September  19,  1901. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
265 
expect  health  in  his  bulbs  without  having  regard  to  a  cltan  stock, 
proper  soil  preparation,  and  a  suitable  situation. 
Preventives. 
In  this  place  I  can  only  treat  of  general  preventives,  and  these  as 
respects  the  bulbs  and  so  1.  Inquiries  on  any  particular  needs  and 
special  ailments  must  be  addiessed  to  the  Editor,  accompanied, 
in  the  case  of  the  latter,  by  diseased  specimens  and  a  few  notes,  so 
that  they  may  be  examined  and  duly  reported  on  in  “our  Journal.” 
First,  then,  as  to  the  bulbs.  I  may  say  that  I  entirely  exonerate 
growers  of  bulbs  for  sale  from  all  blame  if  these  do  not  turn  out 
satisfactory,  for  what  tradesman  would  knowingly  supply  a  diseased 
article?  Nevertheless,  the  germs  ol  disease  may  be  on  the  bulbs  as 
spores,  or  even  within  the  tissues,  as  latent  plasma,  or  mycelium.  The 
microscope  often  fails  to  enable  the  pathologist  to  discover  the  disease 
lurking  in  the  tissues,  especially  when  of  a  symbiotic  nature,  leading 
up  to  a  parasitic  mode  of  life.  Who,  then,  can  tell  by  the  eye,  and 
even  pocket  lens  examination,  whether  the  bulbs  are  diseased  or 
clean?  Certainly  bulbs  are  sometimes  visibly  diseased ;  have  brown 
or  black,  or  even  white  or  blue,  or  pink  marks  and  blotches  on  them, 
that  needs  no  particular  scrutiny  to  detect.  Such  bulbs,  especially  if 
marked  at  the  base,  should  be  rejected.  This  may  mean  losing  a 
particular  variety,  and  the  question  arises,  Can  nothing  be  done  to 
arrest  the  disease  ?  Tnis  may  be  ;  still  I  hold  that  stamping  out — it 
is  Nature's  plan — is  the  most  complete  of  repressive  measure.  Burn 
diseased  bulbs. 
Disinfecting  bulbs  is  not  often  practised,  but  is  not  its  neglect 
courting  disease  ?  Why  not  submerge  them  in  a  1  per  cent,  solution 
of  salicylic  acid  for  twenty  minutes,  and  afterwards  thoroughly  dry 
them,  placing  crown  downwards,  especially  in  the  case  of  Liliums  ? 
This,  or  similar  treatment  with  formalin,  1  part  in  400  parts  water, 
will  destroy  the  spores  of  fungi,  and  any  mycelium  or  plasma  reached. 
Disinfecting  Solutions. 
There  remain  animal  pests,  such  as  mites,  and  possibly  eelworms. 
Why  not  soak  the  buibs  in  a  solution  of  Little’s  soluble  phenyle, 
Jeyes’  fluid,  or  lysol,  1  part  in  100  parts  water,  for  a  quarter  of  an 
hour  or  twenty  minutes,  and  afterwards  thoroughly  dry  them  ?  The 
treatment  lor  either  fungus  or  animal  pests  should  be  performed  whilst 
the  bulbs  are  quite  dormant,  or  as  soon  alter  lifting  as  convenient. 
Secondly,  the  soil  must  be  freed  from  taint  of  disease.  Do  not 
plant  bulbs  on  ground  where  they  have  previously  succumbed  to 
disease.  A  dressing  of  lime  should  be  given  to  such  land ;  it  wants 
it.  Lime  renders  other  substances  more  readily  available.  How 
seldom  is  it  considered  that  the  lime  “eats  up”  the  dead  organic 
matter  on  which  the  saprophytic  fungi  live,  and  from  which  not  a  few 
acquire  a  parasitic  existence  ?  But  cultivators  are  not  content  with 
supplying  lime,  they  must  needs  supply  other  plant  food.  A  mixture 
of  air-slaked  lime  and  soot  in  equal  parts  by  measure,  and  i  lb.  applied 
per  square  yard  and  pointed  in,  is  a  capital  dressing  for  beds  cleared  of 
bedding  plants,  and  intended  for  planting  with  bulbs.  There  may  be 
wireworm,  especially  when  an  addition  of  fresh  loam  is  made  to  the 
beds,  then  £  oz.  of  mustard  dross  per  square  yard  dusted  on  and 
pointed  in  will  settle  them,  always  applying  some  time  in  advance  of 
planting  the  bulbs. 
