January  5,  1899. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
15 
softer.  There  is  no  “guesswork’’  in  this  case.  Tangible  facts] were 
plain  enough,  and  these  only  I  describe  and  show. 
There  was  nothing  in  the  dead  nodosities,  but  in  some  of  the 
partly  dead  and  partly  living  were  found  certain  bodies,  fig.  4,  A,  an 
egg,  with  a  nucleus  {g)  and  various  similar  bodies  with  different 
internal  structures — the  nucleus  developed  into  several,  and  at  last 
References. — A,  egg  ;  g,  nucleus  ;  B,  eelworm  developed  in  egg  or  sac  ;  h,  eelworm 
ready  to  come  into  this  great  world  of  things  ;  C,  female  larva  ;  D,  male  larva  ; 
E.  full-grown  female  larva;  F,  full-grown  male  larva;  O,  larva  encysting  ; 
JI,  more  advanced  stage  of  encystation  of  female  ;  i,  eelworm  in  cyst  ;j,  head 
or  neck  of  cyst ;  k,  vulva  of  eelworm  ;  I,  perfect  male  ;  J,  gravid  female  ; 
I,  eelworm  proper.;  m,  eggs  ;  n,  mouth  of  or  neck  of  cyst  (all  enlarged  260 
diameters). 
into  eelworms,  one  such  body  being  shown  at  B,  with  the  eelworm 
coiled  up  inside  (A).  There  were  hundreds  of  both  forms,  not  any 
larger,  but  many  much  smaller  than  those  figured.  The  number  of 
such  emerged  from  the  eggs  were  legion;  one  stout  {C)  I  took  for  a 
female,  and  one  thinner  and  longer  {!))  I  considered  was  a  male.  Both 
larvae  or  young  animals  evidently  grow,  for  there  were  some  larger, 
still  stout,  E,  and  others  thin  and  agile,  F,  respectively  female  and 
male. 
The  sizes  are  maximum  of  larvae  or  young  eelworm,  but  there 
were  also  hosts  of  the  form  shown  at  (?,  the  eelworm  encysting — that 
is,  enclosing  itself  in  a  vesicle.  It,  however,  never  lo.=es  its  head,  but 
the  tail  of  the  creature  disappears  by  degrees,  as  shown  at  E,  while 
the  animal  inside  brings  its  head  and  tail  together,  and  passes 
round  the  cyst  (f),  and  the  head  in  the  case  of  the  female  remains 
intact  (y).  The  one  shown  is  a  female,  and  has  a  vulva  (/r).  I  did 
not  find  a  male  cyst.  The  “  lord  ”  of  the  family,  however,  made  stir 
enough  in  the  microscopic  ocean — a  veritable  sea  serpent,  and  is  shown 
at  L  It  is  root-knot  eelworm,  male,  Heterodera  radicicola.  And 
lastly  there  were  several  gravid  females.  One,  as  shown  at  i7,  is  covered 
all  over  the  body  with  a  lace  like  covering — that  is,  the  flask,  for  the 
eelworm  (J)  lives  inside  and  produces  a  vast  number  of  eggs  (w).  She 
draws  in  nourishment  through  the  mouth  of  the  flask  («),  and  the 
flask-like  body  is  simply  a  sac  of  eggs  of  the  size  as  shown  at  A. 
Then  all  is  over,  the  sac  bursts  because  the  mother  is  dead,  and  the 
eggs  soon  hatch  out  the  young  eelworms. 
That  was  everything  there  is  belonging  to  root-knot  eelworm, 
every  stage  from  egg  to  egg  again,  and  all  from  one  partly  decayed 
nodule  of  the  Vine  root.  I  believe  this  is  the  first  recorded  instance 
of  root-knot  eelworm  having  been  found  on  the  roots  of  Vines,  and  is 
notable  for  only  attacking  the  young  tender  fibrelets.  We  know  that 
Cucumbers  and  Melons  readily  succumb  to  the  pest,  and  Tomatoes 
also,  but  less  speedily,  as  the  roots  are  somewhat  more  resistant.  The 
eelworm  finds  a  fresh  field  in  Vine  roots — perhaps  made  tender  by  high 
cultivation. 
