44 EEPOET OP THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTUEE. 



that no bliglit has been perceived on any portion of a tree that is pro- 

 tected by a coating of the lime mixture. 



it is conceded that the be^t remedy for the destruction of bacteria 

 or of fungi on plants is sulphur, and when it is mixed with lime and ap- 

 plied to the bark it forms a mechanical covering impenetrable to bacte- 

 rin, and when acted upon by sun-heat, sulphurous gases are evolved 

 !<> such extent that the sulphury smell is perceptible to those who walk 

 ill rough an orchard on a sunny day where the application has recently 

 been made. 



1 do not know of anything that offers more successful results, reme- 

 dial or preventive, or that will be more likely to be effectual in arresting 

 or preventing the cause of blight on fruit trees than this application of 

 lime and sulj^hur. It has been used more or less for the past twenty 

 years, and has been reported upon favorably by those who have used it. 

 The following is the method of preparing the wash : Take one-half bushel 

 of lime and place it in a barrel, then add about 8 pounds of powdered 

 sulphur and cover with boiling water in sufficient quantity to properly 

 slake the lime, the mouth of the barrel being covered until ebullition 

 ceases, when it should be thoroughly stirred and more water added if 

 the mixture appears solid. When used, it is diluted with water until it 

 is of the ordinary consistency of common whitewash. All parts of the 

 tree that can be reached should be brushed over with this wash, and if 

 the white color is objectionable it can be darkened with lamp-black to 

 the desired shade of color. To destroy mildew on plants, such as at- 

 tack grapes, roses, &c., the barrel containing the mixture should be 

 filled up with water, and, when settled, a pint of the clear sulphur water 

 should be used in 4 or 5 gallons of i)ure water, and the plants syringed 

 with the mixture. There is no better or simpler mixture than this for 

 the destruction of mildew on plants, nor anything which we have tried 

 that proves so effectual. 



The fruit of some varieties of the pear are greatly injured by splitting 

 or cracking open when about half grown ; indeed, one of the very best 

 known i)ears, the White Doyenne, has been almost thrown out of cidti- 

 vation on account of this disease, and several other first-class varieties, 

 such as Beurre Giffard, Sheldon, and Flemish Beauty, are so liable to 

 this malady that their extension and plaiiting in orchards is greatly 

 restricted on that account. The cause and prevention of this injury to 

 these valuable fruits have long been matters of serious study; the pop- 

 ular conclusion that the disease resulted from a deficiency of some par- 

 ticular element in the soil was early advanced, but as authorities varied 

 in their recommendations in regard to the special ingredient required, 

 and as no good results followed the application of any of the proposed 

 remedies, the only alternative which seemed satisfactory to fruit-grow- 

 ers was that of abandoning the culture of varieties specially subject to 

 t lie injury. The cause seems to be climatic, and the disease is therefore 

 unlikely to be affected in any way by the nature of the soil or by any 

 system of culture or any special application to the soil. The cracking 

 is the consequence of a fungus growth upon the tender skin of the fruit, 

 which apparently destroys its vitality, as it becomes hard and unyield- 

 ing; and as the fruit expands and increases in size, the injured skin, 

 being too hard for expansion, cracks open. This is the usual result with 

 IVuits injured by mildew, and the same effects may be seen in the case 

 of mildewed berries, grapes, and gooseberries. 



To say that this cracking of the pear is primarily caused by climatic 

 influences seems a rather vague and indefinite reason, as we are not 

 •il>]e 10 point out the particular conditions of climate which promote the 



