54 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



BLACK SPOTS ON APPLES. 



Prescott, Jan. 10, 1882. 

 \ I have no doubt that I wrote the 

 article mentioned in your letter of the 

 9th for the Canada Farmer. The fruit 

 of several of my apple trees had been 

 affected with a black taint when they 

 were about half grown ; they then 

 shrank and became worthless. I re- 

 membered a remedy I had read when 

 a boy for caterpillars and other worms 

 on apple trees, and I thought I would 

 try it on my trees, as I was of opinion 

 that the taint was occasioned by some 

 kind of poison in the sap, and not 

 from the attacks of moths in the fruit. 

 Since that time my apples have been 

 perfectly free from the taint — indeed 

 the change took place the first season 

 after applying the remedy. I inserted 

 the sulphur early in the spring, before 

 the sap began to ascend into the 

 branches. I cannot see that the trees 

 have been injured by the holes having 

 been bored into them ; yet I think 

 grafting wax is preferable to wooden 

 plugs — anything to exclude the vmter. 



The only enemy that has baffled me 

 is the Codlin Moth, and until last season 

 I had almost given up in despair, for 

 he is an insufferable nuisance ; and if 

 these moths cannot be conquered we 

 shall lose in quantity and quality im- 

 mensely. 



For the tent caterpillar I tye a cotton 

 swab to the end of a long pole, dip it 

 in a pail of pretty strong lye, and 

 easily wipe the tents off in the morn- 

 ing. Last spring I found only tivo 

 tents on all my trees. 



The apple tree Borer must be looked 

 after, otherwise he will destroy the 

 trees — ornamental as well as fruit. 



My only enemy now, as I said 

 before, is the Codlin Moth. However, 

 I think I have a remedy for him also. 

 Last spring, early in April, I tried the 

 experiment on two trees — Duchess of 



Oldenburgh and McLean — of tying 

 tightly around their trunks, about 18 

 inches from the ground, with twine, a 

 piece of cotton cloth about three inches 

 wide ; then I daubed the cloth thor- 

 oughly with printer's ink, so that no 

 insect could crawl up the trunk with- 

 out sticking fast in the ink. Although 

 heretofore my Duchess had been affect- 

 ed as much as the other trees, every 

 apple was sound and perfectly mature, 

 and the largest crop I ever had. The 

 McLean tree had a few wormy apples, 

 which I could account for : I was taken 

 sick and could not attend to more. 

 And here let me say that the Duchess 

 of Oldenburgh is the surest and most 

 valuable early tree for the locality — the 

 Brockville Beauty next. The Red 

 Astrachan, although hardy, will not 

 hold its fruit, and the apples burst as 

 soon as ripe. The Early or Yellow 

 Harvest is too tender for this climate. 

 These trees have all been thoroughly 

 tried. Farneuse, if kept clean of 

 borers, in my opinion stands above a\\ 

 others as a fall dessert apple. Rhode 

 Island Greening, Baldwin, and Fsapus 

 Spitzenburgh — all magnificent apples^ 

 and superior winter apples to all others 

 that I know — are not reliable, being 

 too tender. They have all been grown 

 here, and are not now to be found. 



The only enemy I notice to the 

 Plumb is the black knot. I have lost 

 a number of the old Blue Plumb 

 family by it. By the use of coal and 

 wood ashes, and washing with salt 

 brine and sometimes lye, I have kept 

 the black knot off uiy Jefferson and 

 Egg plumbs pretty well ; but I am not 

 sure yet that I have fully succeeded. 

 I have not yet discovered the cause of 

 the black knot. If I knew the cause 

 1 would not rest till I found out a cure. 

 No doubt it is *a fungus, and not the 

 effect of insects. ^I think it is a poison 

 in the sap, which, perhaps from over- 

 stimulation with manr-" bursts the 



