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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
November  5,  1903. 
All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should  be  directed 
to  “The  Editor,”  12,  Mitre  Court  Chambers,  Fleet  Street, 
London’,  E.C.  It  is  requested  that  no  one  will  write  privately 
to  any  of  our  correspondents,  seeking  information  on  matters 
discussed  in  this  Journal,  as  doing  so  subjects  them  to  unjustifi¬ 
able  trouble  and  expense.  In  naming  plants  we  only  undertake 
to  name  species,  or  well-marked  varieties,  and  only  six  on  any 
one  occasion.  Florists’  flowers  we  do  not  name. 
Insect :  is  it  injuriofs  to  cyclamens?  (H.  k.).— 
The  insect  is  one  of  the  Springtails,  evidently  Achorntes  pur- 
purascens,  and  is  probably  induced  by  the  leaf  mould  or  other 
decayed  matter  in  the  compost.  It  is  to  a  certain  extent 
injurious,  but  commonly  does  not  exist  in  such  number  as  to  cause 
material  injury,  though  in  hotbeds  it  sometimes  causes  consider¬ 
able  harm  by  rasping  the  stems  of  seedling  Cucumbers  and  other 
plants.  Lightly  dusting  air-slaked  lime  in  the  soil  is  a  good 
means  of  riddanca. 
PROPAGATING  WHITE  LAPAGERIA  (A  Reader).— White 
Lapageria  (L.  rosea  alba)  is  usually  propagated  by  layers.  Strong, 
firm  shoots,  when  layered  and  covered  with  soil,  producing  fine 
young  plants,  the  operation  may  be  performed  in  the  autumn 
or  spring,  rooting  being  facilitated  by  notching  below  a  joint 
and  thus  secured  and  covered  with  soil.  It  may  also  be  raised 
from  seed  .sown,  soon  after  being  gathered,  in  a  sandy  peat  soil, 
and  kept  in  a  moderate  heat.  Where  Lapagerias  are  raised  in 
quantity,  beds  of  suitable  soil  are  prepared,  the  parent  plants 
placed  in  them,  and  the  shoots  pegged  down.  A  moist,  medium 
temperature  is  maintained,  and  when  young  plants  are  suffi¬ 
ciently  established  they  are  detached  and  potted. 
ROOTS  OF  VINES  DECAYED  (Grapes,  Onward). — The  roots 
are  certainly  quite  dead  and  in  a  state  of  decay,  also  infested  by 
the  mycelium  of  some  fungus,  but  whether  that  of  Agaricus  (or, 
properly,  Armillaria  mellea)  meleus,  as  you  suppose,  we  are  unable 
to  say,  in  the  absence  of  ascophores  or  other  definite  form  of 
fructification.  There  is  no  remedy  but  the  fire  for  roots  so  far 
advanced  in  decay,  and  unless  the  Vines  have  some  living  roots, 
it  would  be  advisable  to  uproot  them  altogether  and  plant  new 
Amines  in  entirely  freshly  made  borders.  The  cau.se  is,  no  doubt, 
a  bad  condition  of  the  border,  it  being  of  too  close,  too  rich,  or 
unsuitable  materials — hence  sodden  and  sour,  the  drainage,  per¬ 
haps,  not  having  been  efficient. 
GRAFTING  ORANGE  TREE  (X.  Y.  Z.).— It  i.s  too  late  to 
graft,  as  the  stock  will  be  at  rest.  The  best  time  is  when  the 
sap  i.s  in  motion,  say  in  spring  up  to  Augu.st,  side  grafting  being 
practised,  the  scion  having  its  lower  end  placed  in  a  phial  of 
water  to  keep  the  leaves  fresh  until  the  union  is  complete.  The 
usual  mode  of  propagation  is  by  budding  performed  in  August, 
young  plants  being  jilaced  under  a  handglass  after  the  operation. 
In  the  course  of  a  month  the  union  will  be  complete,  when 
loosen  the  ligature  and  remove  the  top  of  the  handlight.  The 
budded  plants  should  be  headed  down  in  spring,  three  inches 
above  the  buds,  and  if  the  pots  are  plunged  in  a  hotbed  the  buds 
will  start  and  make  shoots  two  feet  or  more  long  by  August, 
when  they  should  be  gradually  hardened  off. 
