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Reading-Course for Farmers. 



one who has grown peaches. Fig. 367 will refresh your memory. Fre- 

 quently this is very destructive, causing the tree to lose its first set of 

 foliage and compelling it to put out another coat of leaves. This is a 

 great drain on the tree, weakening it and causing the dropping of the 

 fruit from insufficient food during its growing period. It is, however, 

 one of the easiest diseases to control. Spray the trees any time in the 

 spring before the buds swell, with Bordeaux or plain copper sulfate, two 

 pounds to 50 gallons of water. If you spray the trees with lime ind 

 sulphur for the scale this will also prevent the curl, do it now. For 



Fig. 367 — Leaf Curl of Peach. The fungus causes the leaves 

 to thicken and curl or pucker. 



further information on this disease see Bulletin No. 20, Division Vegetable 

 Pathology, U. S. Department of Agriculture, and N. Y. (Cornell) Bulle- 

 tins 164 and 180. 



Black Knot of Plum and Cherry Trees. — You should have no trouble 

 in finding this disease if it is on your trees. The large black knots on 

 the small limbs and twigs stand out sharply against the winter sky. 

 Sometimes the main limbs show the excresences also. Here is another 

 case for the surgeon. With knife and saw carefully cut out every knot. 

 The spores of the fungus are ripe and being scattered at this time of the 

 year. All the pruned out knots must therefore be collected and burned. 

 Do not neglect this and do it at once. (See N. Y. (Cornell) Bulletin 

 No. 81.) 



Oat Smut. — This is one of the most common of fungus diseases. 

 It occurs every year to a greater or less degree in nearly all oat fields 



