May  12,  1904 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
419 
FORESTRY  (Lowes).— You  will  doubtless  find  all  the  infor¬ 
mation  yon  require  in  “  Practical  Forestry,”  published  by 
Crosby  Lockwood  and  Son,  7,  Stationers’  Hall  Conit,  Ludgate 
Hill,  at  3s.  Gd. 
REED  OR  WICKER  HFRDLE  (G.  D.).— The  Dutch  bulb 
growers  employ  hurdles  similar  to  those  here  illustrated  for  the 
protection  of  certain  plants.  Tlie«e  kind  of  hurdles  or  protec¬ 
tive  barriers  have  also  been  largely  adopted  by  Messrs.  Barr  and 
Sons  at  their  Long  Ditton  nursery,  where  they  find  them  most 
serviceable  for  providing  shade  to  certain  alpines  and  other 
hardy  dwarf  perennials,  as  well  as  for  giving  some  necessary 
shelter  against  cutting  winds.  Indeed,  so  us,ed  to  these  have 
the  growers  at  Ditton  become,  that  one  wonders  what  they 
would  do  without  them.  The  hurdles  are  simply  made  of  reeds 
or  light  willow  wands,  sometimes  also  of  laths  or  sparring ;  and 
they  measure  roughly  7ft  or  8ft  hy  4ft  or  5ft.  It  is  an  easy 
matter  to  fix  them  to  uprights,  and  so  to  form  squares,  or  three 
sides  of  a  square,  and  as  many  squares  as  may  be  desired. 
ALSTROMERIA  ROOTS  NOT  GROWING  (C.  N.  H.).— 
The  fleshy,  fasciculated  roots  are  quite  sound,  bnt  their  crowns 
are  dried,  withered,  and  dead,  which  is  the  cause  of  their  not 
growing.  This  is  not  unusual  in  the  case  of  divided  roots,  the 
crowns  being  either  absent  or  damaged  in  the  division,  conse- 
(juently  there  is  no  resultant  growth.  It  is  likely,  however, 
that  the  crowns  have  been  eaten  by  slugs  or  some  other  pests, 
though  from  excessive  moisture  they  sometimes  perish,  espe¬ 
cially  in  the  case  of  recently  divided  and  planted  roots.  The 
best  position  for  Alstromerias  is  a  deep  and  dry  sloping,  shel¬ 
tered  border,  in  a  compost  of  two  parts  peat  and  leaf  soil,  and 
one  loam,  with  some  sharp  sand.  In  dividing,  it  is  necessary  to 
retain  a  crown  to  each  division,  this  operation  being  jjer- 
formed  during  September  or  October,  or  February  and  March, 
and  must  always  be  done  carefully.  Indeed,  except  for  pur¬ 
poses  of  increase,  the  less  the  roots  are  disturbed  the  better. 
DO  ANTS  DO  ANY  DAMAGE  (Idem). — Ants  may  have  some 
uses  in  the  soil  that  are  as  yet  unexplained,  but  they  are 
certainly  injurious  to  flowers  in  some  cases,  though  not  com¬ 
monly,  and  also  fencourage  aphides,  both  below  and  above 
ground,  in  order  that  they  may  “  milch  ”  them,  or  feed  on  their 
filthy  secretions,  known  as  honeydew.  They  also  do 
mechanical  damage  to  plants  in  pots  and  other  receptacles, 
likewise  cause  unsightly  hills  on  lawns  and  paths,  and  the  large 
black  species  that  live  in  decayed  ivood  often  injure  the  framing 
of  greenhouses,  Ac.,  when  the  wood  is  somewhat  decayed.  Apts 
are  also  destructive  of  fruit,  particularly  Apricots,  Peaches, 
and  Nectarines  and  Pears.  The  best  remedy  outdoors  and  on 
soil  is  to  disturb  the  nest  with  a  fork  in  the  evening  and  pour 
on  it  a  solution  of  Fir-tree  or  Bitter-oil  insecticide.  The  paraffin 
oil  emulsions  diluted  with  about  six  times  their  bulk  of  water 
are  also  effectual,  sprinkling  over  the  nests  every  few  days. 
Indoors  the  best  remedy  is  poison,  the  articles  called  Formica- 
cide  and  Ballikinrain  Ant  I)e.stroyers  acting  efficaciously  ;  hut 
care  must  be  exercised  in  their  iise. 
CAUSE  OF  AVITCHES’  BROOMS  ON  BIRCHES  (T.  P.  L.). 
— The  cause  of  the  curious  clusters  of  twigs,  looking  very  much 
like  the  nest  of  a  large  bird,  such  as  the  magpie,  at  a  distance. 
are  that  of  a  minute  fungus  named  Exioascus  turgidus.  The 
mycelium  of  tlio  fungus  lives  in  the  tissues  of  the  host-plant, 
leaves  and  bark,  the  twigs  being  somewhat  swollen,  and  both 
they  and  the  sickly-looking  leaves  upon  them  are  duller  green 
than  usual,  and  frequently  show  a  slightly  velvety  surface. 
