April  2,  1903. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
299 
view,  but  I  could  never  see  it  in  the  light  of  an  attempt  on  the 
part  of  Nature  to  carry  out  any  thinning  that  may  be  necessary. 
On  the  other  hand,  I  take  it  to  be  the  most  persistent  evil  that 
fruit  growers  have  had  to  contend  with  in  modern  times,  and 
if  the  getting  rid  of  it  were  only  a  means  of  amusement  for 
juveniles,  it  would  not  be  the  grim  ogre  it  is  to-day  in  the  eyes 
of  market  fruit  growers. — G.  H.  H. 
- - 
Crossing  Kale  Yiitti  Broccoli  and  Brussels  Sprouts. 
I  am  sending  to  you  some  Broccoli  crossed  with  Brussels 
Sprouts;  also  some  Borecole  crossed  with  Broccoli.  The  Borecole 
has  not  commenced  to  sprout  yet.  They  will  not  require  any 
more  trimming  before  cooking,  which  will  take  about  half  an 
hour,  and,  as  every  part  should  be  quite  tender,  I  prefer  them 
Mr.  J.  Weathers. 
placed  in  the  dish  lengthways,  the  knife  just  run  through  the 
heads  twice,  to  quarter  them.  My  friends  say  these  tops  remind 
them  very  much  of  Asparagus. — Alfred  Bye,  33,  Hereford  Road, 
Leominster,  Herefordshire,  March  9,  1903. 
[We  do  not  think  there  is  any  gain  in  having  vegetables  of’ 
this  nature.  In  the  case  of  the  Borecole  crossed  with  Broccoli, 
the  latter  was  apparent  in  the  abortive  flowerheads,  and  the 
leaves  had  much  of  the  Broccoli  texture.  Why  not  have  the 
opinion  of  the  Scientific  Committee  of  the  Royal  Horticultural 
Society  ? — Ed.] 
Pelargonium  (“Geramum”)  Disease. 
Having  received  a  communication  asking  advice  with  regard 
to  a  certain  disease  which  is  destroying  hundreds  of  Pelar¬ 
gonium  plants  weekly,  it  may  be  advisable  to  reply  through  this 
Journal,  as  others  may  be  troubled  with  the  same  disease,  which 
is  capable  of  being  very  destructive.  The  soil  used  in  this 
particular  case  was  a  compost  of  loam  dug  from  a  deer  park, 
with  leaf  mould  and  pit  sand.  Apparently  strong  plants 
succumbed  to  the  disease,  and  went  black,  either  at  the  base  of 
the  stems,  or  above  the  soil,  and  then  decayed  off.  The  plants 
were  evidently  attacked  with  the  Pelargonium  stem-rot,  which 
has  been  named  Fusarium  Pelargoni.  Under  the  effect  of  this 
disease  the  plant  seems  te  stop  growing,  and  in  a  few  days  some  ' 
of  the  leaves  turn  yellow,  then  the  stems  turn  black  and  decay. 
The  stems  become  blackened  and  decayed  at  the  base  just 
above  the  ground,  although  the  mischief  goes  on  underground 
before  showing  above  ground. 
The  disease  was  first  observed  in  the  year  1896,  and  would 
seem  to  be  an  endophyte,  which  makes  itself  evident  in  the 
tissues  of  the  plant  before  it  breaks  through  the  surface,  and 
hence  is  most  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  influence  by  the  use 
of  fungicides.  In  order  to  prevent  spreading,  all  diseased  plants 
should  be  carefully  taLen  up,  so  as  not  to  break  the  roots  and 
leave  decaying  portions  in  the  ground.  These  plants  must  not 
be  left  lying  about,  but  should  bo  burnt  at  once.  A  free  appli¬ 
cation  of  diluted  Bordeaux  niixture  applied  to  the  soil  would 
probably  assist  in  the  extermination  of  the  disease^  or  the  soil 
might  be  saturated  with  Jeyes’  fluid. — J.  J.  Willis,  Har- 
penden.  j 
Mr.  J.  Weathers. 
Mr.  John  Weathers  (whose  work  under  the  Middlesex  County 
Council  we  have  reviewed  in  the  leader),  ive  learn,  began  his 
gardening  career  in  the  nurseries  of  the  early-founded  and  long- 
established  famous  firm  of  Messrs.  Charles  Lee  and  Son,  of 
Hammersmith,  Ealing,  Isleworth,  and  Feltham.  After  Ins  pro¬ 
bation  with  them  he  transferred  to  the  Royal  Gardens,  Kew, 
and  proceeded  after  his  allotted  term  there  to  the  Orchid  and 
exotic  plant  establishment  of  Messrs.  Sander  and  Sons,  of  St. 
Albans,  Herts,  where  he  managed  the  “  Reichenbachia,”  and  ho 
translated  the  French  edition  of  “  Lindenia,”  for  Mr.  Linden,  of 
Brussels,  until  it  ceased. 
In  l890  he  was  appointed  assistant-secretary  of  the  Royal 
Horticultural  Society,  and  rescinded  the  position  in  1897.  He  was 
the  first  gardener  who  ever  held  the  position,  and  the  first  tO'  put 
the  finances  of  the  society  on  a  sound  basis. 