With  the  life  history  from  year  to  year,  it  will  suffice  to  say  that 
the  eelworm  lives  in  the  larval  stage  for  a  considerable  period  coiled  up 
much  after  the  manner  of  a  snake,  thus  surviving  the  winter  in  the 
absence  of  living  food-plants.  I  do  not  know  what  heat  Vines  will 
bear  at  the  roots,  but  I  have  killed  wireworm  and  grubs  of  the  Vine 
weevil  with  a  soaking  of  water  at  115°,  yet  eelworm  does  not  die 
under  a  temperature  of  125°.  I  do  not  think  that  water  at  135° 
would  hurt  Vine  roots,  but  1  should  hesitate  before  giving  a  Vine 
border  a  soaking  at  that  temperature.  Such  hot  water  may  answer 
well  enough  experimentally,  but  treating  a  Vine  border  is  quite  a 
different  affair,  as  the  soil  varies  greatly  in  staple  and  retentive  power. 
For  the  reason  given  it  has  been  advised  to  use  one  wineglassful 
(2  fluid  czs.)  of  Little’s  soluble  phenyle  to  3  gallons  of  soft  water, 
and  apply  that  quantity  by  means  of  a  rose  watering  can  per  square 
yard.  This  solution,  one  part  in  480  parts  water,  will  not  hurt  Vine 
roots,  and  it  will  kill  those  eelworms  that  it  reaches.  This  I  have 
proved  over  and  over  again,  but  I  should  not  use  it  on  a  border  close 
and  >vet.  Lime  would  be  better  where  much  animal  manure  or  stable 
drainings  have  been  used.  Apply  1  lb.  of  best  chalk  lime,  freshly 
burned,  per  square  yard ;  slake  with  the  smallest  amount  of  water 
necessary  to  cause  it  to  fall  to  fine,  apparently  dry  flour,  and  spread 
evenly  on  the  surface.  Leave  it  for  a  night,  then  apply  ^  lb.  of 
kainit  per  square  yard,  and  fork  in  as  deeply  as  may  be  done  without 
injuring  the  roots.  Leave  for  the  winter,  rough,  and  when  about 
starting  the  Vines  apply  a  dressing  of  dissolved  bones,  dry  and  crumb¬ 
ling,  4  ozs.  per  square  yard,  pointing  in  very  lightly ;  and  later  use 
nitrate  of  soda,  if  a  light  soil ;  if  heavy,  sulphate  of  ammonia,  oz. 
to  1  gallon  of  water,  for  watering  with.  If  soluble  phenyle  be  used 
at  the  starting  of  the  Vines  there  will  not  be  any  need  to  apply  either 
the  nitrate  of  soda  or  sulphate  of  ammonia. — Gr.  Abbey. 
GROUPING  PLANTS  FOR  EFFECT. 
What  to  Imitate  and  what  to  Avoid. 
The  grouping  of  plants  for  effect  at  our  horticultural  exhibitions  has, 
for  some  years  now,  been  one  of  the  chief  attractions,  and  I  am  of  the 
opinion  that  more  people  will  be  found  closely  scanning  the  groups  than 
almost  any  other  section  of  the  exhibition.  Much  has  been  done  by  our 
leading  societies  to  encourage  the  art,  yet,  in  my  opinion,  there  is  ample 
scope  for  still  further  developments.  It  is  many  years  since  I  first 
saw  a  group  of  plants  arranged  for  effect  ;  it  was  at  the  great  Whitsuntide 
exhibition  at  Manchester.  I  have  forgotten  who  staged  that  group,  but 
by  no  means  what  it  was  like.  It  was  composed  of  splendidly  grown 
plants  (I  know  this,  because  I  saw  them  before  they  were  put  together), 
and  so  arranged  that  not  a  twig  was  allowed  to  show  itself  above  its 
neighbour,  a  gradual  slope  being  formed  of  which  any  thatcher  might  well 
be  proud.  At  that  period  this  was  thought  very  fine,  and  doubtless  if 
such  men  ns  Messrs.  Wills,  German,  Ward,  Cypher,  and  others  had  not 
had  different  ideas,  we  should  be  still  going  on  in  the  same  way. 
