286 
JOURXAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
April  6,  1899. 
All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should,  until 
further  notice,  be  directed  to  “  The  Editor,”  8,  Rose  Hill  Road, 
Wandsworth,  S.W.,  and  HOT  to  12,  Mitre  Court  Chambers, 
Fleet  Street.  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,  and  departmental  writers 
are  not  expected  to  answer  any  letters  they  may  receive  on 
Gardening  and  Bee  subjects  through  the  post.  If  information 
be  desired  on  any  particular  subject  from  any  particular 
authority  who  may  be  named,  endeavour  will  be  made  to  obtain 
it  by  the  Editor.  Letters  of  inquiry  must  be  accompanied  by 
the  names  and  addresses  of  the  writers,  but  these  will  neither  be 
published  nor  disclosed  when  initials  or  nom  de  plumes  are  given 
for  the  purpose  of  replies. 
Correspondents  should  not  mix  up  on  the  same  sheet  questions  relating 
to  Gardening  and  those  on  Bee  subjects,  and  it  is  convenient  when 
each  question  is  written  on  a  separate  sheet.  All  articles  intended 
for  insertion  should  be  written  on  one  side  of  the  paper  only  ;  and 
the  name  and  address  of  each  writer  must  be  known  by  the 
Editor,  though  not  necessarily  for  insertion.  We  cannot,  as  a 
rule,  reply  to  questions  through  the  post,  and  we  do  not  under¬ 
take  to  return  communications  which,  for  any  reason,  cannot 
be  inserted. 
Castor  Oil  Plant  (0.  F.'). — Yes,  the  leaf  is  one  from  a  variety  of  the 
species  Kicinus  communis.  It  is  best  to  sow  the  seed  singly  in  small 
pots,  and  place  in  heat  early  in  March.  Young  plants  should  then  be 
kejit  growing  under  glass  until  early  in  June,  when  they  may  be  hardened 
and  put  into  their  permanent  positions  outside,  or  used  for  decorative 
purposes  indoors  when  sufficiently  advanced  in  growth.  The  leaves  are 
falling  from  the  present  plant  in  the  room  because  it  is  too  cold  and 
unfavourable  for  its  growth. 
Bare  Cotoneasters  {Idem). — The  Cotoneasters  may  be  cut  down  to 
any  extent,  or  as  near  the  ground  as  you  desire  fresh  growth  to  issue  from 
and  form  compact  bushes.  The  earlier  this  is  done  the  better,  so  as  to 
secure  well  ripened  growth  this  season.  Privet  bushes  are  amongst  the 
most  tractable  of  shrubs  for  cutting,  hence  selected  and  much  used  for 
divisional  hedges.  Now  is  the  best  time  to  operate  on  straggling  plants 
so  as  to  secure  compact  specimens,  shortening  irregularities  about 
July. 
Sheep  Manure  for  Liquid  {N.  B.). — The  sheep  manure  you  have  in  a 
barrel  is  good  for  Rhubarb  or  anything  requiring  nourishment,  and  is 
richer  than  that  of  cows.  A  peck  is  sufficient  for  30  gallons  of  water, 
and  it  is  advisable  to  use  the  clear  liquid  only  for  plants  in  pots  ;  but  for 
Rhubarb  the  thick  may  be  employed — not,  of  course,  over  the  stalks  or 
leaves.  It  is  perhaps  the  best  of  all  liquid  manures,  but  is  improved  by  the 
addition  of  a  little  superphosphate  of  lime,  say  i  oz.  to  a  gallon  of  water 
or  liquid. 
Kainit  for  Parsley  {Idem), — This  is  a  good  fertiliser  for  Parsley,  being 
useful  also  against  “canker,”  as  caused  by  a  small  grubjPsila  rosas.  It  is 
best  used  before  sowing  the  seed,  appljdng  about  2  ozs.  per  square  yard. 
If  used  now  keep  it  from  the  hearts  of  the  plants,  sprinkling  it  between 
the  roots  or  about  the  plants,  not  using  more  than  the  quantity  stated. 
The  rain  will  wash  it  in  fast  enough,  or  it  will  soon  disappear  if  the 
ground  be  moist,  when  only  it  must  be  applied  in  the  “  dry  ”  state.  If 
applied  in  liquid  form  use  1  oz.  to  a  gallon  of  water,  and  keep  this  also  from 
the  hearts  of  the  plants.  You  can  apply  a  gallon  per  square  yard,  and 
repeat  in  the  course  of  about  three  weeks. 
