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JOURXAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDEXER. 
April  20,  1890. 
Ail  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should,  until 
further  notice,  be  directed  to  “  The  Editor,”  8,  Rose  Hill  Road, 
Wandsworth,  S.W.,  and  WOT  to  12,  Mitre  Court  Chambers, 
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Gardening  and  Bee  subjects  through  the  post.  If  information 
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it  by  the  Editor.  Letters  of  inquiry  must  be  accompanied  by 
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published  nor  disclosed  when  initials  or  nom  de  'plumes  are  given 
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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 
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Editor,  though  not  necessarily  for  insertion.  We  cannot,  as  a 
rule,  reply  to  questions  through  the  post,  and  we  do  not  under¬ 
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be  inserted. 
Gloriosa  superba  B.). — The  bulbs  should  be  potted  without  dela)’. 
They  are  best  attended  to  in  February,  draining  the  pots  well,  and  using 
a  compost  of  loam  and  peat  in  equal  proportions,  with  a  free  admixture 
of  sand,  and  a  “  dash  ”  of  charcoal.  Place  in  a  house  with  a  mean 
temperature  of  70°,  such  as  a  Cucumber  house  or  stove.  Water  carefully 
at  starting,  but  when  in  full  growth  afford  it  liberally,  never,  however, 
overwatering,  and  afford  all  the  light  possible,  giving  the  essential  support 
to  the  stems.  The  usual  atmospheric  moisture  must  be  provided.  As 
the  growth  ripens  withhold  water  gradually,  and  keep  the  soil  dry  during 
the  winter.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  lay  the  pots  on  their  sides  in  a  warm 
place  during  winter,  as  exposure  to  cold  when  at  rest  is  a  point  especially 
to  be  avoided.  These  points — the  seasons  of  growth  and  complete  rest 
in  a  warm  place — are  the  most  important  considerations  in  its  culture. 
Burrs  on  Spanish  Chestnut  (A.  D.). — The  burrs  or  knobs  on  the  portion 
of  stem  are  caused  by  a  fungus,  which  we  do  not  find  sufficiently  developed 
in  your  specimen  for  identification,  but  it  has  a  close  resemblance  to  that 
which  produces  burrs  on  sapling  Ash.  and  may  probably  be  a  form  of  it 
_ namely,  Dothiora  sphmroides.  The  fungus  chiefly  fastens  on  the  buds, 
destroys  their  growing  points  while  in  embryo,  and  lives  in  a  sort  of 
symbiosis  in  the  root  until  its  turn  is  served,  causing  it  to  swell  abnormally 
at  the  affected  part,  sometimes  tor  ye.ars,  but  ultimately  breaks  through 
the  cuticular  cells  and  then  produces  its  “  fruits,”  and  the  knobs  after¬ 
wards  assume  a  cankerous  appearance.  The  cause  is,  of  course,  the  fungus, 
and  it  is  generally  regarded  as  favoured  by  the  saplings  being  allowed 
to  grow  closely  or  deprived  of  light  and  air,  but  we  have  found  most 
specimens  where  the  land  is  wet  or  the  subsoil  is  cold  and  stubborn. 
Draining,  open,  of  course,  for  woods  and  plantations,  with  a  judicious 
thinning  and  removal  of  infested  saplings,  have  been  found  the  best  pre¬ 
ventives.  The  saplings  are  sometimes  prized  for  walking  sticks  and  when 
cut  about  the  size  of  your  specimen  bring  fancy  prices. 