Mr.  Weathers  joined  “  The  Garden  ”  editorial  staff  for  a  short 
while,  then  took  over  the  management  of  the  Silverhall  Nursery 
at  Isleworth-on-Thames.  His  present  duties  as  horticultural 
instructor  to  the  Middlesex  County  Council  practically  demand 
the  whole  of  his  time,  and  the  work  is  more  likely  to  increase  than 
decrease.  In  1901  he  made  his  bow  as  an  author,  the  book  being 
that  weighty  and  invaluable  volume  “  A  Practical  Guide  to  Garden 
Plants”  (Longman’s,  21s.),  whose  pages,  nearly  1,200  in  number, 
we  are  constantly  referring  to  for  assistance.  Mr.  Weathers  has 
been  invited  to  act  as  a  member  of  the  jury  at  the  great  Ghent 
Quinquennial  Horticultural  Exhibition  and  Congress  in  the  middle 
of  the  present  month,  this  distinction  having  been  already  prof- 
ferred  and  accepted  on  two  previous  occasions. 
The  following  is  a  list  of  some  of  the  county  instructors  in 
horticulture:  Berks,*  Mr.  A.  S.  Galt;  Derby,*  Mr.  E.  Luck- 
hurst;  Devon,  Mr.  C.  Berry;  Dorset,  Mr.  W.  Iggulden  and 
Mr.  H.  Huntly ;  Essex,  Mr.  C.  Wakely  and  Mr.  J.  Riding; 
Hereford,  Mr.  Manning;  Kent,*  Mr.  W.  P.  Wright  and  Mr. 
G.  H.  Hollingworth ;  Leicester,  Mr.  Smith;  Middlesex,*  Mr. 
J.  Weathers;  Monmouth,  Mr.  Grant;  Oxford,*  Mr.  S.  Heaton; 
Somerset,*  Mr.  J.  Ettle;  Stafford,*  Mr.  R.  Cock;  Surrey,*  Mr. 
J.  Wright,  Mr.  H.  J.  Wright,  and  Mr.  A.  Dean;  Sussex,  Mr. 
W.  Gouring ;  Warvdek,  Mr.  H.  Dunkin ;  W’orcester,*  Mr.  J. 
Udale  and  Mr.  Lansdell ;  York,  Mr.  A.  Gaut.  Those  counties  . 
marked  with  an  asterisk  have  an  experimental  garden. 
Mr.  William  Wiriiamson  is  the  only  regular  instructor  in 
horticulture  in  Scotland,  so  that  the  North  is  far  behind  ^ 
England  in  this  matter. 
- - - 
Caclaceous  Planls:  Mammillarias.’ 
(Continued  from  page  266.) 
Leaving  the  epiphytes,  I  now  come  to  the  terrestrial  genera, 
of  wliich  the  genus  Mammillaria  is  the  largest,  and,  to  my  mind, 
the  most  interesting,  owing  to  the  beauty  of  the  spines  of  many 
of  the  plants.  The  flowers  are  rather  small,  and  are  borne  in  the 
axils  of  the  tubercles.  Mammillaria  micromeris  is  a  very  in¬ 
teresting  little  subject,  and  at  a  distance  looks  like  a  small  Mush-  , 
room  or  a  Puffball.  Mammillaria  Nogalensis  forms  very  large, 
symmetrical  clumpsi;  the  plant  is  perfectly  clothed  with  a  net-  ■ 
work  of  yellow  spines,  Mammillaria  oirrhifera  longispina  is  a 
very  distinct  and  handsome  species.  The  spines  are  ivory  white, 
about  3in  to  4in  long,  and  are  twisted  in  all  directions.  There 
are  several  varieties  belonging  to  the  cirrhifera  section,  and  all 
are  of  easy  culture. 
M.  angularis  is  a  closely  allied  species,  also  represented  by  a 
large  number  of  varieties;  the  flowers,  being  purple,  and  are 
followed  by  numbers  of  crimson  fruits,  which  are  protected  by 
white  wool,  forming  a  good  set-off  to  their  brilliant  colouring. 
The  species  nivea,  Waltoni,  and  elegans  have  short,  thick,  white 
spines,  which  form  a  pleasing  contrast  to  the  blood-red,  dense 
spines  of  M.  sanguinea.  M.  elephantidius,  or  Elephant’s  tooth, 
represents  a  section  noted  for  their  large  tubercles — which  are 
furnished  with  very  strong  recurving  spines — and  their  large 
flowers.  M.  spinosissima  and  its  varieties  are  amongst  the 
handsomest  of  the  genus.  Tlie  spines  vary  in  shade  from  white 
to  a  blood-red.  M.  erecta  may  be  taken  as  the  type  of  several 
species  which  are  club  shaped.  The  hooked  spine  section  embraces 
some  very  beautiful  species,  notably  the  very  delicate  senilis, 
whose  spines  are  silvery  wliite.  , 
All  these  varieties  should  be  included  in  the  list  of  the 
intending  cultivator,  they  are  of  easy  culture,  with  the  exception 
of  the  last  mentioned.  The  soil  described  in  my  remarks  on 
general  culture  will  suit  them  admirably.  They  ma}'  be  pro- 
pao-ated  by  division  and  by  grafting,  according  to  the  habit  of 
the  plant.  The  beautiful  little  pluniosa,  Schiediana,  and  others, 
may  be  propagated  bj’'  cutting  off  the  tubercles,  and  placing  them 
on  a  pan  of  fine  sand,  into  which  they  will  soon  root. _ 
*  A  paper  read  at  Manchester  by  Mr.  Arthur  Cobhold,  Holly  Point,  Hoato:i  Mer  ey. 
