Accession No

6662.1

Brief Description

Folder of 19 paintings/drawings labelled "Asparagus," no. 1 of 35, by Dr W. A. R. Dillon Weston, English, 1930s

Origin

England; Cambridgeshire

Maker

Dillon Weston, W. A. R.

Class

natural history

Earliest Date

1932

Latest Date

1938

Inscription Date

Material

paper

Dimensions

365mm x 250mm

Special Collection

Dr W. A. R. Dillon Weston Collection

Provenance

Inscription

Many pages have typed notes; see Description Notes.

Description Notes

Folder of 19 paintings/drawings labelled "Asparagus," no. 1 of 35, by Dr W. A. R. Dillon Weston, English, 1930s

NOTE: all objects have been transferred into archive folders for conservation purposes; original folders were photographed (see Images) and are stored separately.

6662.1.a -- "ASPARAGUS RUST Puccinia Asparagi, DC. Teliospore stage"
Two watercolour paintings of a "BURN-INFECTED 'BOWER' IN THE AUTUMN": a large one showing the infected plant with bare, spotted branches & red berries, and a smaller one showing an infected branch with black spots. The notes describe the disease and refer to Dillon Weston's correspondence with Professor Sir Rowland Biffen (well known botanist & geneticist who investigated genetic resistance to rust in wheat) and with Dr. G. H. Pethybridge, Dillon Weston's colleague at the School of Agriculture in Cambridge.

6662.1.b -- "ASPARAGUS RUST Teleutospore stage."
Two watercolour paintings of "first year asparagus plants taken from a large Cambridgeshire nursery," covered with a sheet of wax paper. The notes describe the setting in which the infected plants were found, and suggest various strategies for controlling and avoiding the disease, which involve various forms of sulphur. Dates 1933-1934.

6662.1.c -- "Asparagus rust. Puccinia asapragi."
Three paintings of infected plants, showing bare stems with black spots. The location (Bedfordshire) and date (November 1933) of the sample plants are noted.

6662.1.d -- "Asparagus rust Puccinia asparagi, D. C."
Three watercolour paintings, labelled "The black rust stage (i.e. teletospore stage)"; "The cluster cup (aecidial stage)." and "An infected stubble." The first two show the plant aboveground, while the third (the stubble) shows the root system.

6662.1.e -- "Asparagus Rust. (Puccinia asparagi)"
One watercolour painting showing the root system, in soil, of an infected asparagus plant. The notes describe the setting in which the infected plants were found, and suggest various strategies for controlling and avoiding the disease. Date 1934.

6662.1.f -- "Asparagus Rust"
Two watercolour paintings of infected asparagus specimens; the labels note that they are from different farms. The smaller painting has been cut and pasted onto the page. Both dated October 1934.

6662.1.g -- "Asparagus rust. Puccinia asparagi. DC."
Three watercolour paintings, covered with a sheet of wax paper, labelled "The black rust stage (i.e. teletospore)"; "Black rust stage" and "An infected stubble." The first two show the plant aboveground, while the third (the stubble) shows the root system.

6662.1.h -- "Asparagus rust. (Puccinia asparagi) Aecidial stage."
One watercolour painting of an infected specimen, with the soil level indicated with a typed line, and noting the farm of origin in Cambridgeshire, the variety, and the date (4 June 1934). Covered with a sheet of wax paper.

6662.1.i -- "Asparagus Rust. Puccinia asparagi DC. (Composite sketch to illustrate various stages in the life history of the fungus causing Asparagus Rust)."
One composite watercolour painting of an asparagus plant, with three stages of the fungus' life cycle (Teleutospore, Uredospore and Aecidial) indicated. Methods of control are also noted. Dated 2 June, in pencil.

6662.1.j -- "Asparagus rust. Puccinia Asparagi."
Two watercolour paintings of infected plants, covered with a sheet of wax paper. The first is labelled "Aecidial stage. State of plant June 4th 1934" and the second, showing the root system, "Teleutospore stage. State of Plant Feb 2nd."

6662.1.k -- "Asparagus rust."
One watercolour painting of an infected asparagus plant, covered with a sheet of wax paper. The farm of origin and date (19 October 1933) of the specimen are noted.

6662.1.l -- "ASPARAGUS RUST Puccinia asparagi, DC."
Two watercolour painting of infected asparagus plants with bare branches, one with red berries. The notes describe the location and state of the field in which the specimen was found, the variety of asparagus, and the prevalence of the disease in East Anglia.

6662.1.m - "Rotting at crown."
One watercolour painting of the root system & lower stalks of an asparagus plant, with brown and teal rot affecting a few of the new buds. The notes describe state of the field and farm, investigate and dismiss the possibility of the rot being due to other more familiar fungi, and speculate about potential causes (frost or improper fertiliser application). Another note, apparently typed later, refers to a second similar specimen received, and suggests that Penicillium sp. may be responsible.

6662.1.n -- "ASPARAGUS."
Watercolour painting of an infected asparagus stalk, labelled "Pleospora herbarum following Helicobasidium purpureum" in type. The same is scrawled in pencil beside.

6662.1.o -- "A saprophyte with some resemblance to rust."
A watercolour painting of a bare, infected asparagus branch cut and pasted onto the page. The notes indicate that several samples have been received and identifies the fungus as Pleospora herbarum.

6662.1.p -- "Asparagus. Spotting of Stem."
A watercolour painting of an infected asparagus stem. The notes describe the farm of origin and speculate as to possible causes of the disease.

6662.1.q -- " 'Coppery Web' Helicobasidium Purpureum, Pat. (Rhizoctonia Crocorum DC.)"
A watercolour painting of an asparagus plant with purple roots. The typed notes are addressed to an unknown party, and ask whether they often encounter cases similar to the one represented.

6662.1.r -- "Asparagus beetle. (Crioceria asparagi)"
A watercolour painting of an asparagus plant, along with one of a small beetle that has been cut and pasted on the page; the eggs of the beetle on the plant are also indicated. The notes describe the life history of the beetle and methods of control. Dated 15 May 1934.

6662.1.s -- "FAILURE OF ASPARAGUS"
A watercolour painting of an asparagus plant. The notes describe where the sample plant is from, and describe two reasons for failure of asparagus - waterlogged soil and dried out roots. References are made to other samples and their farms of origin. Dated 12 October 1933.

References

Events