Forced  Strawberry  Leaves  Spotted  (Festina  Lente). — The  leaves  are 
affected  by  the  Strawberry  leaf  blight  fungus,  Sphmrella  fragariae,  which 
is  in  some  cases  very  disastrous.  It  first  appears  on  the  upper  surface,  in 
the  shape  of  small  purplish  or  reddish  spots,  which  rapidly  increase  in 
size,  and  they  often  run  together,  thus  extending  over  the  whole  or 
greater  part  of  the  surface  and,  of  course,  destroying  the  leaf.  It  usually 
begins  in  the  summer  time  on  the  older  leaves  of  the  runners,  and  winters 
in  them,  and  in  the  spring  (winter  in  forced  plants)  or  early  summer 
passes  as  spores  to  the  young  leaves.  The  fungus  appears  to  be  gaining 
in  the  country.  We  have  been  much  troubled  with  it,  and  found  the 
practice  of  cutting  off  the  old  leaves,  or  those  affected  on  the  stock 
plant,  and  burning  them,  as  soon  as  the  fruit  was  gathered,  very 
effective  in  lessening  the  disease  another  year.  It  is  also  excellent 
practice,  but  we  have  only  carried  it  out  on  a  small  scale,  after  cutting 
off  the  old  leaves  and  burning  them,  to  spray  with  Bordeaux  mixture 
at  once,  repeating  early  m  September.  Then,  at  starting,  the  old  leaves 
that  could  be  spared  were  removed  and  burnt,  and  the  plants  sprayed 
with  Bordeaux  mixture  at  half  strength,  repeating  when  the  new 
leaves  started,  and  again  just  before  the  flowers  opened.  This  gave  us 
excellent  results.  Before  we  pursued  this  treatment  we  could  not  get 
average  crops  of  Keen's  Seedling  and  many  other  varieties,  they  being 
eaten  up  by  the  fungus,  as  the  spots  on  the  leaves  greatly  impoverished  the 
plants  and  prevented  the  fruit  swelling  properly.  The  thing  is  to  begin 
with  the  early  stages  of  the  runners,  and  keep  the  parasite  from  them. 
Vines  not  Setting  the  Fruit  (A.  A.).— There  does  not  appear  to  be 
anything  particularly  amiss  with  the  bunch  and  leaf,  they,  as  you  say, 
being  quite  healthy,  but  the  “caps”  adhere  very  tightly' to  the  flower, 
and  carry  with  them  the  stamens  and  anthers  when  removed.  This  does 
not  indicate  vigour,  and  certainly'  not  a  good  set.  We  should  have 
recourse  to  artificial  impregnation,  brushing  the  bunches  over  carefully, 
and  then  follow  with  another  brush  charged  with  pollen  taken  from 
free-setting  varieties,  operating  about  midday.  The  bunches  also  requiro 
drawing  out — that  is,  affording  a  higher  temperature  With  thi.s,  65°  to 
70°  at  night,  and  10°  to  15°  more  in  the  daytime,  there  should  be  no 
difficulty,  as  the  ovaries  and  ovules  are  perfect.  Perhaps  a  little  more 
phosphoric  acid  would  be  of  service,  with  some  magnesia  and  iron.  We 
should  try  the  effect  of  a  mixture  of  the  following  : — Dissolved  bones,  dry' 
and  crumbling,  five  parts  ;  double  sulphate  of  potash  and  magnesia,  four 
parts  ;  and  sulphate  of  iron,  finely  powdered,  one  part,  mixed,  using  4  ozs. 
per  square  yard,  and  washing  in  moderately',  the  border  previously  being 
brought  into  a  proper  state  of  moisture.  If  the  roots  are  very  near  the 
surface  supply  the  dressing  at  twice,  allowing  a  fortnight  or  three  weeks 
between. 
Woodlice  in  Vineries  (^Idem). — Woodlice  will  certainly  eat  the  roots 
of  Vines,  and  almost  anything 
tender  and  good.  We  do  not  A 
know  of  anything  better  than 
the  two  boards  trap — two 
pieces  of  old  board  of  the  same 
length  laid  one  upon  the  other 
where  the  woodlice  haunt, 
sprinkling  on  the  lower  board 
a  little  fine  bran  or  pollard, 
and  covering  with  the  other 
board,  so  as  to  allow  the 
woodlice  to  get  betw-een,  a 
small  pebble  being  used  when 
necessary'.  Examined  in  the 
morning  the  woodlice  will 
be  found  secreted,  and  can 
soon  be  disposed  of  by 
brushing  into  boiling  water. 
Another  good  trap  is  Man¬ 
gold  Wurtzel  or  Swede  cut 
in  tw'o  halves  transversely, 
,  hollowed,  notched  round  the 
sides  so  as  to  allow  the  wood- 
lice  to  enter,  placing  that 
part  where  the  pests  congre¬ 
gate  (fig.  75).  I  seen  to  every 
morning  the  vermin  will  be 
found  secreted  in  the  hollow, 
Fig.  75. — Trapping  Woodlice. 
