172 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



it has received a Dumber of synonyms, of which Splloccea pomi^ 

 applied in 1829 to the reproductive cells which separate directly from 

 the mvcelium, is the oiilv one which need be mentioned. In 1875, 

 Sorauer published an account of the scab, which is known in Ger- 

 many as the apple rust or scurf, showing that it is caused by the 

 same fungus that attacks the leaves, as Cooke had suggested in 1873. 

 From the occasional presence of two-celled spores, and the slight 

 turnip shape of these bodies. Von Thuemen has proposed the genus 

 Napidadium for the reception of our plant, which he calls N. 

 Soraueri ; but the general tendency of botanists is to retain it in the 

 genus Fusicladhim, to which it was transferred by Fuckel. 



The reader who has followed this account so far naturall}' desires 

 to learn of a remed}' or preventive for the disease. Several measures 

 can be suggested as promising relief. One of these is a better sys- 

 tem of a drainage* and more open planting than we find in the aver- 

 age orchard, both tending to promote the general health of the tree. 

 Where leaves fall from mildew, thev should be raked together on a 

 damp, still day and burned. 



In the paper referred to, Professor Burrill suggests ''pruning away 

 any unnecessary' growth, and especially that most affected, then 

 S3Tinging the tree with an emulsion of kerosene oil made with soap 

 and water. To prepare this, mix equal quantities of soft soap, or 

 hard soap softened with water and heat, and common coal oil ; stir 

 vigorously and for at least five minutes, then add ten to twenty 

 times the amount of water and again stir. The result should be a 

 uniform milky fluid. Apply in any way so as to wet the bark of last 

 ^•ear's growth, or for thoroughness, that of two years' production. 

 No fears need be entertained of injur}- to the tenderest part of the 

 tree if the emulsion is well made." It is recommended that this be 

 done before the leaves appear, to destroj' the m3'celium and spores 

 on the twigs, but this treatment should also be tested after the leaves 

 were out and the fruit has set, if the fungus is on the increase. The 

 oil emulsion, if properly made with either soap or milk, is a good 

 and safe application for the apple aphis, oyster shell bark louse and 

 other insect enemies of the tree ; used in connection with a proper 

 sj'stem of planting and drainage and the occasional removal of the 



*I am aware that our agricultural journals for the last year contain numerous articles written 

 to show that the apple lives in soggy soil or can even be flooded for a long time without dying, 

 just as the bark may sometimes be stripped oflF witliout killing it; but the testimony its prac- 

 tice of most successful and well informed horticulturists is against the ultimate success o^ 

 trees subjected to such barbarous treatment. 



