apart  on  moderately  firm  ground,  where  they  can  strengthen 
their  growth  and  multiply  roots  prior  to  the  final  planting. 
Scarlet  Runner  Beans. — These  are  now  in  full  and  active  bearing 
condition.  Keep  the  pods  freely  picked  off,  and  during  dry  periods 
maintain  the  soil  moist.  Dryness  at  the  roots  will,  more  than  anything 
else,  cause  the  flowers  to  drop.  Liquid  manure  is  beneficial. 
Mushrooms. — Manure  should  be  collected  daily,  and  may  consist  of 
horse  droppings  more  or  less  free  from  Btraw.  Spread  the  manure  out 
thinly  in  a  shed  until  enough  is  obtained  for  forming  a  bed,  when 
throw  the  whole  together  in  a  heap  to  ferment.  Before  fermentation  is 
•excessive  turn  the  heap,  placing  the  outside  in  the  inside,  and  vice  versa. 
After  this  heating  and  turning  the  material  will  be  ready  for  forming 
into  a  bed,  which  must  be  made  firmly,  about  10  inches  or  a  foot  thick, 
in  a  cool  shed. — Lymington,  Hants. 
- - 
All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should  be  directed 
to  “The  Editor,”  12,  Mitre  Court  Chambers,  Fleet  Street, 
Xiondon,  E.C.  It  is  requested  that  no  one  will  write  privately 
to  any  of  our  correspondents,  seeking  information  on  matters 
discussed  in  this  Journal,  as  doing  so  subjects  them  to  unjustifiable 
trouble  and  expense. 
Layering  Carnations  (R.  T.). — Almost  immediately. 
Propagating  Rhus  Cotinus  ( Arthur ). — Layer  the  shoots  at  the 
present  time,  previously  notching  or  tonguoing  them,  and  in  due  time 
they  will  emit  roots. 
Grapes  Rusted  (T.  P.). — The  berries  of  the  Alicante  are  affected 
by  rust,  due  to  some  injury  to  the  cutiole  or  skin  at  an  earlier  stage, 
giving  them  a  rusty  appearance  later  on.  It  is  caused  whilst  the  skin 
is  young  and  tender,  about  thinning  time,  and  disfigures  them  even 
when  ripe.  Touching  the  berries  with  the  hand,  or  even  the  hair  of  the 
head,  will  cause  rust.  But  cold  draughts  of  air  are  the  chief  cause  of 
rust,  late  or  imperfect  ventilation  on  some  bright  morning  whilst  the 
internal  atmosphere  and  even  the  berries  are  saturated  with  moisture, 
then  admitting  air  so  as  to  induce  rapid  evaporation,  cold  draughts,  or 
currents  of  air.  Rust  may  also  arise  from  sulphur  fumes  given  off  from 
hot-water  pipes  ooated  with  it,  as  sometimes  done  to  destroy  red  spider. 
It  may  also  arise  from  syringing  the  Vines  with  water  containing  iron 
or  other  substance  of  a  corrosive  nature,  and  it  not  unfrequently  results 
from  the  use  of  an  insecticide,  especially  where  the  berries  abut  on 
each  other  and  the  solution  remains  there  longest,  and  thus  injures  the 
cuticle  or  skin.  This  is  very  pronounced  in  the  case  of  the  berries  of 
Muscats.  The  injury  to  the  leaves  appears  that  of  scorching,  there  not 
being  any  traces  of  disease,  yet  some  of  the  shanks  of  berries  are 
withered  up,  as  if  they  had  been  shanked.  The  only  preventive  is 
earlier  and  more  judicious  ventilation,  with  the  avoidance  of  treatment 
and  substances  calculated  to  injure  the  cutiole  or  skin  of  the  berries. 
