18 STATE HORTICULTURAL, SOCIETY. 



A Member — Does the color have anything to do with the value of 

 the Greening? The Judge gave the first prize to the apples that 

 had a red tinge on every apple. Was that right? The tact is that 

 the Judge was severely criticised? Did he do the right thing? 



Answer — My opinion is that he did right. 



GRAPE TROUBLES AND THEIR REMEDY. 



R. A. SMYTHE, BENTON HARBOR. 



The subject assigned to me is "Grape Troubles and Their Remedy." 



In looking over the matter 1 think the excess of moisture has been 

 the cause of much of the trouble we have had. The three troubles 

 which has been given us the most concern in the way of pests are: Black 

 rot, brown rot and downv mildew. The latter we are not troubled 

 with, but the excess of moisture we have had during the last two years 

 is responsible for the others inure than anything else. 



In Berrien county we have lost hundreds of acres of grapes during 

 the past season — they would not ripen on the vines; and then the 

 prices were so low that it was not worth while to pick them and many 

 are seriously considering the idea of taking out their vineyards and 

 engaging in some other line. 



But when we come to look at the matter we find that the grape area 

 is not very large in the United States comparatively speaking, and the 

 consumption of grapes is increasing all the while, but the whole diffi- 

 culty, it seems to me, lies in the inadequate distribution of the pro- 

 duct. 



The black and brown rot are controllable with the spray, provided the 

 work is done thoroughly, and at the right time. In our own, and in the 

 Lawton district, where they have had considerable of the black rot, we 

 have sprayed and have been able to secure a fairly good crop, but in 

 ii! her places where they did not spray, the crop was lost. 



If we want the spiny to be effectual, so that we may raise good 

 urapes, four sprays are necessary. This is our own, as well as the 

 experience of others. First for the dormant spray, use 3 pounds of 

 copper sulphate to 50 gallons of water and this should be applied be- 

 fore any leaves have started at all. After pruning apply another spray — 

 4-4-50 with two or three pounds of arsenate of lead just before the grape 

 blooms, then another spray after the berries are formed and the leaves 

 are out, 4-4-50. If the vines have been injured the previous year, a 

 fourth spray is necessary and there are some who spray 5 times. 



The disease in grapes are something like the San Jose scale. They 

 come upon us almost before we are aware of them and require the ut- 

 most diligence to successfully combat and eradicate. Sometimes it 

 seems like a question of the survival of the fittest, and yet they are not 

 wholly unmixed evils. Sometimes I think they are "angels in disguise" 

 and the grower who fights to raise good fruit will in the end surely get 

 good prices. These experiences are putting the men out of business 

 who are doing their work indifferently. Apple men have discovered that 