Another  plan  for  general  purposes  is  to  scatter  on  each  square  yard 
of  bed  for  bulb  planting,  1  lb.  of  basic  slag  phosphate,  point  it  in  and 
sprinkle  on  the  turned  up  soil  4  ozs.  per  square  yard  of  kainit,  and 
leaving  for  the  rain  or  moisture  to  diffuse  into  and  through  the  soil. 
This  tells  well  on  both  fungus  pests  and  animal  depredators.  Such 
dressing  implies  lime  to  act  on  the  debris  of  the  bedding  plants  and 
other  organic  matter  in  a  dead  or  decaying  state,  while  supplying 
phosphoric  acid,  potash,  and  magnesia,  with  not  a  few  other  elements 
essential  to  the  healthy  nutrition  of  the  bulbs.  There  is  nothing  in 
any  of  the  substances  mentioned  that  fungi  and  animals  can  “  eat  ”  to 
profit  themselves  until  they  become  organised,  and  this  organised 
material  they  must  derive  from  the  bulbous  plants.  It  is,  therefore 
an  affair  of  live  and  let  live.  The  cultivator  can  dress  his  bulb  beds 
with  manure,  iha  greener  the  worse,  and  thus  induce  disease,  not 
directly  (though  it  may  do  so),  but  indirectly,  for  even  if  it  does  not 
contain  spores  of  fungi  or  germs  of  animal  pests,  it  certainly  affords  a 
congenial  matrix  for  spores  and  eggs  present  in  the  soil,  in  which  they 
reproduce  themselves  rapidly,  and  the  organic  matter  in  the  ground 
passed  by  their  aid  and  that  of  other  organisms  into  inorganic 
elements.  They  also  take  to  the  organised  tissues  of  the  bulbs,  and 
who  will  blame  them  ?  Who  can  change  Nature  ? — G.  Abbey. 
Carnations  and  Pansies. — Now  is  the  season  when  stocks  of 
these  two  gaily1  flowered  and  uncommonly  useful  plants  are  being 
obtained.  We  received  Messrs.  Clibran’s  select  list  on  Saturday  last, 
and  we  can  recommend  all  to  obtain  this  very  complete  and  up-to-date 
little  catalogue. 
NOTES 
Weather  In  London. — The  week  has  been  agreeable  for  all 
manner  of  outdoor  exercises,  occupations,  and  pursuits.  Saturday  and 
Sunday  were  both  dose  and  warm,  but  Monday  was  cold  and  inclined 
to  be  foggy. 
Royal  Horticultural  Society. — The  next  Fruit  and  Flower  Show 
of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  will  be  held  on  Tuesday,  Sept.  24  ,h, 
jn  the  Drill  Hall,  Buckingham  Gate,  Westminster,  1  to  5  p.m.  A  lecture 
on  “Roses  for  Autumn  Blooms”  will  be  given  by  Mr.  Arthur  Win. 
Paul,  F.R.H.S.,  at  three  o’clock. 
Heath  of  Mr.  Robert  Bowie. — It  is  our  duty  to  record  the 
death  of  Mr.  Robert  Bowie,  Wooler,  a  gardener  highly  respected  in  the 
North  of  England.  He  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-four  years.  His 
gardening  career  began  at  Chillingham,  from  whence  he  went  to 
Walton-on-Thames.  On  the  death  of  the  head  gardener  at  Chillingham 
Mr.  Bowie  was  appointed  to  his  place,  and  remained  in  this  situation 
for  the  long  period  of  forty-five  years ;  he  subsequently  became  bailiff. 
Appointments.  —  Mr.  Malcolm  MacDonald,  as  head  gardener  to 
John  Spencer,  Esq.,  Kirkwood  House,  Coatbridge,  Lanarkshire,  N.B. 
