THE CANADIAN HOKTICULTURIST. 



235 



ed. If allowed to run upon a tree, it 

 will soon kill it, but upon a trellis it is 

 valuable for its glossy foliage and 

 scarlet fruit. By proper care in select- 

 ing, the shrubbery may be attractive 

 from early spring until frost comes, and 

 even later. — American Agricidturist. 



PEACH YELLOWS. 

 A series of experiments have for some 

 time been carried on by Professor D. 

 P. Penhallow, at Houghton Farm, to 

 discover the cause of, and remedy for, 

 peach yellows. The conclusions reached 

 are : 



That peach yellows is not caused 

 primarily by fungi or parasitic plants, 

 although they may accompany and 

 aggravate it by their attacks on the 

 plant weakened by disease ; nor is it 

 caused by too much dampness or heat 

 in the atmosphere, nor by unseasonable 

 frosts or excessive winter cold, nor by 

 want of proper drainage in the soil, nor 

 by the use of fermentable stable ma- 

 nure. The primary cause he considers 

 to be a deficiency in the soil of certain 

 food-constituents, especially potash and 

 chlorine, which are supplied in the 

 well-known German potash salt, muri- 

 ate of potash. 



The most striking symptoms of the 

 disease are — unusual features in the 

 cellular structure and contents, which 

 are evident under the microscope only; 

 an excess of lime in wood and fruit, and 

 leficiency in potash and chlorine, which 

 •an be detected only by chemical an- 

 alysis ; premature ripening of the fruit ; 

 sjnaller leaves, with a red or yellow 

 •olor in place of the usual green; a 

 dark and parched appearance of the 

 bark on the main limbs. The disease 

 appears gradually, first on young 

 branches, from which it spreads over 

 the whole tree ; it can be detected by 

 microscopic examination of the cell 

 structure and contents in advance of 



the appearance of any outward symp- 

 toms ; of these he considers the prema- 

 ture ripening of the fruit and an unna- 

 tural color and flavor as the most im- 

 portant. 



In way of possible remedies, use 

 stable manure with caution ; trim off 

 diseased branches as far as possible 

 without too serious mutilating the tree, 

 and cultivate carefully. Apply the 

 following mixture of commercial ferti- 

 lizers : 25 lbs. kieserite, 100 to 150 lbs. 

 muriate of potash, and 450 lbs. dissolv- 

 ed bone-black, at the rate of 6 to 9 lbs. 

 of the mixture to each tree ; if the 

 trees are badly diseased, add more muri- 

 ate, about 4 lbs. to each tree, in Spring 

 before growth begins, and in the FalL 

 Spade the ground as far as the roots 

 extend, mulch with the inverted sods 

 or straw, and apply the fertilizer on 

 this mulch, thus avoiding too near an 

 approach to the roots. The evidence 

 of this theory of the cause is found 

 partly in the cures that have been 

 effected by this treatment with muriate 

 of potash. The remedy is a simple one 

 for so destructive a disease, and is well 

 worthy of careful trial by all whose 

 peach orchards are attacked by it. — 

 The 'Wine and Fruit Grower. 



THE ONION MAGGOT. 



" Coal ashes at the rate of about 

 25 bushels per acre are now asserted to 

 be a perfect specific for the onion mag- 

 got, and as they are easily procured 

 and applied, a trial at least could be 

 given at a very small expense." 



The above seems to be thrown out 

 without any statement of experiment 

 by any one who vouches for the correct- 

 ness of the assertion as proved in his 

 own experience. In some places this 

 maggot has been very destructive, and 

 growers of onions would be most thank- 

 ful to be put in the way of a " perfect 

 specific," 



