7 JUNE 1946, Page 14

In My Garden

Parts of a plant sent me for identification proved to belong to the bush acer negundo, which has a seed like a maple but the leaf of an elder. It is worth growing. If not so beautiful as the Japanese maples it is much easier to grow, and is, at the worst, queer. Other inquiries refer to a singularly wide-spread disease of the year—the pear-leif blister mite, which is so small as to be scarcely visible. There is probably no complete cure at this season, except picking the leaves, but winter sprays generally keep the mite in order. On the other hand, the fungus pear-leaf blister may be checked by sprays of Bordeaux mixture at this date.

W. BEACH THOMAS.