SHOOTS  OF  YEW  DISCOLOURED  (Reay,  Surrey).— The 
shoots  are  affected  by  the  disease  known  as  “  Yew-leaf  redness,” 
which  is  produced  by  a  fungus  closely  allied  to,  if  not  identical 
with,  that  causing  “  Spruce-leaf  redne.ss  ”  (Hysterium  macro- 
sporum).  Its  presence  may  be  detected  by  the  leaves  of  the 
previous  year’s  shoots  turning  brown  in  May,  or  possibly  not  till 
autumn,  and  by  the  invariable  occurrence  of  abundant  mycelia 
in  the  leaves  even  before  they  become  brown.  Leav’es  which 
change  colour  in  spring  reveal  the  commencement  of  the  forma¬ 
tion  of  perithecia  in  July  of  the  same  year,  and  these  ripen  next 
spring  in  April  and  May.  At  that  time  they  are  present  on  the 
two-year-old  shoots.  This  is  the  case  in  a  wet  season,  when, 
owing  to  the  humid  atmosphere,  the  disease  is  of  rapid  develop¬ 
ment.  Under  drier  conditions,  on  the  other  hand,  the  leaves 
on  two-year-old  shoots  do  not  become  brown  till  October,  and 
the  formation  of  perithecia  begins  on  three-year-old  leaves  in 
June  of  the  following  year,  the  spores  ripening  in  the  succeeding 
March  or  April.  On  the  two-year-old  leaves  there  are  some 
blackish  pustules,  now  somewhat  rounded,  but  ultimately  they 
become  elongated,  yet  not  so  long  and  straight  in  the  case  of 
affected  Spruce  leaves.  The  perithecia  are  produced  on  the 
under  side  of  the  leaves.  The  whole  of  the  leaves  on  an  affected 
shoot  are  u.sually  brown — that  is,  the  two-year  and  one-year-old 
leaves — but  the  “  fruits  ”  only  appear  on  the  two-year-old  leaves. 
The  only  repressive  measure  known  is  to  cut  off  the  affected 
growths  and  burn  them,  which  should  be  done  by  or  before 
March. 
POINSETTIAS  DEVOID  OF  BRACTS  (H.  K.).— As  the 
beauty  of  Euphorbia  (syn.  Poinsettia)  pulcherrima  resides  in  the 
bracts  with  which  the  flowers  are  surrounded,  it  is  very  tanta¬ 
lising  to  have  the  plants  practically  bractle,ss,  as  in  your  speci¬ 
mens.  The  defect  usually  arises  from  defective  maturity  of  the 
wood  or  its  solidification  during  formation,  and  this  appears  the 
only  reason  for  the  condition  of  your  plants,  the  dull,  wet  season 
not  favouring  the  sturdy,  short  jointed,  w’ell  solidified  growth 
so  essential  for  the  production  of  fine  heads  of  bracts.  As  the 
object  is  to  produce  a  large  terminal  head  of  bracts,  the  plants 
should  be  grown  as  sturdily  a.s  possible,  an  intermediate  house 
answering  well  in  ordinary  seasons  ;  but  in  such  as  the  recent 
summer  the  plants  are  liable  to  become  softer  than  usual,  and 
in  consequence  would  be  liable  to  suffer  from  an  ordinary  fumiga¬ 
tion  that  under  a  harder  condition  of  the  growth  would  not  be 
injuriously  affected.  The  plants  will  not  bear  a  low  temperature 
in  autumn,  the  result  being  invariably  the  loss  of  either  the 
lower  leaves  or  bracts.  When  the  bracts  appear,  more  heat  and 
some  manure  water  may  be  applied  to  expand  them.  Retaining 
the  foliage  in  good  condition  throughout  the  season  is  one  of  the 
main  provisions  for  securing  the  full  development  of  the  flower 
heads.  Sudden  changes  of  temperature  in  either  direction  mu.st 
be  avoided,  and  the  plants  exposed  to  plenty  of  light  and  full 
sunshine,  except  when  it  is  very  strong,  in  summer. 
TEA  AND  HYBRID  TEA  ROSES  PLANTED  OUT  IN 
GREENHOUSE  (Rosa). — The  first  thing  to  be  attended  to  is  the 
drainage.  A  foot  depth  of  rubble  should  be  provided,  and  the 
bottom  of  this  fall  to  a  drain  having  proper  incline  and  outlet. 
