JULY 



IRISH GARDENING. 



109 



General Notes 



Canker. 



Canker is one of the most troublesome diseases that 

 affect our fruit trees. Its appearance is due to many 

 causes, such as coldness of soil, too much shade, in- 

 fection of wounds by special bacteria or spores of 

 particular kinds of fung-i, &c. When it appears there is 

 apparently only one remedy, and that is to cut out 

 the whole of the canker area and disinfect the freshly 

 made wound with an antiseptic such as Stockholm tar 

 or spirit of salts (hydrochloric acid), or protect with a 

 layer of grafting- wax. Some growers believe in simply 

 dressing the wound with grease, but whatever method 

 is used the root idea is to keep the fresh wound free 

 from infection from wind-blown spores. The sooner 

 this is done the better. It is at the same time advisable 

 to refrain from pruning and to stimulate the growth by 

 incorporating with the soil in the area of the feeding 

 roots a generous application of phosphates and a 

 moderate dose of powdered sulphate of iron. The latter 

 will act as a tonic and contribute to the general vigour 

 of the tree. Mon. Charles Baltet recommends the 

 painting of the trunk and large branches with a mixture 

 of clay, cow-dung, and glue or milk. We have not 

 tried this, but he says that both cold and direct 

 sunshine may induce canker, and the course recom- 

 mended will act as a protection against these two 

 inducing causes. 



Aphis Pest. 



In the case of currant bushes infested with these 

 injurious insects, the worst affected parts being 

 usually the tips of the branches, we have found 

 it to be the easiest and best plan to get rid of the 

 pests, to take a basin containing a strong solution of 

 quassia and soft soap, and go among the bushes and 

 pull down the aphis-covered tips and dabble them in 

 the insecticide. It may be necessary to repeat the 

 operation in a day or two, but there is no doubt as to 

 its efficiency in the long run. 



Ameri 



Blight. 



A CORRESPONDENT asks advice as to the best remedy 

 for American blight. It is an ever-recurring question 

 that has been answered many times in this and other 

 gardening papers. It is apparently a disease against 

 which fruit growers will always and should always be 

 fighting. Let it only get sufficient headway and it will 

 rapidly ruin a whole plantation. It is particularly dis- 

 astrous in the case of large trees, and once established 

 it is extremely difficult to eradicate. There is no 

 excuse, however, in letting it spread in a young orchard, 

 as there it is comparatively easy to ward off its attacks. 

 Whenever and wherever it appears the spot should be 

 well scrubbed with a hard brush dipped in either a 

 solution of ammonia, alcohol, or a mixture of soft soap 

 and an infusion of nicotine. It is said that even urine 

 or manure water or refuse oil will serve the same 



purpose. The scrubbing should be repeated after the 

 lapse of a week or a fortnight if necessary. Any 

 shoots very badly affected had better be cut off and 

 burned. As most fruit growers know the trouble is due 

 to the presence of tiny plant lice (or aphides) that in 

 this particular case exude a woolly secretion which 

 serves as a protection against possible enemies. These 

 little creatures hybernate on the roots during winter. 

 Therefore in the case of large trees, and as soon as the 

 leaves have fallen in the autumn, some of the earth 

 should be removed from around the base of the stem 

 and refilled with lime and soot. This will prevent 

 hybernation and cause death through frost during the 

 winter months. 



A Lime Sulphur Wash. 



Mr. E. S. Salmon has been experimenting with 

 a lime-sulphur wash first recommended, we believe, 

 by the mycologist of the Pennsylvania State Agri- 

 cultural College as a substitute for Bordeaux mixture 

 in summer spraying. It is well known that the latter 

 spray is frequently harmful to foliage in certain cases 

 (Cox's Orange Pippin, Bismarck, Worcester Pearmain, 

 &c.). The further advantage is claimed for the lime-sul- 

 phur wash that it adheres strongly to the surface of the 

 leaf even after rains. The wash is made as follows : — 

 First a concentrated mixture prepared with quicklime 

 (in lumps), 50 lbs. ; flowers of sulphur, 100 lbs. ; water, 

 50 gallons. Ten gallons of water is put in a large 

 metal (not copper) vessel and placed over the fire, then 

 the 50 lbs. of quicklime is added. When the slaking is 

 well started, the 100 lbs. of sulphur is gradually added 

 and mixed well into a thin even paste, taking great care 

 that no lumps of sulphur are left unmixed. If too thick 

 to conveniently work more water may be added. When 

 thoroughly mixed make up the quantity to 50 gallons 

 by adding water. Boil for one hour, when the mixture 

 will assume an orange-red colour. Strain through 

 butter muslin, put in a stone jar or barrel, and protect 

 from air either by filling the jar or jars quite full and 

 corking or by covering the surface with a mineral oil. 

 From this concentrated stock the actual spraying fluid 

 is made by dilution with water. In the experiments 

 referred to from 20 to it, gallons of water was added to 

 each gallon of stock, bringing down the specific gravity 

 of the fluid to i.oi. When diluted the fluid must be used 

 at once. It has been found that different subjects are 

 differently sensitive to this wash, and that, therefore, 

 great care should be observed in its use, and in the 

 case of first trials an experimental spraying should be 

 made and the results noted. For example, it was found 

 that the young tender leaves of roses under glass 

 spraying was followed by scorching unless a very 

 much weaker (by quite one-half) wash was used. It 

 will always be safer to use a hydrometer (instruments 

 specially scaled are sold at 3s. 6d.) in order to know 

 the exact specific gravity of the fluid used. The wash 

 should be applied by means of a fine nozzle, so that the 

 spray falls as a kind of mist. When exposed to the air 

 on the surface of the foliage the sulphur is released in 

 the form of inconceivably minute particles that give the 

 leaves the appearance of being covered with a white 

 powder. 



