472 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
November  20,  1902. 
The  Winter  Moth. 
Having  observed  several  near  a  Pear  tree,  I  placed  a  grease 
band  on  it,  and  caught  twice  as  many  moths — male  and  female — 
as  I  got  on  any  Apple  tree.  The  question  arises :  Does  the 
winter  moth  do  any  injury  to  the  foliage  and  fruit  of  Pear 
trees  ?  If  not,  why  do  they  frequent  them  ?  and  if  it  is  usual 
for  them  to  do  so,  would  it  not  be  desirable  to  grease-band  Pears 
as  well  as  Apples?  No  one  in  England  or  elsewhere  thinks  it 
worth  while  to  do  so.  One  male  carried  a  female  safely  over 
the  grease  band  into  the  tree. — C.  0.  Ellison,  Bracebridge, 
Lincoln. 
Coral  Spot  Disease  on  Shrubs  and  Trees. 
Of  late  years  the  bright,  coral-like  worts,  about  the  size  ©f 
a  millet  seed,  have  been  conspicuous  on  the  surface  of  dead 
branches,  and  even  on  the  stems  of  trees,  and  this  autumn 
(October  27)  are  plentiful  on  the  Lime,  Horse  Chestnut,  Syca¬ 
more,  and  Maple,  and  more  especially  on  the  Red  Currant. 
The  outgrow  ths  are  very  beautiful,  noticeable  at  some  distance, 
and  it  must  also  be  said  very  serious  in  consequences.  The 
small  bead-like  and  bright  red  studs  accord  with  tissue  that  has 
been  destroyed  by  the  mycelium  of  the  fungus  named  Nectria 
cinnabarina,  of  which  the.  numerous  bright,  cioral-Jike  out¬ 
growths  are  the  conidial  condition.  The  conidia,  or  spores,  are 
very  minute  and  produced  in  vast  numbers.  In  the  late  autumn 
or  early  winter  these  worts  assume  a  darker  red  colour,  and 
become  minutely  worted,  due  to  the  formation  of  the  ascigerous 
form  of  fruit.  In  this  form  the  fungus  passes  the  winter,  and 
in  the  spring  the  spores  produced  in  asci  are  liberated.  The 
mycelium  is  also  perennial  in  the  tissues,  as  the  disease  spreads 
from  the  base  or  centre  of  infection,  and  sometimes  kills  the 
branch  affected,  or  even  the  whole  tree  or  bush,  as  in  the.  ease 
of  the  White  Lime  (Tilia  argentea)  and  Red  Currant  (Ribes 
rub  rum),  that  have  been  particularly  noted. 
The  fungus  is  generally  a  saprophyte,  living  on  green  cut-off 
branches  or  stems,  the  fungus  not  presenting  signs  of  infection 
until  the  following  autumn,  when  the  surface  of  the  bark  is 
studded  with  the  bright,  coral-like  worts.  On  living  trees  it  is 
a  w  ound  parasite,  the  spores  or  conidia  germinating  on  the 
surface  of  the  wound,  and  the  mycelium  passes  into  the  living 
tissues,  penetrating  between  the  inner  bark  and  outer  wood, 
destroying  the  cambial  layer,  and  also  killing  the  bark.  The 
portion  of  killed  branch  or  stem  in  the  autumn  following 
attack  is  bedecked  with  the  bright  coloured  fruit  of  the  fungus. 
Prevention  and  Remedy. — As  infection  takes  place  by  a 
wound,  dressing  the  cuts  made  in  pruning,  whether  lopping  off 
branches  of  trees  by  saw'  or  cutting  off  twigs  of  shrubs  with  a 
knife,  with  a  prophylactic  substance  is  imperative  to  avoid 
attack.  For  thisi  purpose  Stockholm  tar  thinned  with  paraffin 
oil  to  the  consistency  of  paint,  thus  readily  applicable  with  a 
clean,  half-worn  paint  brush  answers  admirably,  applying  to 
the  wounds  only,  and  shortly  after  they  have  been  made.  On 
the  large  branch  wounds  of  trees  gas  tar  may  be  used,  in  each 
case  brushing  well  into  the  cut  tissues,  so  as  to  form  a  protec¬ 
tive  coat  over  them,  not  leaving  any  part  of  the  wound  un¬ 
coated. 
