REPORT OF THE EORTICVLTVRliST HI 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



COVEK CEOPS. 



In recent years the English horse bean has proven valuable as a cover crop for 

 liolding the snow in winter as it is tall and does not break down much, but as no seed 

 could be obtained it was not used this year. It was planned to grow horse beans and 

 rape together this year as a cover crop, the former principally to hold tlie snow, and 

 the latter for a bottom cover. As horse beans could not be obtained, rape was sown 

 broadcast alone in part of the orchard on July 28, at the rate of 8 lbs. per acre, and 

 when winter set in averaged 17 inches in height. It formed a dense cover, killing 

 out practically all the weeds. Owing to the height to which it grew it should hold the 

 r-now well, and as leguminous crops have been used for the past nine years there 

 should be sufficient nitrogen in the soil for some time. In another part of the orchard 

 Hairy vetch, which had proven a very good cover crop, was sown in drills 28 inches 

 apart on July 15. By winter it had made a perfect mat in most places, but had not 

 made a strong enough growth to hold the snow well. The most satisfactory results 

 are obtained from Hairy Vetch sown in drills when the seed is sown about the mkidle 

 of June. 



Work in determining the amount of moisture which different cover crops take 

 from the soil was continued in the orchard this year by Mr. Frank T. Shutt, Chemist. 



FUNGOUS DISEASES. 



The Apple Spot fungus was not as bad as usual this year in most districts, but 

 here and there it was very bad. In the orchards of the Experimental Farm, where 

 spraying with Bordeaux mixture has been carried on regularly for the past thirteen 

 cr fourteen years, there is never any trouble with this disease, it being a rare sight to 

 see any fruit spotted except among seedling trees which are not sprayed regularly; 

 Avhile there is good evidence to show that if the orchard trees were not sprayed the 

 disease would soon spread. 



Ripe Eot, Brown Eot, of the Plum: — This is one of the most difficult diseases to 

 control. At the Central Experimental Farm it did considerable injury to Americana 

 plums this year, notwithstanding thorough spraying. As this disease spreads by 

 means of spjres which germinate early in the spring and penetrate the twigs from the 

 leaves and flower buds on which they alight, all the diseased plums which harbour 

 myriads of these spores should be destroyed in the fall if practicable, but as this often 

 cannot be done it will be seen how important it is to thoroughly spray the trees early 

 in the spring before the spores, which are carried from this diseased fruit, germinate. 

 The first spraying should be made shortly before the buds break with poisoned Bor- 

 deaux mixture or a sulphate of copper solution in the proportion of 1 lb. sulphate of 

 copper to 25 gallons of water. A second spraying should be made with poisoned 

 Bordeaux just before the blossoms open. These are two of the most important spray- 

 ings. The trees should be thoroughly sprayed again after blooming with poisoned 

 Bordeaux, and again about two weeks before the fruit begins to colour. When the 

 fruit begins to ripen they may be sprayed with the ammoniacal copper carbonate, which 

 will not discolour the fruit, and which should destroy many of the spores which appear 

 in great numbers on the mature fruit. As the disease spreads much more rapidly 

 from fruit to fruit when they are touching each other, thinning is a good practice if 

 •for no other reason than to reduce this disease. Thorough spraying and thinning will 

 lessen the injury from this disease very much. 



Black Eot of the Grape: — While the black rot of the grape was not nearly so 

 destructive this year as in 1904, and hence the results of spraying not so apparent, 

 fruit growers should not neglect to spray their vineyards next year, as the disease 



