Secretary's Budget. 313 



another point with me, keeps the ploughshare from too close con- 

 tact with the roots, as the shape of the tree will not admit of too 

 much familiarity of that kind. 



THE PEACH TREE. 



Prof. Groff says : ''I have observed that the peach tree fre- 

 quently does remarkably well on the north sides of hills and 

 mountains, where the cold lingers longest in spring. I have seen 

 it cultivated on such sj^ots when it refused to do well in any other 

 spots in the region. The hint may be worth something." 



[Peach trees often suffer by the temperature of the soil going 

 beyond 80°. A north aspect is favorable to low temperature, and 

 flower and leaf buds are excited prematurely by early suils, when at 

 low elevations or on warm aspects. The peach is the healthiest 

 when there is no disposition to growth till the spring time has fairly 

 come. This is another reason in favor of a northern aspect. — Ed. 

 G. M.] 



THE CURL IX THE PEACH. 



We had supposed that this disease which takes the form of blis- 

 tered and succulent blotches on the leaves, with a white mildewy 

 substance beneath, was everywhere and generally familiar to peach 

 cultivators. Bift specimens with inquiries as to the nature of these 

 blisters come to us from different quarters, with the information 

 that it was in those localities hitherto unknown. It is also very 

 much worse m some parts of the country than in others. We have 

 never seen it anywhere so destructive as in Canada, unless what we 

 saw in California along the Stanislaus river was the effect of the 

 curl, as we were told it was. Whole branches were dead, with the 

 dry leaves attached to them. In Pennsylvania only a few of the 

 earlier leaves are attacked ; these fall off, but the shoots continue 

 and make the new and healthy leaves necessary to health. The 

 wood is weakened but not destroyed. 



The disease is caused by the growth of a minute fungus para- 

 •site. Each species of fungus requires certain exact conditions of 

 heat and moisture before it will germinate, and judging from the 

 facts attested in these widely separated localities, we conclude that 

 a comparatively low temperature is required by this one that pro- 

 duces the peacli curl, and that when the weather gets very warm, 

 or sa}^ to our eastern summer heat, this species will not develop. 

 A steadily warm temperature will therefore be the best protection 

 against the curl. — Gardener's Montldy. 