Diseased  branches  should  be  cut  off  to  some  little  distance 
below  the  appearance  of  the  bright-coloured  fruit,  burning  the 
diseased  branches,  though  there  is  no  danger  of  infection  from 
cut-off  or  dead  branches  lying  on  the  ground,  always  providing 
that  infection  cannot  take  place  through  the  wounds  on  the 
trees  or  shrubs,  they  being  duly  safeguarded  by  a  prophylactic 
dressing.  The  fungus  is  very  common  on  one-year  cut  Pea 
s’ticks  and  stakes,  therefore  to  destroy  these  by  burning  is 
both  desirable  and  even  necessary. 
In  the  case  of  infection  on  a  stem  the  bark  should  be  cut 
through  into  the  living  tissues,  and  the  diseased  entirely  re¬ 
moved,  burning  this  removed  portion  ;  then  dress  the  wound 
with  the  composition  of  Stockholm  tar  and  paraffin  oil  or  gas 
tar.  As  the  mycelium  spreads  somewhat  beyond  the  point 
where  it  indicates  its  presence  externally,  the  incision  through 
the  bark  should  be  made  well  into  the  living  tissues,  then  a 
circumferencial  boundary  of  sound  bark  and  wood  will  be  secured, 
and  the  wound  thus  made  needs  only  protection  from  attack 
outwardly,  and  new  bark  will  in  due  course  be  formed  around 
the  wound,  and  in  due  time  cover  it  entirely. — G.  Abbey. 
Illegal  Showing. 
Now  that  all  the  gardening  papers  are  full  of  reports  of  the 
different  shows  that  have  taken  place  all  over  the  country,  one 
often  wonders,  when  reading  the  prize  list,  and  more  so  when 
walking  round  admiring  the  different  exhibits,  if  all  are  grown 
by;  the  exhibitor,  as  there  is  so  much  borrowing  at  show  time. 
One  grower  knows  where  he  can  get  far  better  blooms  than  his 
own.  I  heard  an  exhibitor  say  last  year  that  he  had  that 
morning  sold  two  dozen  blooms  for  exhibition,  which  was  not 
much  to  his  credit.  Again,  take  the  fruit  and  vegetable  classes. 
One  man  I  know  scours  the  country  before  fruit-gathering  time 
picking  up  a  good  dish  here  and  another  one  there,  and  then  at 
the  shows  prize  cards  are  fixed  to  them  as  grown  by  him. 
Another  has  a  friend  living  down  south,  who  sends  him  an  extra 
good  dish  or  two.  Then,  again,  take  vegetable  collections.  One 
often  sees  some  variety  of  which  you  know  the  exhibitor  has 
none.  I  think  the  time  has  come  when  all  such  practices  should 
be  put  a  stop  to.  No  doubt,  the  readers  in  the  Journal  will  say  : 
How  is  it  to  be  done?  Surely  some  way  could  be  found  to  stop 
what  I  call  illegal  showing.  I  am  sure  any  lady  or  gentleman 
would  stop  their  gardener  from  showing  anything  but  what 
was  grown  in  their  garden.  It  is,  however,  the  man  that  is  his 
own  master  who  makes  a  business  of  showing  that  would  be  the 
most  difficult  to  stop. — A  Yorkshire  Grower. 
Pruning  Fruit  Trees  at  Planting. 
I  am  sorry  your  correspondent  “  Observer  ”  has  misunderstood 
my  article  on  the  above  subject.  He  quotes  two  sentences 
detached  from  different  parts  of  the  article,  which  certainly 
appear  contradictory  on  a  first  reading.  The  first,  however, 
deals  with  the  comparative  results  of  pruning  at  planting  time 
and  leaving  the  trees  unpruned — that  is,  allowing  the  whole  of 
the  previous  season’s  growth  to  form  a  part  of  the  future  tree ; 
while  the  second  deals  with  the  results  of  deterring  the  pruning 
of  a  tree  till  after  a  season’s  growth,  and  then  cutting  back 
some  of  the  wood  which  was  on  the  tree  at  the  time  of  purchase. 