The  roughest  material,  half-brick  size,  should  be  placed  at 
bottom,  and  diminishing  to  road  metal  size  at  top;  over  this  a 
layer  of  old  mortar  rubbish,  two  or  three  inches  thick,  may  be 
placed.  Thus  water  cannot  stagnate  around  the  roots  of  the 
plants,  and  they  will  receive  the  air  or  warmth  the  soil  needs 
and  is  es.sential  for  health.  The  soil  in  which  Roses  succeed  well 
is  composed  of  two  parts  of  stiff,  turfy  loam,  broken  up  but  not 
sifted,  two  parts  manure  (preferably  road  gatherings  laid  by  for 
a  season,  or  the  remains  of  a  hotbed,  not  too  far  decomposed, 
and  to  which  is  added  a  third  part  of  its  bulk  of  road  scrapings), 
and  one  part  charred  earth  or  sand.  This  compost  should  be 
thrown  up  in  a  heap  in  autumn,  and  turned  two  or  three  times 
during  winter,  and  a  little  air-slaked  lime  and  soot  scattered 
throughout  to  destroy  or  drive  out  w’orms  and  grubs.  It  should 
be  used  to  a  depth  of  two  feet  and  made  tolerably  firm,  always 
making  up  the  border  when  the  material  is  in  good  working 
order — neither  too  wet  nor  too  dry.  The  Roses  may  then  be 
planted,  early  in  spring  being  a  good  time,  just  before  or  w’hen 
they  are  starting  into  growth.  We  presume  you  intend  the 
plants  as  climbers,  of  which  Alister  Stella  Gray  (N.),  light  yellow ; 
Belle  Lyonnaise  (T.),  deep  canary  yellow,  tinted  with  rose ; 
Bouquet  d’Or  (N.),  deep  yellow,  coppery  centre;  Celine  Forestier 
(N.),  pale  yellow,  deep  yellow  centre;  Cheshunt  Hybrid  (T.), 
cherry  carmine;  Lamarque  (N.),  lemon  yellow;  Gloire  de  Dijon 
(T.),  yellow,  shaded  with  pink  ;  L’Ideal  (N.),  yellow,  with  metallic 
tints  of  copper  and  gold  ;  Madame  Berard  (T.),  clear  light  rose  ; 
Marechal  Niel  (T.),  deep  yellow ;  Reine  Marie  Henriette  (T.), 
bright  crimson  ;  Solfaterre  (N.),  suliihur  yellow ;  and  William 
Allen  Richardson  (N.),  orange  yellow;  Climbing  Devoniensis  (T.), 
creamy  white,  tinted  rose ;  Climbing  Niphetos  (T.),  white  or 
pale  yellow  ;  Climbing  Perle  des  Jardins  (T.),  straw  yellow  ;  and 
Climbing  La  France  (H.T.),  rose  lilac,  are  good.  From  the  fore¬ 
going  you  may  select  according  to  taste  for  colour  and  require¬ 
ments,  the  plants  not  being  nearer  than  3ft,  and  are  better  J^ft 
distance  apart,  given  full  run  of  rafter  and  trellis,  not  further 
from  glass  than  1ft.  The  plants,  all  points  considered,  are, 
perhaps,  best  on  seedling  Briar.  If  you  require  dwarf  plants 
for  growing  as  bushes  or  pyramids,  you  cannot  do  better  than 
select  from  the  tables  given  in  our  columns  of  October  29, 
page  392. 
NAMES  OF  FRUITS. — Correspondents  whose  queries  are  rin- 
answered  in  the  present  issue  are  respectfully  requested  to  consult  the 
following  number.  (F.  J.  R.). — 1,  Scarlet  Nonpareil;  2.  Egremont 
Russet.  (P.  P.). — Pear  Catillac.  (F.  N.). — 1,  Beauty  of  Kent ;  2, 
Mabbot’s  Pearmain  ;  3,  Margil. 
NAMES  OF  PLANTS.  —  Correspondents  tv  hose  queries  are 
unanswered  in  the  vresent  issue  are  respectfully  requested  to  consult 
the  folloiving  number.  (W.  A.  B.). — 1,  Lcelia  Digbyana  purpurata. 
(T.  O.). — 1,  Draciena  Massangeana  ;  2,  D.  Goldiena ;  3,  Polygonum 
vaecinifoliuin.  (G.  C.). — A  Bilbergia  sp.  (T.  X.). — 1.  Teeoma 
radieans ;  2,  Cupressus  filifera  gracilis  ;  3,  Phyllostachys  nitida. 
Covent  Garden  Market.— November  4th. 
Averag:e  Wholesale  Prices.— Vegetables. 
s.  d.  s.  d 
Artichokes,  green,  doz.  2  6  to3  6 
,,  Jerusalem,  sieve  16  0  0 
Batavia,  doz .  2  0  0  0 
Beet,  red.  doz .  0  6  0  0 
Brussels  Sprouts,  ^sieve  2  0  2  6 
Horseradish,  bunch  ... 
Leeks,  bunch  . 
Lettuce,  Cabbage,  doz. 
Mushrooms,  per  lb.  ... 
Onions,  Spanish,  case 
s.  d.  8.  d 
1  9  to  2  0 
0  2  0  2i 
0  6  0  0 
16  0  0 
5  0  0  0 