Vines  Unsatisfactory  {Mid-Sussex). — The  roots  are  quite  free  from 
phylloxera  or  any  animal  or  vegetable  pest,  but  the  small  fibres  are  dead, 
though  they  have  been  abundant.  The  shoots,  evidently  Muscat  of 
Alexandria,  are  very  pale  in  colour,  otherwise  healthy  and  fruitful.  One 
shoot,  probably  a  Black  Hamburgh,  is  also  very  yellow,  yet  fruitful  and 
healthy.  Of  course  these  are  in  marked  contrast  to  the  other  shoot. 
This  is  very  green  and  promising,  though  why  it  should  be  so  and  the 
others  deficient  in  colour  and  vigour  does  not  appear,  except  from  varying 
degrees  of  constitutional  vigour  in  the  respective  Vines.  The  soil  appears 
of  a  generous  nature  and  well  suited  for  Vines,  and  as  the  drainage  is 
good  we  do  net  see  any  reason  to  be  alarmed,  for  the  Vines  in  the  early 
house  would  suffer  most  from  the  lifting,  being  brought  forward  too 
quickly,  as  compared  with  the  later  varieties  in  the  late  house.  The  soil 
appears  deficient  of  lime  and  even  of  gritty  matter.  The  latter  cannot  be 
altered  without  remaking  the  border,  but  you  may  add  the  lime  with 
advantage.  We  should  give  without  delay  a  dressing  of  best  air-slaked 
chalk  lime  and  soot  in  equal  parts  by  measure,  using  ^  lb.  of  the  mixture 
per  square  yard,  and  point  in  very  lightly  with  a  fork,  or  cover,  after 
scratching  in,  with  a  little  short  sweetened  stable  manure,  watering  in 
due  course,  but  avoiding  a  saturated  and  sodden  condition  of  the  soil. 
Then,  for  top-dressing,  supply  4  ozs.  per  square  yard  of  the  following 
mixture  : — Bone  superphosphate,  dry  and  crumbling,  five  parts  ;  double 
sulphate  of  potash  and  magnesia,  three  parts  ;  sulphate  of  iron,  one  part ; 
and  sulphate  of  lime  three  parts.  This  should  be  washed  in,  first  moisten¬ 
ing  the  border  in  the  ordinary  waj',  giving  the  top-dressing,  and  then 
washing  in  moderately.  Apply  this  about  three  weeks  after  using  the 
]ime  and  soot. 
Coke  for  Heating  {C.  H,). — The  coke  made  at  “pits”  in  coke  ovens  is 
better  than  that  made  at  gasworks,  and  also  much  dearer,  hence  very 
little,  if  indeed  any,  pit  coke  is  used  for  horticultural  boilers.  That  from 
gasworks  answers  quite  well. 
Shoots  from  a  Young  Vine  {Idem). — You  ask,  “If  a  young  Vine  when 
planted  is  cut  back  to  six  or  seven  buds,  should  all  the  grow'th  be  rubbed 
off  when  they  break  except  the  one  intended  for  the  rod,  or  be  stopped 
at  four  or  five  joints  to  help  root  action,  and  then  be  pruned  off  altogether 
next  pruning  time,  as  they  would  be  opposite  the  brickwork  lower  than 
the  trellis  commences?’’  This  is  a  sensible  question,  and  indicates  a 
desire  for  attaining  unto  best  practice.  According  to  theory,  the  more 
growth  the  more  roots  ;  but  this  does  not  hold  in  practice  except  under 
an  identity  of  circumstances,  the  roots  being  fewer,  though  larger,  in  rich 
than  in  a  relatively  poor,  but  not  sterile,  soil.  Besides,  plants  differ  in 
pushing  fresh  rootlets.  Some,  as  Currants,  emit  roots  with  or  in  advance 
of  the  swelling  buds  ;  and  others,  as  Vines,  seldom  push  roots  before  the 
leaves.  In  the  former  case  growth  would  be  accelerated  by  root  forma¬ 
tion,  and  in  the  latter  the  young  shoots  would  draw  upon  the  stored 
matter,  and  thus  take  from  the  vigour  of  the  leading  growth.  We  have 
tried  both  plans  and  have  found  it  the  better  practice  to  allow  all  the  buds 
to  start,  and  when  the  leading  growth  has  got  leaves  partly  developed 
gradually  remove  the  other  shoots.  The  leader  then  gets  all  the  vigour 
of  the  Vine,  first  pinching  them  to  a  few  leaves  to  thicken  the  stem. 
