RErORTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES. 253 



The foliage does not seem to be affected, but will grow luxuriantly. Warm 

 rains in the latter part of May and June always gave me some solicitude for 

 my crop. After the seed hardens there is no more danger from mildew. My 

 prevention (there is no cure) is early summer pruning, thereby turning the 

 flow of sap from the vine-making channel into the grape, giving it vigor and 

 hardness to resist the attacks of mildew; also by keeping the vines open so as 

 to admit the sun and air. I have noticed one-half of a vine attacked and the 

 other half entirely escape. One part of a vineyard escaped while another part 

 was almost destroyed. And I always noticed that it attacked the vines with 

 the most foliage and heaviest crops. 



BLIGHT. 



Next came the blight. Why this is called a rot I cannot see. It generally 

 made its appearance about the time the fruit passed the danger point of mil- 

 dew. The berry assumes a mottled appearaftce, then begins to wilt and assume 

 a sickly hue, and linally turns brown and dries completely up, very similar to 

 the blighted pear. In low, cold, wet grounds this disease is most prevalent. 

 Grapes are subject to it from the time the seed hardens until they change color 

 for ripening. 



The attacks are more or less virulent, sometimes destroying all on the vine 

 attacked and sometimes only some scattering berries. 



While the mildew seems to poison the sap in the stems of the clusters, the 

 blight attacks the berrv directlv and the balance of the berries on the cluster 

 are not necessarily affected unless it is a violent attack, when the berry will 

 have an unnatural taste. This disease is accelerated largely if not often pro- 

 duced by decaying vegetables. Permit rank weeds to grow to a large size in 

 your vineyard, then destroy them or kill them and leave them on the ground 

 under the vines to decay, and I will guarantee you will not need to ask for a 

 description of the blight, particularly if your vines are overloaded. 



I have never formed a decided conclusion as to the cause of blight either in 

 grapes or pears. Sometimes I have been inclined to attribute it to starvation 

 of the vine, sometimes to organic disease, to the effects of mildew, to poisonous 

 gases. Neither mildew or blight are contagious or hereditary. I shall be glad 

 to have the opinion of those better posted on the subject. Other forms of 

 disease that have come under my notice are those resulting from accident, such 

 as vines changing the position of the grape bunches, breaking the stems, and 

 otherwise injuring the berry, stings and other injuries from insects, hail. etc. 



Failures to ripen the fruit are the result generally of cupidity, stupidity, or 

 laziness in the manager. If the location of a vineyard is suitable, the vines 

 properly planted, correctly trimmed, both winter and summer, the ground kept 

 clean and not impoverished, the vines not permitted to overbear, but little is to 

 be feared and much expected. 



STRAWBERRY CULTURE. 

 BY W. M. COLLIER. 



In the course of conversation at our last meeting the subject of setting 

 strawberries on ground that had been previously set to strawberries was 

 broached, and the general opinion seems to prevail that they will not do well. 



