July  24,  1902. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
93 
*  **  All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should  be  directed 
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London,  E.C.  It  is  requested  that  no  one  will  write  privately 
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discussed  in  this  Journal,  as  doing  so  subjects  them  to  unjustifiable 
trouble  and  expense. 
Plan  of  a  Bothy— Competition. 
“  Well-wisher  ”  promises  a  first  prize  of  £3,  and  the  Editor  sup¬ 
plies  a  second  prize  of  £1. 
The  rules  of  the  competition  are  as  follows: — The  plan,  drawn 
to  scale,  must  not  exceed  7in.  broad  by  7in  deep,  and  must  be 
clearly  defined  on  stout  paper.  The  plan  must  provide  suitable 
accommodation  for  six  men,  and  the  cost  of  the  building  ought  not 
to  exceed  £200  to  £220.  A  statement  of  the  general  items  of 
cost  should  accompany  the  plans,  together  with  any  written 
comments  thereon.  The  competition  is  open  until  Christmas, 
1902,  by  which  date  all  plans  must  be  in  the  hands  of  the  Editor. 
The  sender’s  name  and  full  address  should  be  enclosed  when  send¬ 
ing  the  plan,  and  the  sender  will  alone  be  held  responsible  for  it. 
VINES  IN  POTS  (M.). — The  Vines  no  thicker  than  a  lead 
pencil  will  be  of  no  use  for  fruiting  next  season.  They  should 
be  as  thick  as  the  middle  finger  or  thumb,  and  have  hard,  brown, 
well-ripened  canes,  with  eyes  like  nuts*,  and  be  in  12-inch  or 
13-inch  pots.  The  Vines  should  be  cut  down  to  a  couple  of  eyes, 
and  when  they  have  produced  a  few  inches  of  growth  next  season 
shake  out  and  repot  into  7-inch  or  8-inch  pots,  and  when  these 
are  filled  with  roots,  and  before  they  become  matted  around  the 
sides,  shift  into  the  fruiting  pots. 
BUDDING  CHERRIES  ON  MAHALEB  STOCK— MADRES- 
FIELD  COURT  GRAPE  CRACKING  (J.  M.).— The  early  part 
of  July  is  a  proper  time  to  bud  this  stock  as  wTell  as  the  common 
Cherry  stock.  The  most  probable  cause  of  the  Grapes  “  splitting  ” 
is  an  insufficiency  of  nutriment  during  the  early  stages  of  swelling 
and  an  over-abundance  when  the  Grapes  are  approaching  the 
ripening  stage,  along  with  a  moist  atmosphere.  This  Grape  is 
liable  to  crack,  and  requires  a  rather  dry,  well-ventilated  atmo¬ 
sphere,  with  a  drier  condition  at  the  roots  when  ripening  than 
most  other  Grapes.  Well  grown  it  is  one  of  the  finest  of  autumn 
Grapes  both  in  appearance  and  quality. 
STRAWBERRY  PLANTS  DYING  OFF  (S.  H.  G.),— “  I  shall 
be  glad  if  you  can  tell  me  what  is  the  matter  with  my  Straw¬ 
berries.  Numbers  of  them  die  off  the  second  year,  and  the  third 
year  most  of  them  go.  The  first  season  after  planting  they  do 
well,  but  after  that  they  seem  to  go  back.  The  variety  is 
mostly  Royal  Sovereign,  though  other  varieties  suffer  as  well.  I 
may  say  I  always  bastard  trench  before  planting  in  the  autumn. 
Our  soil  is  very  heavy  here.  They  seem  to  go  so  soon  as  the  hot 
weather  sets  in.” 
[The  stems  are  infested  by  eelworm,  Tylenchus  devastatrix, 
and  also  by  a.  fungus,  a  species  of  Fusarium,  which  attacks  the 
plants  at  the  roots  and  ascends  the  stems  in  a  similar  manner  to 
sleeping  disease  in  Tomato  plants,  the  vascular  bundles  or  woody 
tissues  being  quite  brown  and  dead.  We  have  noticed  the  disease 
for  a  number  of  years,  but  have  not  been  in  a  position  to 
determine  the  species  definitely,  for  it  appears  only  F.  solani 
specialised  on  the  Strawberry,  hence  hardly  distinct  enough  for 
naming  F.  fragarise.  It  is,  however,  very  common,  and  like  sleep¬ 
ing  disease'  the  plants  do  not  collapse  suddenly,  but  gradually, 
and  generally  in  the  second  or  third  year  of  their  existence  from 
the  runner.  The  eelworm  may  play  some  part  in  the  collapse,  but 
they  are  not  affected  by  what  is  known  as  the  Cauliflower  disease 
— attack  in  the  crown  by  stem-eelworm,  Tylenchus  devastatrix. 