Drooping  Disease  in  Cucumber  Plants  {Marlcet  Groicer). — The  plant 
submitted  is  affected  by  the  fungus  that  produces  the  well  known  “rust”^ 
in  the  root  stems  of  seedling  French  Beans,  and  also  in  those  of  Cucumbers, 
Melons,  Vegetable  Marrows,  and  other  cucurbitaceous  plants.  It  also 
affects  the  leaves,  producing  j’ellow  spots,  and  they  die  off  one  here, 
another  there,  some  at  the  base  of  the  plant,  others  at  the  fop,  and  some 
at  the  points  between  those  extremes.  It  is  found  on  the  fruit  as  “rind 
spot,”  and  seed  sown  from  such  fruit  are  affected  in  the  embryo— ^at 
is,  the  disease  plasma  goes  over  inside  the  integument  of  the  seed.  In  the 
“rust”  stage,  present  on  the  root  stem,  it  kills  or  greatly  impairs  the 
young  plant,  few  growers  potting  off  such  plants,  as  they  have  deformed 
cotyledons  or  first  leaves,  a  rusty  root  stem,  and  a  killed  radicle  ;  but  the 
plant  often  pushes  roots  laterally  from  the  stem  above  ground,  and  lives 
on  for  a  time,  or  even  to  the  perfecting  of  fruit  or  seed,  the  leaves  here 
and  there  collapsing  suddenly  and  dying  back  to  the  base  of  the  midribs, 
or  even  to  that  of  the  petiole.  The  plant  may  be  somewhat  improved  by 
earthing  up  the  stem,  for  the  young  roots  die  at  the  tips  or  so-called 
spongioles,  and  the  root  hairs,  of  course,  perish.  Sometimes  “sleepy” 
disease  fungus  then  intervenes,  the  root  stem  turns  brown,  and  eelworms 
take  possession.  There  exists  no  swelling,  but  a  dry  gangrene,  and  no 
browning  of  the  spiral  vessels,  as  obtained  in  “sleepy  ”  disease  abovo 
the  ground.  Where  the  latter  disease  occurs,  the  browning  is  very 
decisive  between  the  bark  and  woody  part  of  the  stem  where  the  hyphse- 
of  the  fungus  traverse.  In  the  main  part  of  the  specimen  examined 
there  was  no  root  stem  “rust,”  no  “sleepy”  disease  fungus,  and  no 
eelworms,  but  the  chief  root  system  was  perfectly  sound,  quite  white 
and  healthy,  albeit  all  the  root  tips  and  a  considerable  part  of  the 
fibrelets,  with  their  root  hairs,  were  quite  brown  and  dead.  In  the 
small  dead  roots  were  mycelial  hyphse  according  with  that  of  Fusarium 
solani,  and  also  the  earlier  stage  of  the  “sleepy”  disease  fungus 
(Hypomyces  solani) — namely,  Diplocladium  solani.  The  final  or  resting 
stage  was  not  found,  nor  were  any  eelworms,  but  every  particle  of  soil 
had  been  removed,  and  the  eelworms,  if  any  were  present,  may  have 
departed.  The  “leaf  spot”  has  only  a  yellowish  appearance,  not  a  dark 
coloured  patch,  surrounded  by  a  reddish  line,  as  in  the  case  of  French 
Bean  leaves,  and  in  the  tissues  exist  extremely  minute  mycelial 
hyphas,  this  running  in  the  tissue  causing  the  yellowish  appearance,  as 
it  abstracts  the  nutrient  matter,  and  “  eats  up  ”  the  chlorophyll.  Here 
and  there  appear  very  pale  coloured  patches  of  bodies,  closely  packed, 
and  under  the  microscope  are  seen  as  slender  threads,  each  bearing  a 
minute  spire  at  its  tip,  which  is  the  plant  known  to  botanists  as 
Gloeosporium  Lindemuthianum  syn.  Colletotrichum  lagenarium.  Pre¬ 
ventives  : — (1)  As  it  is  perfectly  well  known  that  diseased  seed  produce 
diseased  plants,  and,  furthermore,  that  the  seed  shows  so  little  external 
signs  of  the  disease  as  not  be  suspected,  it  is  very  important  that  seed 
obtained  from  a  district  where  the  disease  has  recently  existed  should 
not  be  sown.  The  diseased  seeds,  however,  are  usually  pitted  and 
blistered.  (2)  Never  pot  a  seedling  that  has  a  brown  radicle,  and  shows 
the  least  trace  ot  “  rust  ”  in  the  stem,  or  is  affected  with  pale  blotches  in 
the  seed  leaves.  (3)  Remove  the  diseased  plants  the  moment  the 
fungus  is  observed,  then  the  disease  will  disappear,  at  least  for  that 
season.  The  so-called  remedies  are  really  only  preventives,  such  as  using 
a  little  sulphur  on  the  hot-water  pipes,  the  fumes  of  which  are  fatal  to 
the  fungus.  We  have  found,  however,  that  the  maintaining  of  a 
relative  high  temperature — that  is,  65°  to  70°  at  night,  70°  to  75°  by 
day  on  dull  days,  with  the  10°  to  20°  rise  on  fine  days,  with  air  from 
80°,  and  never  having  an  atmosphere  surcharged  with  mo'sture,  answers 
equally  well. 