A,  wood-louse  (Oniscus  asellu.s),  full  size ;  B, 
pill-uiillipede  (Annadillo  vulgaris),  rolled 
up  as  a  ball ;  I),  upper  half  of  Mangold. 
and  can  be  brushed  out  into  hot  water. 
Propagating  Jacaranda  mimosifolia  (Blandford). — This  species  is 
increased  by  cuttings  of  half-ripened  shoots  taken  during  the  early 
summer  months  and  inserted  in  sand  over  sandy  peat.  The  cutting 
pots  should  be  placed  in  heat,  such  as  that  of  a  propagating  frame  in  a 
warm  house,  and  kept  shaded  until  well  rooted,  then  gradually  inured  to 
the  air  of  the  structure.  Sometimes  the  cuttings  are  inserted  singly  in 
small  (thumb)  pots,  which  is  perhaps  the  best  mode.  The  cuttings  must 
not  be  over-watered,  nor  be  more  than  half-ripened  when  inserted.  The 
plant  thrives  in  a  compost  of  sandy  peat  and  fibrous  loam,  with  ample 
drainage.  It  requires  a  stove  temperature. 
Ivy-leaved  Pelargonium  Leaves  Dying  (W.  W.). — The  leaves  are 
attacked  by  a  minute  species  of  animal  parasite  called  the  “rusted  leaf  ” 
jiest,  Tarsonymus  gerani.  The  best  thing  wo  have  used  against  it  has 
been  nicotine  essence,  one  fluid  ounce  in  five  pints  of  hot  rain  water, 
apply  ing  when  cool  enough  to  the  under  side  of  the  leaves  by  means  of 
an  atomiser  or  pneumatic  sprayer  in  the  finest  possible  film,  repeating 
occasionally'.  "We  have  also  found  the  vaporisation  with  nicotine  essence, 
or  fumigation  with  tobacco,  at  short  intervals,  to  be  effective.  Tobacco 
water  may  be  used  instead  of  the  nicotine  essence.  One  ounce  of  strong 
shag  tobacco  should  be  placed  in  a  vessel  and  three  pints  of  boiling  water 
poured  on  it,  covered  up  closely',  and  left  till  cool,  then  strained  and 
applied  with  a  sprayer  or  syringe. 
Diseased  Cucumber  (C.  W.). — The  portion  of  fruit  is  badly  infested  by 
the  scale  fungus,  Glteosporiiim  Lindemuthianum,  syn.  Colletotrichum 
lagenarium.  The  effect  on  the  fruit  is  to  spoil  its  appearance  ;  it  is 
shrunken  and  out  of  shape,  and  the  seeds,  it  any  are  saved  from  such 
fruit,  are  generally  shrivelled,  and  give  rise  to  the  disease  anew.  The 
disease  is  a  very  old  one,  and  most  prevalent  during  periods  of  wet  and 
cold  weather,  the  atmosphere  of  the  structures  being  then  also  relatively 
close  and  moist,  if  not  cold.  As  regards  preventive  measures,  lor  remedy' 
IS  out  of  the  question,  we  have  found  the  use  of  a  little  air-slaked  chalk 
lime,  a  handful  per  square  yard,  and  a  similar  quantity  of  soot,  to  have  a 
good  effect  on  the  plants.  Do  not  give  more  water  than  to  keep  the 
foliage  from  flagging,  using  a  little  flowers  ef  sulphur  on  the  hot-water 
pipes,  and  maintain  a  night  temperature  of  65°,  with  70°  to  75°  by  day, 
rising  to  85°  or  90°  with  sun,  to  encourage  the  plants  growing  out  of  the 
disease.  The  atmospheric  moisture  also  requires  moderating,  and  ventila¬ 
tion  should  be  closely  attended  to,  the  object  being  to  destroy  the  spores 
of  the  fungus  or  prevent  their  germination,  as  they  can  only  grow  in  a 
close  and  comparatively  moist  atmosphere.  The  temperature  should  be 
relative  to  the  vigour  of  the  plant — that  is,  the  more  vigorous  the  more 
heat  it  requires  lo  elaborate  its  juices,  and  promote  a  healthy,  disease- 
resisting  growth. 