Indeed,  we  consider  the  fungus  the  cause  of  the  evil,  and  as  it 
leads  a  saprophytic  mode  of  life  before  assuming  the  parasite  it  is 
likely  that  a  good  liming  of  the  land  would  act  as  a  preventive. 
We  should,  however,  prefer  dressing  the  land,  after  bastard 
trenching  and  manuring,  with  basic  cinder  phosphate  71b  per  rod, 
and  3]lb  per  rod  of  kainit,  pointing  in  a  month  or  six  weeks  in 
advance  of  planting  and  forking  over  the  ground  a  foot  deep  before 
planting  the  Strawberry  runners.  In  spring  the  plants,  planted 
in  August,  may  be  dressed  with  a  mixture  in  equal  parts  of  super¬ 
phosphate  of  lime  and  nitrate  of  soda,  _  applying  lflb  of  the 
mixture  per  rod  when  the  plants  are  starting  into  growth,  point¬ 
ing  in  very  lightly.  This  treatment  we  have  found  satisfactory, 
the  plants  being  treated  as  biennials  or  at  most  triennials.  As 
your  land  is  heavy,  it  would,  perhaps,  be  advisable  to  use 
sulphate  of  ammonia,  one-third  the  amount  ,  instead  of  kainit,  and 
sulphate  of  ammonia  in  place  of  nitrate  of  soda.  However,  we 
have  found  the  other  preparations  give  good  results.] 
MELONS  FAILING  (I.  E.).— Even  if  you  had  supplied  us 
with  some  particulars  relative  to  the  treatment  your  plants  have 
received  and  the  weight  of  the  crop,  we  suspect  it  would  have 
been  difficult  for  us  to  state  the  cause  of  the  evil.;  without  some 
such  information  it  is  impossible.  The  fact  that,  your  plants 
have  produced  a  second  crop  suggests  that  they  are  more  or  less 
exhausted ;  this,  with  possibly  some  little  inattention  in  watering 
and  ventilating,  would  cause  the  foliage  to  collapse  and  the  steins 
to  shrink  as  in  the  specimens  before  us.  Withholding  water 
when  the  fruit  is  approaching  maturity  is  often  carried  to  excess, 
and  many  crops  are  thereby  impaired  if  not  ruined.  Whether 
this  is  the  cause- of  your  failure  we  are  unable  to  say,  being  quite 
without  data  for  determining  the  point,  or,  in  fact,  for  compre¬ 
hending  the  case  in  a.  satisfactory  manner. 
GRAPES  NOT  COLOURING  (Idem). — The  chief  cause  of 
Grapes  failing  to  colour  is  undoubtedly  defective  root-action  or 
insufficient  support:  injury  to  the  foliage,  either  by  insects  or 
scorching,  also,  contributes  to-  the  evil.  You  do  not  think  the 
Vines  have  been  overcropped  because  one  of  them  is  not  bearing 
more  than  81b  of  Grapes,  but  you  omit  to  state  either  the  age  or 
size  of  the  Vine,  which  information,  as  you  must  perceive  on 
reflection,  is  absolutely  necessary  for  us,  to  form  an  opinion  on 
that  point.  We  have  seen  hundreds  of  Vines  overcropped  with 
81b  of  Grapes  on  each,  and  hundreds  more  undercropped  with 
thrice  that  weight  of  fruit.  Everything  depends  on  the  constitu¬ 
tion  of  the  Vine,  the  activity  of  the  roots;  and  the  fertility 
cf  the  border.  We  strongly  suspect  that,  although  the  crop  may 
appear  light,  it  is  really  too  heavy,  and  that  more  vigorous  root- 
action  with  fresh  soil  are  needed  to  bring  the  Vine  into  a,  healthy 
condition  that  will  enable  it  to  finish  the  crop.  This  opinion  is 
founded  on  the  assumption  that  the  foliage  of  the  Vine  is  clean, 
not  overcrowded,  and  apparently  healthy.  If  we  were  acquainted 
with  the  actual  condition  of  the  Vines  and  border  and  the  leading 
points  of  your  treatment  we'  should  have  no  difficulty  in  answering 
your  letter,  but  with  a,  lack  of  knowledge  on  these  points  we 
cannot  reply  satisfactorily  to  ourselves. 
