Plant Sanitation in Fruit Plantations. F. T. Brooks. 259 



less noticeable, the alternate stage of the fungus grows upon 

 Weymouth pines, whicli it gravely injures. Here again diseased 

 Weymouth pines should not be allowed to occur in the neigh- 

 bourhood of fruit gardens. If a comprehensive system of 

 inspection of plant diseases is ever instituted in this country, 

 these are two of the diseases which will have to be kept under 

 observation, for although they are not at present a menace to 

 the fruit-grower, they have dangerous potentialities. 



The remarks just made with reference to market plantations 

 apply with e\'en more force to nursery gardens. The nursery is 

 the foundation of all sound fruit growing, and this country is 

 fortunate in possessing many firms of nurserymen who have the 

 highest possible sense of responsibility to their customers. If 

 one imagines what might have been distributed by way of 

 disease and by poor quality stocks by untrustworthy people, 

 the effective manner in which the nurseries have firmly estab- 

 lished the market fruit-growing industry in this country will be 

 at once recognised. Nurserymen should deal even more 

 drastically with disease than the market grower. If silver-leaf 

 happens to appear, the affected plants should be immediately 

 burnt. It must be recognised that some of the operations 

 carried out in the nursery necessarily entail a risk of infection 

 by wound parasites. Thus in budding and grafting, the exposed 

 tissues may be penetrated by Stereum purpureum with the 

 result that silver-leaf disease develops. It is sometimes the 

 practice in budding young nursery stuff to leave a long stub 

 belonging to the stock, to which the developing bud can be 

 tied, thus obviating the necessity of staking. While this practice 

 is almost entirely innocuous with apples, it is fraught with some 

 danger to plums and peaches, especially if these are worked 

 on the ' Brompton ' stock which, it is well known, is very sus- 

 ceptible to silver-leaf. It would probably be a sounder practice 

 to cut back the stub, cover the exposed end with grafting wax 

 or with an antiseptic, and tie the developing bud to a stake. 

 That great care is taken generally by nurserymen in eradicating 

 silver-leaf if it happens to appear in the nursery, is evidenced 

 by the fact that it is very rare to see silvering in plum trees 

 under 5 years of age. 



Persons who only occasionally grow^ stocks and work them 

 may perhaps take less care in avoiding disease than the regular 

 nurseryman. Statements have been made that silvered suckers 

 are sometimes taken from diseased plum plantations to be used 

 as stocks, and although reputable nurserymen would not 

 countenance such a practice, provision should certainly be 

 made to prevent the possibility of silvered suckers being used as 

 stocks. If any wide system of nursery inspection is contemplated 



