42 agriculture; of maine. 



off when they should be hard at work transforming the sap into 

 food products for storage in the tree. It would seem almost 

 as if this severe drop must have some effect on the fruit buds 

 for the following year. 



Crown Gall. After reading experiments of various authori- 

 ties showing in some instances disastrous results to the trees 

 infected with Crown Gall and in other instances negligible 

 harm, the writer will have to admit that he is somewhat at a 

 loss to understand whether or not the disease is a serious one. 

 The bureau has always taken the stand that infected trees 

 should be condemned and has urged the growers to throw out 

 all trees showing this root gall. During the past season, only 

 a very few cases of infection on nursery stock has come to 

 our attention, so that it is reasonable to presume that most 

 nurseries are ridding their ground of the disease. 



Sooty Blotch. On different occasions we have noticed how 

 this disease can injure the sale value of our fruit, but perhaps 

 not until this season have we understood to what extent this 

 damage may spread. Usually this disease has confined its at- 

 tention to small sections and more particularly to the fruit 

 grown on trees where there has been little or no pruning, and 

 no spraying. This year the infection is very general, due, of 

 course, to the long rainy period while fruit was maturing, and 

 to the fact that our spraying has not been as effective as here- 

 tofore. One grower after examining his apples in storage is 

 led to believe that the disease has penetrated the skin, al- 

 though he is not certain but that some other disease is at work 

 in conjunction with this blotch. Scientists have always main- 

 tained that this fungus does not penetrate the apple, but simply 

 spreads over the surface. We do know that it is much harder 

 to rub off after the apple has been picked some time than when 

 fresh from the tree. Damp weather and heavy foliage where 

 there is little opportunity for circulation of air through the 

 tree are favorable factors in the disseminating of this fungus. 

 Probably this disease alone has resulted this year in an average 

 net loss of at least 25 cents per barrel, or a gross total of more 

 than $25,000 for the state. 



Leaf Spot. With the abundance of canker (Sphaeropsis 

 malorum) existing in our orchards, it is not surprising to note 

 the appearance of leaf spot caused by the same fungus, when 