Grapes  at  a  Standstill  ( H .  Y.) . — Yes,  the  berries  are  at  a  standstill, 
and  this  is  occasioned  by  shanking,  the  term  applied  to  denote  the 
drying  or  withering  up  of  the  stalks  of  the  bunches  and  berries  of 
■Grapes.  The  berries  that  thus  shank,  or  lose  the  vitality  of  their  stalks, 
never  colour  properly  nor  ripen,  but  become  intensely  sour.  In  many 
cases  all  that  the  eye  can  detect  is  a  minute  black  speck  or  a  ring  round 
the  stem  or  stalk  of  the  berry  ;  in  other  cases  the  whole  stem  is  quite 
blackened.  The  period  when  shanking  commences  is  just  as  the  berries 
begin  to  change  colour  or  to  ripen,  and  it  continues  more  or  less  in 
action  until  they  are  ripe.  The  berries  beyond  the  point  of  shanking 
cease  swelling,  because  the  supplies  of  sap  are  cut  off.  The  chief  cause 
of  shanking  is  a  bad  condition  of  the  roots  of  the  Vines,  they  getting 
into  a  cold  subsoil,  or  the  border  becoming  soddened  and  sour,  whereby 
the  young  rootlets  of  the  main  roots  are  destroyed.  Where  the  roots 
are  at  fault,  either  through  being  in  a  border  which  is  too  rich  or  too 
wet  and  sour,  the  only  remedy  that  can  be  adopted  is  to  take  the  Vines 
up  carefully  and  renew  the  border,  taking  care,  if  in  a  low  or  damp 
locality,  to  introduce  a  greater  proportion  of  porous  materials  than 
before,  so  as  to  secure  free  percolation  of  water  through  the  soil,  and  its 
departure  in  excess  of  the  retentive  power,  by  the  provision  of  ample 
drainage  material,  with  a  drain  or  drains  to  carry  off  superfluous  water, 
and  then  to  replant  them ;  this  is  perhaps  best  done  when  the  leaves 
are  falling,  laying  the  roots  in  the  top  foot  of  soil. 
Vegetable  Marrows  in  Market  Gardens  ( A .  L.  F.). — Stable  manure 
is  placed  in  holes  made  to  receive  it.  Two  plants  are  placed  in  each 
station.  Sometimes  cow  and  horse  manure  are  mixed. 
Correction  (Reader). — In  our  foot-note  answering  your  query  as  to 
the  height  of  Jericho,  we  stated  that  it  stands  700  feet  above  sea-level 
This  should  have  read,  “  700  feet  beneath  the  level  of  the  Mediterranean.” 
We  have  not  heard  from  the  writer  of  the  artiole  entitled  “  Tropic 
Fruits.” 
Destroying  Wireworm  (M.  D.). — Dress  the  ground  with  gas  lime, 
1  peck  (level  measure)  per  square  rod,  distributing  equally  over  the 
surface,  it  being  best  applied  in  autumn  and  forked  in.  The  ground 
should  be  again  forked  over  in  spring,  so  soon  as  it  is  in  a  fit 
condition,  and  again  before  putting  in  the  crop.  The  lime  may  drive 
them  away,  if  it  does  not  destroy  them.  Many  may  be  trapped  by 
pieces  of  Carrot  being  placed  into  the  ground  and  spots  taken  note 
of.  They  may  be  removed  occasionally  and  the  wireworms  shaken 
into  a  pail  of  very  hot  water. 
Affection  of  Peach  Leaves  (Novice). — The  leaves  are  affected  by 
the  mite  commonly  called  red  spider,  and  technically  termed 
Tetranychus  telarius.  It  sucks  the  juices  of  the  leaves,  causing  the 
whitish  specks  on  the  surface,  and  as  the  mites  increase  in  numbers, 
and  by  their  continual  feeding,  the  affection  spreads  over  the  whole  of  a 
leaf  or  leaves,  so  that  the  tissues  are  deprived  of  the  juioes  and  the  tree 
suffers  in  consequence,  the  leaves  becoming  sere  and  falling  prematurely. 
The  trees  should  have  been  forcibly  syringed  in  the  morning  and  after¬ 
noon  of  fine  days,  about  7  a.m.  and  5  p.m.  at  this  time  of  year,  so  as 
to  forcibly  eject  the  red  spider  and  prevent  its  webbing  over  the  affected 
part,  or  break  up  the  web  where  formed.  Thus  the  red  spider  cannot 
obtain  a  hold  on-  the  leafage,  or,  if  securing  one,  retain  it  for 
long,  hence  it  cannot  increase  on  the  foliage  and  deposit  eggs.  As  the 
leaves  are  not  badly  infested,  a  few  forcible  syringings  would  cleanse 
the  tree  or  trees  to  a  great  extent  of  the  pests,  this  being  the  proper 
oourse  to  pursue  at  the  present  time,  especially  where  there  is  fruit 
advanced  in  swelling  and  nearing  the  ripening  stage,  as  an  insecticide 
would  probably  affect  the  fruit  prejudicially.  It  is  important,  however, 
that  the  red  spider  be  destroyed,  therefore  an  insectioide  may  be  needed, 
and  paraffin  emulsion  is  very  effective  against  it.  The  emulsion  is 
readily  made  by  dissolving  1  quart  of  softsoap  in  2  quarts  of  boiling 
soft  water,  then  removing  from  the  fire,  and  while  still  boiling  hot, 
adding  one  pint  of  paraffin  oil,  and  immediately  churning  the  mixture 
with  a  small  hand  syringe,  so  as  to  form  a  cream  or  emulsion,  about 
five  minutes’  churning  being  needed  to  effeot  a  perfect  amalgamation. 
