304 



TEE GAIiDENEWS MONTHLY 



[Octohe)' 



Why do they not send us the best they have ? 

 —Ed. G. M.] 



Japan Persimmon. — C. H. S., Niles, Cal., 

 writes : " I remember an ' editorial note ' of 

 yours, which seemed in doubt as to whether the 

 Japan Persimmon had fruited here. It lias, and 

 in a number of places over our State. Possibly 

 fifty trees fruited last year, and twice that many 

 this season ; but of course bore onlj' a few speci- 

 mens apiece. 



FuNaus IN Apple Roots.— G., Colora, Md., 

 writes : " I enclose a piece of an apple root 

 from a small seedling tree. I would like to 

 know, through the Gardener's Monthly, 

 something of its natural history. What is it? 

 What is its cause, prevention, or remedy? I 

 presume it is no new thing, but I never saw it 

 described in print, and I have no doubt many 

 others are alike interested." 



[There are numerous species of thread-like 

 fungoid plants that feed on the healthy roots of 

 trees, and finally lead to disease in plants. 

 These apple roots are infested by one of these, 

 and the effect is to injure the foliage, and finally 

 affect the whole plant. The exact species no 

 one can tell in this condition. It is not material 

 to the practical question raised by our corres- 

 pondent. The only remedy we know, is to de- 

 stroy such infested plants. — Ed. G. M.] 



Pear Blight.- F., Rochester, iSTew York, 

 writes: " Is not the Pear Blight a disheartening 

 thing to deal with ? Your magazine could ren- 

 der us no greater service than to investigate the 

 cause, and shovv us how to cure it." 



[This the Gardener's Monthly has long 

 ago done. It has shown by careful microscopic 

 examination in its earliest stages, that the dis- 

 ease is caused by a minute fungus which de- 

 velops in the bark and penetrates inwardly, de- 

 stroying the cell structure as it proceeds. The 

 fungus is so small that the distinguished investi- 

 gator, Dr. J. Gibbons Hunt, under a powerful 

 microscope, could not distinguish the species; 

 but this is of no consequence. This being the 

 cause of the disease, the preventive is obvious. 

 Any one who is in a neighborhood liable to 

 blight, can have immunity by washing his trees 

 annually with j^Mre linseed oil, sulphur wash, or 

 other things that will kill a fungoid spore with- 

 out injury to the bark. Of course spores may 

 get into a crevice where the washes cannot 

 reach, and hence there may be some cases where, 

 «ven though the trees be washed, there will be 

 disease. The cause of the disease has been so 



clearly demonstrated, and the remedy so patent, 

 that cases of " fire blight*' only proves ignor- 

 ance or neglect. 



Since the above was written, the writer has 

 seen a beautiful row of Dwarf Duchesse D'Angou- 

 leme Pears, on the grounds of Mr. Hirani Sibley, 

 at Rochester, one of which was badly stricken 

 by fire blight, though he was told the trees were 

 sulphur and lime-washed every year. But on 

 personal examination of the trees, it was found 

 that only the trunk up to the branches was 

 washed, and this of course could have no influ- 

 ence on the parts not covered by the wash. — 

 Ed. G. M.] 



Green Potatoes for Seed. — A Berlin, 

 Conn., correspondent says he has been trying 

 experiments with the ordinary class of potato 

 sets, and with sets allowed to become quite 

 green by exposure to the air before cutting, and 

 finds a great gain by using the latter. 



Celery Disease. — H., East Hampton, Mass. ^ 

 writes: " I have a trouble in my vegetable king- 

 dom that is new to me. I have five thousand 

 celery growing finely, but they seem to be cov- 

 ered with insects ; what I should call thrips ; 

 at least, they are like the insect of that name 

 that troubles our hothouse grapes. Now, either 

 from them or some other cause, the leaves have 

 a rusty appearance. If the celery was stunted 

 or not growing well, I could understand it better. 

 Do the insects cause the rust ? How can I de- 

 stroy them without injury to the celery ? Are 

 they common on a quick growing crop out of 

 doors ? If you will answer the above or give 

 me any light on the subject, you will confer a 

 favor on a subscriber of the Gardener's 

 Monthly." 



[It may be the celery fly, or the celery fungus. 

 Lime water ought to settle the question in the 

 former case, and sulphur in the latter. Does 

 any correspondent know better? — Ed. G. M.] 



Benoni and Early Joe Apples. — H. D., 

 Galesburg, Mich., sends us the following good 

 note, received after our last went to press, with 

 Mr. Downing's paragraph on the same subject : 

 " In Editorial Notes of August number, Gar- 

 dener's Monthly, it is stated that Benoni 

 Apple originated in Ontario Co., N. Y., and 

 Early Joe in Massachusetts. Should not this be 

 reversed? I well remember seeing what pur- 

 ported to be the original Early Joe tree in East 

 Bloomfield, Ontario Co., N. Y., and many times 

 supposed I was eating fruit from the original 

 tree." 



