D4 



STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



attacked, and in some cases the flowers, leaves, and branches are also 

 affected. It has been claimed by some persons that only frnits that 

 have been injured by insects are attacked, but there is no ground for this 

 belief. The condition of the trees may. however, do much to determine 

 the extent of the injury, as, if they are perfectly healthy, they will be less 

 likely to be attacked; or, if the fungus does make its appearance, the 

 amount of the injury will be lessened. 



"The plant body of this fungus consists of colorless threads that are 

 frequently branched and partitioned off into cells. These threads pene- 

 trate the tissues beneath the cuticle, and the portion atacked, whether 

 flower, leaf, or fruit, takes on a brown color. At first the spot is small, but 

 it rapidly spreads until the whole is infected. 



"After three or four weeks the portions attacked begin falling. The 

 flowers and young fruits change into a soft, rotten mass, and if, in dropping, 

 they strike on the leaves or healthy fruits, they stick fast and communicate 

 the disease. Some of the fruit frequently' remains on the trees until the 

 next spring. 



" If the conditions are favorable, with plenty of moisture, the conidia are 

 formed, resembling to the naked eye minute tufts of cotton. Under a 

 microscope the spores appear as nearly spherical bodies, forming branching- 

 chains. The new cells are 

 formed at the tips of the 

 chains and keep dropping 

 off. They have strong vitali- 

 ty and have been known to 

 terminate when two vears 

 old. 



"The remedy for the rot 



is to gather and burn all 



^ infected flowers and leaves. 



The trees should also be 



,,_l ?>«'«» sprayed with some form of 



copper solution, just before 



the buds start in the spring. 



The sj)raying should be re- 



^ „ „„„„,. peated in two or three 



Fio, 4.— Structure OF Hrown KoT OF Plum.— From drawing ^ , i -p • £ i.i 



by Butterfiekl, Class of '91. M. A. ('. Weeks, and 11 SlgHS OI tiie 



fungus are noticed, one or two more applications will have a good effect. 



PLUM BLADDERS OK FOCKETS.—Taphrina pruiii. 



" Nearly three hundred years ago this disease was described, so far as its 

 outward appearance goes. At that time it was quite destriictive and its 

 virulence increased, and its territory widened, in the meantime. Various 

 causes have been given for it, including insects, a surplus of moisture, and 

 improper food. 



" The name has been given from the fact that the fungus produces an 

 abnormal development of the fruit, resembling a pouch or pocket. Soon 

 after the fruit sets, the infected fruits swell slightly _ and become nearly 

 globular. Later on they elongate and often become irregular or curved. 

 The pockets become permaturely colored, and later take on a gray, wrink- 

 led a[)pearance. The stone does not form, and a hard, dry shell is all that 

 the fruit will consist of by the first of July. When this stage is reached 

 they soon drop from the tree. 



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