MELON  LEAVES  DISEASED  (F.  W.Kr-“  Will  you  please  tell 
me  the  cause  of  my  Melons  going  brown  at  the  leaves,  then  drying 
right  up?  Others  in  the  same  house  are  doing  well.” 
[The  leaves  are.  attacked  by  the  fungus  called  Cercospora 
melonis,  which  forms  irregular,  dry,  brown  spots  on  the  leaves, 
and  the  discolouration  extends  through  the  whole  leaf,  the  plant 
attacked  losing  its  leaves  in  great  numbers  daily,  while  the  stem 
and  roots  are  apparently  quite  sound.  The  disease  often  spreads 
quickly,  being  favoured  by  the  dispersion  of  the  dropped-out 
portions  of  the  leaf  bearing  conidia.  It  is  most  abundant  during 
a  spell  of  dull  damp  weather,  though  the  effects  are  most  pro¬ 
nounced  on  a  sudden  change  from  such  weather  to  bright  and 
droughty,  the  whole  leaves  on  a  plant  suddenly  collapsing.  As 
moist  conditions  favour  the  parasite  it  would  be  advisable  to  give 
plenty  of  air,  especially  in  the  early  part,  of  the  day,  and  not 
allow  water  to  rest  on  the,  foliage  for  any  length  of  time,  especially 
at  night.  As,  Bordeaux  mixture,  even  in  dilute  solutions,  injures 
the  tender  foliage,  and  ammoniacal  solution  of  copper  carbonate 
acts  somewhat  prejudicially  on  plants  with  hairy  leaves,  we 
should  spray  the  plants  with  a  solution  of  permanganate  cf  potash, 
and  also  saturate  the  surface  of  the  soil  with  the  solution.  C’ondy’s 
red  fluid,  a  wineglassful,  or  two  fluid  ounces  to  a  gallon  of  soft 
water,  would,  perhaps,  be  quite  strong  enough,  or  one  ounce  of 
the  crystals  to-  three  or  four  gallons  of  water.  The  chief  thing, 
however,  is  free  ventilation,  even  if  fire  heat  have  to  be  employed 
in  order  to  maintain  the  required  temperature,  and  admit  of  a 
circulation  of  air  in  dull  damp  weather.] 
STRAWBERRY  LEAVES  DISEASED  AND  FRUIT  DECAY¬ 
ING  (A  Perplexed  Gardener). — “  I  am  forwarding  to  you  some 
Strawberry  plants  and  leaves ;  could  you  please  tell  me  the  cause 
of  their  decay?  The  plants  are  in  their  second  year,  and  until  a 
week  ago  they  appeared  to  be  quite  healthy,  and  very  large  fruit; 
now  the  fruits  are  decayed  and  the  plants  are  dying.  A  plot  in  a 
gentleman’s  garden  about  six  miles  away  are  in  the  same  con¬ 
dition.  They  have  not  had  any  kind  of  manure  since  March.” 
[The  leaves  are  affected  by  the  Strawberry  leaf  blight  in  a 
very  malignant  form,  the  spots  not  yet  having  appeared,  but  the 
mycelial  hyphse  is  spread  in  the  whole  tissue  of  the  leaves.  This, 
Spharebia  fragarise,  will  no  doubt  appear  later.  The  fruit  is 
infested  with  the,  white  mould,  Botrytis  Candida,  and  there  are 
also  the  ccnidial  condition  of  the  leaf  spot  fungus,  once  called 
Ramulafia  tulasnei.  The  only  repressive  measure  is  to  collect 
the  affected  fruit  and  burn  it.  To  prevent  the  disease  another 
season  is  to  cut  off  the  tops  of  the  plants  as  soon  as  the  fruit  is 
gathered,  covering  them  when  dry  with  a  light  coating  of  straw, 
or  shaking  up  the  old  mulching,  and  when  all  is  dry  burning 
them.  This  harsh  treatment  may  seem  likely  to  kill  the  plants, 
but  such  is  not  the  case  when  the  material  for  burning  is  not 
excessive, being  attended  with  most  satisfactory  results, the  burned 
over  plants  soon  surprising  the  operator  by  the  vigorous  and 
healthy  appearance  of  the  new  foliage  which  soon  unfolds.  The 
disease  can  be  checked  by  spraying  with  Bordeaux  mixture. 
Spraying  should  commence  when  the  leaves  unfold,  and  be 
repeated  at  intervals  as  required  until  the  flowers  appear.] 