This  is  due  to  the  ”  fruits  ”  of  the  fuugus,  which  can  only  be 
detected  by  a  lens  of  high  magnifying  power.  In  the  Birch 
a  diseased  condition,  a  good  deal  like  a  young  AVitch  knot,  is 
often  of  frequent  occurrence.  It  is  the  work  of  a  species  of 
Phytoptus  or  gall  mite,  and  results  from  the  stimulation  of  tlu' 
mites  in  the  interior  of  the  buds,  which  aie  iuci'easing  in  size, 
but  never  develop  properly.  The  buds  in  the  axils  of  the 
leaf  scales,  instead  of  remaining  undeveloped,  enlarge  to  a  con¬ 
spicuous  size,  or  grow  into  stunted  branches,  and  on  this  pro¬ 
cess  being  repeated  year  after  year,  the  mass  of  buds,  Ac.,  may 
reach  the  .size  of  a  ciicket  ball,  but  is  usually  much  smaller. 
There  is  no  real  difficulty  in  distinguishing  these  mites  (Phy¬ 
toptus  betuli)  galls  from  true  AATtch  knots  or  brooms.  The 
only  method  likely  to  be  of  any  use  is  to  cut  off  and  burn  AVitch 
knots  of  all  kinds. 
NAMES  OF  PLANTS.  —  Correspondents  whose  queries  are 
unanswered  in  the  present  issue  are  respectfully  requested  to  consult 
the  following  number.  (R.  T.). — Cheilanthes  hirta,  Berberis  empetri- 
folia.  (H.  N.). — Megasea  cordifolia  purpurea,  Prunus  Padus,  Cassia 
corymbosa,  Aubrietia  Hendersoni. 
- - - 
Miscellaneous  Notes, 
Denmatine  Pnice  List. 
AAbtli  this  price  list  comes  a  “short  account  (illustrated)  of 
the  discovery  and  manufacture  of  India-rubber,  Gutta-percha, 
and  Dermatine,”  written  hy  an  expert.  This  is  obtainable  from 
the  Dermatine  Company,  Limited,  95,  Neate  Street,  London, 
S.E.  Alaps  are  furnished  showing  parts  of  the  world  where  I'aw 
rubber  is  obtained  ;  and  from  the  index  to  this  well-arranged 
price  list,  we  find  that  dermatine  is  employed  for  belting,  air- 
pump  valves,  tajD-washers,  hydraulic  rings  and  pump  cups ; 
garden  and  delivery  hose  ;  mats  and  stair  treading ;  tubing  and 
other  purposes.  Dermatine  was  patented  in  1884-5,  and  the 
manufacturers  have  sought  to  improve  upon  and  develop  the 
ideas  expressed  in  the  patents,  with  the  result  that  the  material 
is  now  put  to  the  many  different  uses  above  described.  “  UniiKe 
rubber,  which  is  so  apt  to  stick  when  used  as  a  packing,  derma¬ 
tine  is  practically  inadhesive  ;  and  another  point  to  which  atten¬ 
tion  may  be  directed  is  that  there  is  scarcely  any  tendency  in 
dermatine  goods  to  blow  or  produce  free  sulphur.  ...  It  can  be 
made  of  varying  degrees  of  hardness,  from  that  of  the  most 
flexible  rubber  to  that  of  vulcanite  or  ebonite.” 
Meteorological  Observations  at  Wisley,  Surrey. 
Taken  in  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society’s  Gardens — height 
above  sea  level,  150  feet. 
Date. 
Temperature  of  the 
Air. 
P 
Temperature 
of  the  Soil. 
At  9  a'.m. 
Wind. 
o 
1901. 
At  9  A.M. 
Day. 
Night 
55 
At 
At 
At 
a 
d 
« 
c 
.2 
Total 
velocity 
lor  the 
24  hours 
ending 
9  a.m.  , 
c 
3 
•Ji 
a 
May. 
Dry 
Cull). 
Wet 
Bulb. 
Highest 
Lowest 
/J 
P 
0 
1-ft. 
deep 
2-ft. 
deep 
4-ft. 
deep 
o 
09 
w 
5 
72 
Sun.  1 
dea;. 
62 
(leg. 
46 
deg. 
62 
deg. 
4.6 
deg 
39 
deg 
5U 
deg. 
50 
do?. 
43 
In.s. 
0-14 
s.w. 
Mile.s. 
317 
li.  m. 
9  4 
Mon.  2 
49 
47 
f3 
4  7 
41 
62 
6t 
48 
0-15 
w. 
2  8 
— 
'J'ues.  b 
52 
46 
65 
39 
31 
49 
60 
48 
— 
s.w. 
176 
3  13 
Wed.  i 
61 
45 
69 
39 
29 
49 
50 
49 
— 
N. 
97 
10  49 
Thurs  6 
64 
47 
61 
46 
39 
61 
50 
49 
0  04 
S  w. 
223 
6  39 
Kri.  6 
50 
44 
55 
41 
39 
62 
51 
49 
0-02 
w. 
217 
7  13 
Sar.  7 
48 
44 
49 
42 
31 
51 
51 
49 
0-01 
w. 
08 
0  51 
jMeans 
51 
43 
56 
43 
36 
51 
60 
49 
Total 
0-36 
— 
1  9 
5  26 
Orchids  at  Dusseldorf. — In  the  exhibition  of  orchids  held 
in  Du.sseldorf  (Germany),  there  was  one  group  of  Cattleyas 
which  was  valued  at  £14,000,  and  fifteen  specimens  of  Odonto- 
glossum  represented  together  a  value  of  £25,000. 
Professor  Munson,  of  the  Maine  Agricultural  Experiment 
Station,  has  completed  his  studies  upon  reciprocal  crosses  in  the 
fertilisation  of  flowers,  and  tne  results  will  be  published  in  a 
bulletin  in  the  early  summer. 
