272 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



and gooseberry mildew, strawberry leaf-blight, peach curl and rot, plum 

 rot and shot-hole fungus, pear and quince leaf-blight, and from various 

 insects, has been quite severe, but the treatment given has sufficed to keep 

 the trees and plants in almost perfect health. 



It has for some years been known that the Bordeaux mixture and other 

 copper compounds were reliable remedies for many fungous diseases, but 

 although our previous experience upon a small scale had led us to believe 

 them of value for strawberry leaf-blight, raspberry anthracnose, and peach 

 leaf-curl, the experiments at South Haven the past year have fully con- 

 vinced U8 that they should be freely used upon these plants whenever the 

 diseases are troublesome. As is well known, certain varieties of straw- 

 berry are much injured by leaf- blight, but where they were properly 

 sprayed the plants were practically free from the disease. The same thing 

 was true of peach curl and of raspberry anthracnose. 



Elaborate experiments were carried out upon several varieties of grape, 

 to ascertain the number of applications, and the time of making them, 

 desirable in combating the various diseases to which they are subject. 

 The black rot did not show itself, and there was but slight injury from 

 other fungi. Attention is called to the results upon the Brighton, which 

 was considerably troubled with powdery mildew. As the number of appli- 

 cations increased from none to five, the health of the plants improved in 

 the same degree. Much of the benefit derived from the fungicides was 

 undoubtedly due to the fact that all of the plants were sprayed before the 



growth started. 



L. K. TAFT, 



Horticulturisf. 



To Professor L. R. Taft, Horiicidtiirist : 



Sir — In submitting my report of operations for the season of 1893, at 

 the South Haven fruit testing sub-experiment station, it seems convenient 

 to consider the several classes of fruits in the order of their maturing. 



The preceding season (1892) proved to be specially favorable for the 

 development of the various species of fungi, the ravages of which proved 

 more than usually injurious. The entire plantation was given a spraying 

 during the late autumn, after the foliage had fallen, and prior to the 

 advent of freezing weather, for the purpose of destroying the winter or 

 resting spores, and thus, at least to some extent, preventing their develop- 

 iment the following season. 



The apparent effect of such fall spraying, as well as of spray applied 

 during the present season, will be noticed in connection with each class of 



