310 State Horticjilfiiral Society. 



therefore easily reached hx spraying'. There is no olhcr disease that 

 seems to yield more readily to fungicides than this. 



IvEAF CURU 



It is well known that the leaves do an important work for the 

 plant. Any disease, therefore, that seriously interferes with the func- 

 tional activity of the leaves, will prove detrimental to the health of 

 the plant. Such a disease is caused by the leaf-curl fungus, {Exoas- 

 cus deformaniis, Ftickel) which attacks both leaves and young shoots. 

 This disease is too well known to require any description. 



The masses of hyphae pass the late summer, fall, and winter, in 

 the tissues of the leaf buds, that is, the mycelium is perennial in the 

 buds. With the beginning of spring growth in the tree there is growth 

 of the fungus as well, the new leaves and shoots being affected as they 

 are put forth. The amount of the infection determines the extent of 

 the subsequent distortion. It is evident that the fungicide can not 

 reach the leaves before emergence from the bud, and except in cases 

 of treatment year after year, we can not expect that the first leaves 

 upon treated and untreated trees will show any great difference in 

 the proportions affected by the fungus. But we may rightfully expect 

 treatment during a given season to reduce the amount of surviving 

 fungus mycelium in the leaf buds. This effect will not be manifest 

 until the following year. The more immediate results to be expected 

 from spraying are much of the same nature ; they can not be expected 

 upon the earliest leaves, but the spraying may, and does, prevent the 

 infection of the succeeding leaves and shoots. By this we see that 

 thorough spraying the preceding year is even more effective in the 

 prevention of leaf-curl than during the season of its occurrence. 



The first spraying should be given of full, strength Bordeaux mix- 

 ture just before the blossoms open, or even earlier; and the second one 

 of half strength mixture, just after the calyx drops from the fruit. 



Columbia, AIo., Nov. 8, 1901. 

 Prof. Whitten is now in the University at Halle, Germany. He 

 describes a visit to one of the largest commercial orchards and nur- 

 series in Germany. "The proprietor was not at home, but the head 

 gardener took us around and when we came to the peaches he ex- 

 plained that they could not grow many peaches there except trained 

 to walls and covered in winter for the buds often winterkill. But 

 now, he said with great gusto, we have discovered a method of winter 

 protection which enables us to carry this big, young orchard out here 

 in the open through the winter without injury. He then explained how 



