176 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[June, 



cited to the same point, in opposition to the 

 laboratories, of the useful properties of muck 

 and other vegetable matters, Avhen used as plant 

 food, but I must desist for the present. 



RUST IN BLACKBERRIES. 



BY T. V. MUNSON, DENISON, TEXAS. 



As there is just now so much complaint of 

 " rust" in blackberries, especiallj' the Kittatinny, 

 anything which will aid in avoiding or combat- 

 ting it will be hailed with great pleasure by all 

 lovers of this delicious and wholesome fruit. 



Last summer I had a plantation of Kittatinny 

 badly affected by the "rust;" so much so that 

 I grubbed out all of the plants, plowed and har- 

 rowed the ground thoroughly, gathered the roots 

 which were dragged out by the harrow, made 

 cuttings of them, and planted a new plat, and 

 also " heeled in" several thousand near by where 

 also the old crowns or [)lants that were affected 

 by "rust" were "heeled in." Many of these 

 "heeled in" cuttings and plants were left unmo- 

 lested. Now the roots left in the old "jjatch," 

 those planted in the new, and those " heeled in," 

 have thrown up vigorous, clean scions without a 

 sign of rust, with rare exceptions, and these 

 seem to be sprouts from the base of old plants 

 and not from the lateral roots ; while scions 

 coming from the old crown " heeled in," are 

 almost without exception covered with "rust." 

 The new plantation made from root cuttings, 

 and the old from roots left in the ground, prom- 

 ise to be in fine bearing condition for next 

 season. 



From the above I would infer that the rust 

 fungus germinates and perpetuates itself in or 

 near the dead wood of the old crowns, and sug- 

 gests that we may convert a diseased plantation 

 into a healthy one, and maintain it so for years. 

 From my experience, the method suggests it- 

 self, viz.: 



As soon as "rust" shows'itself in a plantation 

 —usually about the second or third year after 

 cropping begins— cut out all the old crowns 

 thoroughly in the fall, plow, harrow and reno- 

 vate the soil well of, say one-half the planta- 

 tion. In the spring thousands of vigorous scions 

 spring up. Plow out two rows of proper width, 

 and plant potatoes or other crops between. 

 Carefully cull out all scions which may show 

 "rust," and keep well cultivated during sum- 

 mer. This will be the bearing plantation the 

 next season or two, till " rust" comes again, and 



I the portion left to bear should alternately be 

 treated in a similar manner. Others may have 

 had some similar experience, though I have not 

 seen it in print, and may have pursued it to 

 more definite results, which would be valuable 

 matter for your excellent journal, and would be 

 greedily read by your humble servant. 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



The Flat-headed Borer.— This is very de- 

 structive to apple trees in Ohio. Mr. Robert 

 Steele thus characterizes it in a paper before the 

 Montgomery County, Ohio, Horticultural So- 

 ciety : " The pupa, like the worm, is white, but 

 the beetle is of a bronze color. This beetle de- 

 posits its eggs generally on rough places, but 

 sometimes on smooth, healthy bark. It is diur- 

 nal in'its habits, and begins to make its appear- 

 ance in May, continuing to deposit eggs through 

 the whole summer. They soon hatch, are found 

 in clusters of about a dozen, are about one- 

 tenth of an inch in length at first, but soon 

 grow to be a quarter of an inch long. About 

 the middle of August they change into the pupa 

 state; by September the beetles are well formed, 

 and ready to leave the tree, probably to hiber- 

 nate under ground." 



Peach Culture. — A capital speech on peach 

 culture was made by T. J. Sanderson, in March 

 last, before the Grange at Marlboro, Mass. Mr. 

 S. asserts the worst disease the peach is liable 

 to is ignorance. The peach often produces enor- 

 mously the first year. If allowed to perfect all 

 it wants to, it is likely to be of use to you no 

 more forever. It loves to have all its unthrifty 

 wood cut out, and to have a liberal supply of 

 nourishing food. 



French Fruits in England.— England is the 

 great foreign market for French fruits. Accord- 

 ing to M. Joly, the exports from France during 

 1881, were 21,713,406 kilogrammes, and of this 

 amount 18,039,072 went to England, the rest 

 being distributed through Belgium, Germany, 

 Switzerland, and others. 



Imperfect Flowering Grapes. — It is well 

 known that the grape has a tendency towards 

 dioecism — that is to say, to have the male and 

 female flowers on separate plants. This is true 

 of the foreign grape as well as of the native 

 grape; but more particularly of the latter. 

 Under culture, the Creveling is well known to 