Surely  these  two  sentences  cannot  be  contradictory.  In  case 
my  meaning  may  have  been  obscure  to  others  as  well  as  to  your 
correspondent,  perhaps  I  may  be  allowed  to  repeat  the  gist  of 
my  contention,  namely,  that  the  non-pruning  of  newly  planted 
trees  leads  to  weak  growth  with  the  bearing  of  fruit  before  the 
branches  are  strong  enough  to  support  it,  whilst  the  immediate 
cutting  back  of  the  young  wood  at  planting  time  strengthens 
the  growth,  whilst  encouraging,  in  most  sorts  of  fruit  trees,  the 
formation  of  fruit  spurs.  When  pruning  is  deferred  till  after  a 
season’s  grow'th,  and  then  that  growth,  with  that  of  a  part  of 
the  previous  season,  is  removed,  the  vigour  of  the  tree  is  un¬ 
doubtedly  increased;  but  time  is  lost,  while  the  tree  in  the 
meantime,  at  any  rate  with  dwarf  trees,  may  become  too  strong. 
Thanking  you,  sir,  for  allowing  me  this  opportunity  of  explaining 
my  meaning. — A.  Petts,  Chelmsford. 
Do  Plants  Grow  at  Night  ? 
From  my  earliest  associations  with  plants  this  question,  to 
a  certain  extent,  exercised  my  attention.  I  have  little  doubt 
the  same  thing  has  occurred  in  the  experience  of  many  others 
similarly  situated.  Gardeners,  farmers,  and  foresters  are  all 
brought  in  daily  contact  with  plant  life,  and  it  is1  scarcely 
possible  that  any  one  of  them  could  pass  a  lifetime  in  its  presence 
without  being  impressed  with  the  question  whether  or  not  does 
the  plant  cease  from  labour  during  the  night,  like  all  the  rest 
of  animated  Nature,  and  participate  in  that  divine  repose  so 
essential  for  the  welfare  of  animal  existence.  Either  of  the 
above  mentioned  professional  gentlemen  will  almost  off-handed 
tell  one  that  the  evidences  are  favourable  to  the  supposition  of 
night  growth.  Some  of  them,  indeed,  will  go  to  the  length  of 
saying  that  it  is  during  that  time  plant  architecture  is  appa¬ 
rently  most  active. 
And  it  must  be  granted  that  the  apparent  evidences  are 
somewhat  conclusive  in  character.  Young  Vine  shoots,  and  many 
other  softwooded  plants,  give  strong  indications  of  night  growth 
between  the  time  that  the  gardener  leaves  off  duty  in  the  evening 
and  his  return  in  the  early  morning,  so  that  little  wonder  need 
be  entertained  at  the  opinions  vouched  by  the  evidenoe  of  the 
person’s  eyes.  All  careful  observers  have  experienced  the  same 
state  of  things,  but,  like  other  apparently  real  things,  some 
always  exist  to  doubt  the  very  evidence  of  their  eyes,  unless 
such  can  be  philosophically  substantiated.  There  is,  therefore, 
no  wonder  to  find  that  some  exist,  of  which  the  writer  is  one, 
w'ho  cannot  throw  in  their  lot  with  those  who  believe  that  plants 
grow  in  the  night.  Without  entering  into  the  chemical  processes 
which  take  place  in  the  plant  economy,  and  which,  upon  the 
whole,  are  unfavourable  to  the  idea  of  growth  during  the  partial 
suspension  of  solar  energy,  there  is  sufficient  corroborative 
evidence  in  the  fact  that  the  sun  is  the  source  of  life  to  reason¬ 
ably  repel  the  stoutest  asseverations  of  those  who  maintain 
contrary  views.- — E.  C.  Chisholm. 