The  late  Mr.  Wills  has  always  been  accredited  with  doing  more  to 
improve  the  artistic  arrangement  of  plants  I  believe  than  almost  anyone 
else  (and  with  good  reason)  ;  but  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the 
greater  part  of  his  successes  were  non-competitive,  and  being  so,  he  had 
practically  a  free  hand  as  regards  space  and  selection  of  material.  This 
is  not  so  with  those  who  compete  as  they  are  bound  by  the  schedules. 
The  man  who,  in  my  opinion,  first  struck  the  right  note  in  arranging 
groups  for  competition,  and  led  the  way  to  the  present  state  of  things, 
who  to-day,  although  we  hardly  hear  of  him,  could,  I  honestly  believe, 
give  points  to  any  exhibitor  in  this  particular  branch,  is  Mr.  Samuel 
Thacker,  of  Nottingham,  an  amateur.  This  is  not  very  flattering  to 
professionals,  but  I  believe  it  to  be  perfectly  true.  Some  may  assert  we 
get  nothing  new  now,  the  thing  is  worked  out,  and  it  must  be  admitted 
there  is  something  in  this.  Yet  I  think  there  is  no  limit  to  the  possi¬ 
bilities  in  this  direction.  The  goal  only  wants  making  a  little  more 
difficult  ;  in  other  words,  the  exhibitor  has  done  what  can  reasonably  be 
expected  of  him  ;  now  the  schedule  makers  must  step  in  and  lengthen 
his  rope.  I  have  more  to  say  on  this  later  on.  _  ^ 
“  A  group  of  miscellaneous  plants  arranged  for  effect  on  a  given  space  ” 
is  usually  the  wording  of  schedules.  What  is  effect  1  It  may  mean 
anything,  according  to  the  capabilities  of  the  person  asked  to  adjudicate. 
I  will  try  to  describe  my  idea  of  an  effective  group  of  plants.  Before  a 
man  can  say  he  considers  anything  perfect  he  must  have  an  ideal  in  mind 
as  to  what  is  “  perfection.”  I  place  Nature  as  my  ideal  of  all  that  is 
beautiful,  and  everyone  will  admit  that  no  work  of  man  can  compare  with 
Nature.  Well,  my  idea  of  a  perfect  group  of  plants— though,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  I  have  never  seen  one  that  quite  satisfied  me— is  that  each  individual 
should  be  made  to  look  as  though  it  had  grown  in  its  position.  I  have 
never  visited  any  tropical  countries,  but  I  have  seen  pictures,  and  heard 
them  described  in  a  way  which  has  fairly  made  my  mouth  water,  and  has 
made  me  yearn  to  lift  a  solid  block — say  about  400  square  feet  bring  it 
home,  and  exhibit  it  at  one  of  our  leading  shows,  then  we  should  have 
a  group  for  effect.  I  have  seen,  in  our  own  country,  little  bits  which 
would  take  much  beating.  j  u  i. 
Having  taken  Nature  as  our  ideal  we  ought  to  try  and  show  her  at 
her  very  best  when  w'e  make  a.group,  for  under  natural  conditions  there 
is  a  tendency  for  vegetation  to  grow  too  thickly  to  permit  of  all  the 
beauties  it  contains  being  seen  when,  as  at  shows,  we  are  only  allowed  to 
stand  in  front  and  admire.  It  is  different  ia  its  own  home,  where  wo  can 
