82 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
July  26,  1900. 
Fig.  22.— the  SUTTON 
Prizewinnees— Mk.  P.  Blair,  Me,  G.  : 
Strawberry  Leaves  Diseased. 
Mr.  G.  Lee  sent  some  leaves  attacked  by  the  fungus  Sphmrella 
fragarise,  “Stiawberry  leaf  blight.”  It  is  a  very  destructive  disease 
recorded  from  all  parts  of  the  United  States  (illustrated,  in  »  Diseases 
of  Plante,”  Tubeuf  &  Smith,  p.  215), 
Dahlia  synantbic  Sport. 
Mr.  Evan  Davies,  Talsarn,  Bromley,  Kent,  sent  a  remarkable  specimen 
of  twin  Dahlia  blossoms  united  back  to  back  on  coherent  flower  stalks. 
One  blossom  was  yellow  with  crimson  centre,  the  other  entirely  crimson. 
Which  was  the  sport  was  not  stated,  but  probably  the  latter. 
Royal  Horticultural  Society. 
Scientific  Committee,  July  17th. — Present  :  Dr.  M.  T.  Masters 
(in  the  chair)  ;  Rev.  G.  Henslow,  Hon,  Sec. 
Carnation  Leaves  Injured. 
Leaves  were  received  from  Scarborough,  upon  which  Mr.  Douglas 
reported  as  follows ; — ”  The  three  leaves  seem  to  be  scalded,  but  this 
might  not  have  happened  if  the  leaves  had  been 
healthy.  They  are  not.  The  weather  has  been 
unfavourable  to  Carnations  in  some  places.  These 
may  have  been  badly  cultivated.  Probably  they  had 
too  much  water,  or  insufficient  ventilation.  With 
ample  ventilation,  and  the  plants  healthy,  scalding 
does  not  take  place.  The  eruption  or  raised  process 
on  the  single  leaf,  is  similar  to  what  occurs  on 
Vine  leaves  when  the  atmospherical  conditions  are 
bad — viz.,  too  much  moisture  and  too  little  ventila. 
tion.  No  plants  suffer  so  much  from  insufficient 
ventilation  as  Carnations,  and  a  moderately  moist 
atmosphere  is  injurious.  This  may  account  for  both 
the  ailments  in  question.” 
reproductive  organs  known  as  Botrytis.  It  is  a  common  disease,  and 
this  year  I  have  reported  on  several  cases,  especially  on  Narcissus.  On 
June  2nd,  in  ‘  Gardeners’  Chronicle,’  I  recommended  a  somewhat  similar 
treatment  to  that  found  successful  by  your  correspondent — namely,  to 
lift  the  bulbs  after  the  flowering  season,  keep  them  in  a  dry  place,  or  in 
some  mixture  of  lime  or  sulphur,  and  to  treat  with  sulphur  before 
replanting.  There  seems  to  be  no  other  way  open  to  deal  with  this  type 
of  fungus.  The  disease  evidently  occurs  on  certain  kinds  of  soil,  but 
exactly  what  kind  I  cannot  say  yet.” 
Tulips  Diseased. 
Bulbs  received  from  Mr.  Maine,  Penhill  Close,  Cardiff,  were 
forwarded  to  Dr.  Smith,  who  now  reports  as  follows  upon  them 
“  The  plants  received  are  infected  with  the  Tulip  Botrytis  disease. 
The  black  bodies  embedded  in  the  bulb  scales  and  dead  leaves  are  the 
resting  stages  of  a  fungus  which  in  its  active  stage  has  the  form  of 
Apple  Tree  Attacked  by  Caterpillars. 
Specimens  were  received  from  Mr.  Abbey,  Avery 
Hill,  Eltham,  upon  which  Mr.  McLachlan  reports  as 
follows  : — ”  I  only  found  one  larva  in  the  Apple 
shoots,  and  that  appears  to  be  some  kind  of  tortrii. 
It  is  often  bard  to  name  these  things  without  seeing 
the  insects  they  produce.  Apple  trees  just  now  are 
infested  with  larvae  of  various  kinds,  and  not  the 
least  destructive  is  that  of  the  winter  moth,  but  I 
do  not  see  it  in  the  box.  Hand-picking  is  all  very 
well  in  its  way,  but  I  should  strongly  recommend 
spraying  the  trees,  if  not  too  large,  with  some  of 
the  insecticides  recommended  in  the  gardening 
papers.  It  is  late,  but  even  now  it  might  do  good. 
As  a  rule  two  or  three  applications  at  intervals  of 
a  fortnight  or  so  are  necessary,  and  it  should  be 
done  in  dry  weather.  The  solutions  used  in  spraying 
are  generally  poisonous,  but  they  do  no  harm  to  the 
fruit  when  in  a  young  state,  and  they  render  the 
foliage  deadly  to  insects  hatching  up  from  eggs  laid 
on  the  trees.  It  soon  disappears,  but  has  done  its 
work  in  the  meantime.  Spraying  is  used  enormously 
in  America;  less  so  here.  Of  course  some  ordinary 
common  sense  care  should  be  exercised,  as  with 
-  any  poison.” 
Aster  Seedling  Diseased. 
The  following  report  was  received  from  Dr. 
W.  G.  Smith  on  samples  sent  by  Mr.  Basham, 
Fairoak  Nurseries,  Bassaleg,  Newport,  May  7th  : _ 
“  This  disease  begins  at  the  neck  of  the  plant  or 
below  the  ground,  and  travels  upwards  through  the 
plant,  producing  as  it  goes  discolouration  and 
softening  of  the  tissues.  There  is  fungus  growth  on 
all  discoloured  parts,  and  I  believe  the  mycelium  is 
the  cause  of  disease  ;  it  can  be  observed  at  the  limit 
between  discoloured  and  still  green  parts.  Spores 
are  produced  of  a  oval  form  and  colourless,  a  form 
which  gives  little  assistance  in  identification. 
Nematode  eelworms  were  also  observed,  but  it  is  not 
easy  to  say  what  part  they  play  ;  I  should  say  they 
lived  on  the  decaying  parts.  It  should  be  mentioned 
that  the  Rev.  Mr.  Friend  (“Gardener’s  Chronicle,”  August  14th,  1897) 
ascribes  the  Aster  disease  to  a  type  of  parasitic  worm,  but  I  did  not 
observe  this  form.  The  cause  of  this  Aster  disease  has  not  yet  been 
satisfactorily  cleared  up  in  any  papers  I  know.” 
