RASPBERRY DISEASES IN MINNESOTA. 243 



mercial basis must take into account that good practice con- 

 sists in preventing disease. The whole fruit growing com- 

 munity is alert to the problem that if one man lets his orchard 

 run wild or his raspberry patch run wild, it is going to injure 

 all the rest of them. 



I do not want you to understand that we are harping on 

 theories, but you talk to a great many fruit growers when the 

 limiting factor in production is disease, and when you prove 

 that that disease can be controlled by very simple methods if in- 

 telligently applied, you will have to admit there is something in 

 this. We must take the prevention of disease into consideration 

 as well as the mere culture of the plants. 



A Member : I naturally expect any one dealing in diseases 

 and their remedies to talk that, but if we are looking for real 

 things and going up higher we will look for the fruit and the 

 production of them. I think too much of an important feature 

 is being made of disease. I think we ought to look for the 

 fruit and the growth of things. 



Prof. Stakman : If the gentleman will undertake to 

 spend a half an hour with me I will show him why it is we 

 are trying to control diseases. The object is not to advocate 

 some pet scheme of our own. We are not interested because 

 we make our living — we hardly make that. The reason we 

 are interested is, it is our duty to do it, and we are interested 

 in the increase in yields. It is a financial proposition with the 

 grower and not for us, and if this gentleman will spend some 

 time with us we will prove it is a financial proposition. I would 

 like to hear from some one who has had actual experience, I 

 do not like this going back to the dark ages. 



Mr. Rasmussen : I never had a chance to attend the Uni- 

 versity, and I had to call them to my place. If it had not been 

 for them I do not think I could have gone very far. They gave 

 me advice as to my irrigation system and as to spraying, and 

 enabled me to save my crops. 



Mr. Gust Johnson: I have been around a great deal 

 over this state, and as to this disease it is a fact that it is a 

 disease of the cane, and it is easy to prevent it. All these 

 diseases can be cured or prevented by spraying, no question 

 about it, it has been proved time and again. It is better to 

 cure them than to dig them up and burn them. To dig them 

 up and burn them is like killing a man when he is sick. 



Mr. Brackett : There is no question but what we have 

 got to fight diseases. Some years here we could not grow 

 a crop of potatoes unless we killed the potato bug. No man 

 that pretends to raise apples would grow them without spraying 

 them. But I believe with Mr. Underwood that there are a 

 good many bugaboos, that we need not be afraid of, that are 

 put out by people who have an interest in doing so. 



Foot note: Full directions for making this resin-lye-bor- 

 deaux mixture will be found in Secretary's Corner in this issue. 