*  #  Mr.  Chas.  King,  having  retired  from  the  charge  of  The  Gardens, 
Hillingdon  House,  Uxbridge,  Mr.  W.  Wooster  had  been  appointed  to 
succeed  him  as  head  gardener  to  Lady  Cox  at  the  above  place.  *  * 
Mr.  H.  E.  Kennedy,  as  gardener  to  H.  G.  Barclay,  Esq.,  Colny  Hall, 
Norwich.  *  *  Mr.  A.  Rowe  as  head  gardener  to  Sir  Charles  Rugge 
Price,  Spring  Grove,  Riohmond,  Surrey. 
Crystal  Palace  Fruit  Show. — The  Royal  Horticultural  Society’s 
great  show  of  British-grown  fruit  takes  place  at  the  Crystal  Palace  on 
Thursday,  October.  10th,  and  the  two  following  days.  Copies  of  the 
prize  sohedule,  with  entry  form,  can  be  obtained  on  application  to  the 
Secretary,  Royal  Horticultural  Society,  117,  Victoria  Street,  West- 
minster.  Intending  exhibitors  must  give  notice  in  writing  not  later 
than  Thursday,  October  3rd,  of  the  class  or  olasses  in  which  they 
propose  to  exhibit,  and  the  amount  of  space  required.  On  each  day  of 
the  show,  after  10  a.m.,  Fellows  of  the  Society,  on  showing  their  tickets 
at  the  turnstile,  will  be  admitted  to  the  Palace  free. 
Bamboos  In  Flower. — It  is  reported  that  the  Bamboo  plants 
are  flowering  simultaneously,  “  as  if  at  a  word  of  command,”  over 
an  unusually  large  area  of  Central  India.  A  much  greater  quantity 
of  seed,  which  is  used  for  food,  will  be  produced ;  next  year,  however, 
the  death  of  the  plants,  which  invariably  follows  this  act  of  flowering, 
will  have  serious  consequences.  The  Bamboo  flowers  after  a  vegetating 
period  of  from  twenty-five  to  thirty-five  years,  and,  according  to  the 
Chinese,  the  phenomenon  only  ocours  in  a  year  when  the  rice  crop  is 
unusually  heavy,  so  that  there  may  be  compensation  for  the  dying 
down  of  this  plant  of  innumerable  uses  over  so  extensive  a  territory. 
A  similar  phenomenon  was  noticed  in  1836. 
Single  Comet  Asters. — Attempts  have  been  made  to  popularise 
the  single  form  of  the  China  Asters,  bub  the  strong  predilection 
entertained  by  gardeners  for  the  finely  developed  double  varieties 
militates  against  the  general  use  of  the  single  form  as  a  decorative 
agent.  Then  the  single  Aster  seeds  pretty  freely,  unless,  of  oourse,  the 
decaying  blossoms  are  removed.  The  head  of  bloom  is  soon  over,  as 
the  energies  of  the  plants  are  otherwise  directed  to  seed  production. 
If  the  single  Aster  becomes  popular  in  the  garden  it  will,  I  think,  be 
mainly  on  account  of  the  single  forms  of  the  Comet  type.  A  large  bed 
of  these,  such  as  I  recently  saw  in  the  trial  grounds  of  Messrs.  W.  W, 
Johnson  &  Sons,  Ltd.,  at  Boston,  not  only  displayed  a  considerable 
extent  of  variation  in  colour,  apparently  a  much  wider  range  than  has 
hitherto  been  found  among  the  double  forms,  but  what  is  equally  of 
value,  as  great  a  variation  in  shape,  especially  on  the  part  of  those 
which  may  be  said  to  display  plumed  florets.  Many  of  the  florets  are 
also  laciniated  and  feathered,  and  a  vase  of  these  arranged  with  light, 
and  appropriate  foliage  makes  a  charming  table  ornament.  The  single 
Comet  Asters  are  well  worthy  attention,  though  they  have  formidable 
rivals  in  the  fine  double  types,  which  are  not  so  formal  in  appearance  as 
the  popular  Viotoria  and  Quilled  Asters.  Some  very  attractive  varieties 
of  Comet  Asters  have  been  introduced  of  late  years. — R.  Dean. 
