288 ANNUAL REPORT 



that in so many localities are fatal to success ; save under an 

 unusual combination of unfavorable circumstances the cultivated 

 vine in the northwest glows with healthy vigor in leaf, branch 

 and root and matures to the finest perfection a grade of fruit 

 that in quality and appearance ranks at the head of America 

 grapes. The most virulent and fatal of all diseases, the grape 

 rot, is with us comparatively unknown and we are hapj^ily free 

 from the anxiety and uncertainty attending the presence of this 

 dread disease in the vineyard. In many localities it makes suc- 

 cessful grape growing of any variety a practical failure. 



But let not the grower be too boastful ; living in this grand 

 and prosperous state, surrounded by a vigorous and healthful 

 air one is apt to think too confidently of his power to succeed 

 and must be reminded that success is not to be attained without 

 constant vigilance and effort. 



The diseases that are occasionally encountered here are the 

 Greely rot, the common mildew and the downy mildew. 



Of the first of these, the Greely rot, there is little to be said. 

 It is seldom found except upon the Concord and is here described 

 that the grower may satisfy his curiosity as to whether it is in his 

 vineyard. It shows itself upon the fruit after it is turned black 

 and is known by the color of the spot affected, which may cover 

 a third or a quarter of the berry and is of a light unwholesome 

 purple shade. It injures the quality of the berry attacked but 

 is not apparently a disease to be feared. The common or Euro- 

 pean mildew attacks the fruit and fruit stems of a few varieties, 

 mainly the Eogers hybrids. It appears, as a rule, a few weeks 

 after the fruit is set when the weather is favorable, and covers 

 the parts attacked with a white velvety substance, which under 

 the microscope looks like a miniature forest. If the planter 

 wishes to retain in his vineyard the few kinds that are found to 

 be affected by this disease, the system of pruning and summer 

 pinching should be adopted that does not crowd the wood and 

 leaves upon the trellis, and then by constant watchfulness, and, 

 at its first appearance sprinkling it well with flour of sulphur, 

 it is easily held in check. 



The only disease that with us needs serious attention is the 

 downy mildew or American mildew, called by the scholars Pero- 

 nospora viticola. The clearness and dryness of our atmosphere 

 gives us as a rule exemption from this disease, but an occasional 

 season when in the latter part of July or in August the weather 

 has been for a succession of days or weeks hot and changeable, 