Of  this  emulsion  4  to  8  ozs.  may  be  used  to  3  gallons  of  water,  adding 
i  to  1  oz.  of  liver  of  sulphur.  The  affected  trees  should,  before  the 
fruit  ripens,  be  treated  with  the  weaker  solution,  and  after  the  fruit  is 
gathered  with  the  stronger  one,  using  soft  water  for  dilution  and 
preferably  hot,  spraying  or  syringing  two  or  three  times  at  an  interval 
of  three  days,  so  as  to  destroy  the  young  as  they  hatoh  out.  The 
eggs  cannot  be  destroyed  by  the  treatment,  hence  the  repetition  of  the 
applications  is  necessary  to  destroy  the  pest.  The  solution  should  be 
applied  with  sufficient  force  to  penetrate  the  web,  and  at  a  temperature 
of  90°  to  100°. 
Diseased  Fuchsia  and  Arum  Bulbs  (F.  (?.). — 1,  The  spots  on  the 
Fuchsia  leaves  are  caused  by  a  parasite  fungus,  Oospora  epilobi,  whioh 
produces  brown  spots  or  blotches  on  the  upper  surfaoe  of  the  leaves, 
often  running  together,  and  involving  a  large  portion,  if  not  the  whole, 
of  a  leaf,  sometimes  causing  the  foliage  to  fall  so  that  the  plant  is 
almost  defoliated.  The  fruits  are  produced  in  whitish  tufts  on  the 
under  side  of  the  leaves,  and  consist  of  oonidia  or  spores  broadly 
elliptical  or  globose,  forming  long  concatenate  chains.  The  fungus  is 
somewhat  rare,  but  occasionally  infests  Fuchsias,  both  outdoors  and 
indoors.  It  may  be  destroyed  by  spraying  with  sulphide  of  potassium 
or  liver  of  sulphur,  £  oz.  to  gallon  of  water,  first  dissolving  the 
sulphide  in  a  pint  of  hot  water,  and  then  making  up  to  l-j-  gallon  with 
cold  soft  water.  It  is  necessary  to  reach  the  under  side  of  the  leaves, 
applying  by  means  of  an  atomiser,  such  as  used  by  hairdressers,  and 
just  coating  with  the  finest  possible  film.  The  plants  will  then,  or  even 
naturally,  grow  out  of  the  disease.  2,  The  “  bulb  ”  of  Arum  has  gone 
“  soft  ”  because  a  fungus  has  infested  and  destroyed  its  tissues.  The 
whitish  mould  appearing  externally  is  the  early  stage  of  the  fungus  or 
conidial  form,  and  known  to  fungologists  as  Botrytis  galanthena.  At  a 
later  stage  numerous  minute  black  solerotia  are  formed,  and  resemble 
black  grains  sunk  in  the  outer  parts  of  the  bulb.  These  are  the  resting 
bodies,  and  known  as  Sclerotinia  galanthena.  The  mycelium  of  the 
fungus  penetrates  the  tissues  of  the  roots,  and  ultimately  solerotia  are 
also  formed  there.  Sometimes  only  a  portion  of  the  rootstock  is 
affected,  when  by  cutting  this  away  the  younger  part  will  remain  quite 
sound  and  a  good  growth  of  plant  ensue.  This  shows  that  the  fungus 
must  be  got  rid  off,  as  by  destroying  the  diseased  portion  no  solerotia 
are  left  to  push  growth  and  start  the  disease  anew.  All  diseased  roots 
or  affected  parts  should  be  destroyed  by  burning.  Possibly  tainted 
roots  would  be  freed  from  the  fungus  by  steeping  them  for  a  quarter 
of  an  hour  in  water  at  a  temperature  of  132 J°,  or  not  over  135°  nor  less 
than  130°,  or  steeping  overnight  in  a  solution  of  formalin,  1  part  in 
400  parts  water.  An  addition  of  air-slaked  lime  to  the  soil  along  with 
an  equal  proportion  of  soot  by  measure  is  also  advantageous,  a  couple 
of  small  handfuls  of  the  mixture  being  added  to  half  a  gallon  of  potting 
soil,  or,  if  the  bulbs  are  planted  out,  J  lb.  of  the  mixture  per  square  yard, 
digging  in. 
