^ State Horticultural Society. 



'"^ *-.rhich belongs to any one paper on this programme it 

 would not be profitable , ^^ ^^^^^^^^ ^^ ^-^^^^^ ^^^ ^.^^ histories of any con- 

 siderable number of disea. .^.p^^^^^^j^^ ^^^^-^ j ^^^^^ ^^^^^p^^ however, 

 to outlme m a general way th. . ^^^^^^ ^f ^ ^^^^„^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ q^^li_ 

 ties which render them harmful , ^^ cultivated fruits, as well as some 

 reasons for applying sprays and othe. ^ remedies. 



The writer believes that the day is c^oming when every horticulturist 

 will be equipped with a technical educatio. ^^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^-^^ p^35g33 

 a compound microscope and a chemical lab.^j.^t^j.y Certainly an art 

 which contributes so largely to the necessities a. ^^ 1^^^^^^ of the human 

 race as that of horticulture is worthy the very bt^g^ g^ill and research 

 which science can furnish. 



WHAT ISA fungus: 



A fungus (plural, fungi) is a plant — a very simple sc ^^^ q£ ^ plant 

 and a very minute one in comparison with an oak tree. IV. i^^^^ q£ them 

 consist of threads so small that they can only be seen with t. ^^ ^^^ q£ ^ 

 miscroscope. A fungus possesses no distinct stem, root or lea ^^g ^^^ jg 

 more like the green pond scums in form. There is one importa ^^ differ- 

 ence, however, between fungi and pond scum — the pond scums , contain 

 green coloring matter and are able to manufacture all their organ ^^ iood 

 while the fungi lack the green coloring matter, and hence must drav ^, upon 

 other plants, or animals, for part of their nutrition. Some of thei ^ jj^g 

 on dead, decaying organisms; they are known as saprophytes. Th. '<:> ^^^^ 

 of them live on living organisms and draw their nourishment from t j^gj^i 

 they are known as parasites. The ancients gave the name "parasite >» ^q 

 a person who went uninvited to a banquet. The name is quite appro j.-_ 

 ate for these fungi, except that some of them, in addition to robbing th" ^j^. 

 host of its food, kill it at the end of the feast. 



The fungi differ among themselves in size and structure far mc ^.^ 

 widely than a radish and an elm. They all agree, however, in consistii ^„ 

 of cells made up of semifluid protoplasm, surrounded by a thin wall v r,f 

 cellulose. The cell may be spherical, oval or elongated, and is corr \_ 

 monly united with others to form a thread-like filament. These filaments , 

 often grow in a more or less tangled mat. The fungi causing mildew ot • 

 the rose and lilac grow on the surface of the leaves, and their filaments' . 

 give the leaves a grayish color. 



The fungus plant produces no seed, but it produces, sooner or later, 

 small bodies called spores. These spores, under favorable conditions, 

 germinate and produce new fungi. The spores are not destroyed by 

 ordinarv weather conditions and often live over the winter in the orchard. 



