THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



m 



THE ONION SMUT. 



The Onion is one of the leading crops 

 in many localitlies in the eastern states, 

 and in some of them the culture of 

 this vegetable has, within the last ten 

 years, greatly diminished, and has even 

 been abandoned because of the destruc- 

 tive prevalence of the Onion Smut. 

 This pest is closely related to the Corn 

 Smut, and makes its appearance upon 

 the Onions while they are quite small. 

 The smut plant in its early stages of 

 growth consists of a multitude of small 

 filaments or threads collected in knobby 

 masses within the tissue of the Onion 

 bulb and narrow parts of the leaves just 

 above the bulb. A little later the ej>i- 

 dermis or skin of the leaves bursts open 

 and a vast number of dark brown par- 

 ticles of dust are found, which are the 

 spores of the fungus. The Onion is still 

 small when the spores are produced, 

 and it seldom continues to grow. 



It is thought by those who have in- 

 vestigated the trouble that the smut has 

 come from the wild Onion or Garlic, 

 and this suggests as a precaution that 

 all of the wild Onions should be destroy- 

 ed. When the smut plant has per- 

 fected itself and ripened its myriads of 

 spores, the soil becomes more or less 

 charged with these aeeJs, and spores 

 are seeds as far as their functions are 

 concerned, of a destructive pest, and 

 give truth to the expression often heard 

 among afflicted Onion growers, that 

 " the disease is in the ground." A re- 

 medy is always the desired thing when 

 there is any disorder. If the spores 

 have already infested the ground they 

 must be destroyed. The best way to do 

 this is to cease growing Onions on that 

 land for a term of yeara sufficient to 

 exhaust the vitality of the dormant 

 smut spores. Put other crops on the 

 land, and after aV)out six years it will 

 be safe to try Onions again. 



The Onion smut is still somewhat 



limited in its range and every precau- 

 tion should be taken to keep the pest 

 from getting widespread. Great care 

 should be exercised in not taking seed 

 from a smutty locality. The spores 

 being very small they may cling to the 

 rough surface of the Onion seed and be 

 sown with it. As a precaution soak 

 the seed, that the water may remove, 

 as it will, many of the adhering spores. 

 Onions grown from sets are not so much 

 troubled with the smut as those from 

 the seed. It is probable that the tender 

 substance of the young seedling offers 

 much more favoralde conditions for a 

 successful growth. It is a fact of general 

 application that the stronger (and it 

 would seem as if even young Onions 

 were strong enough) the plant, the more 

 vigorous its growth the less liable is it 

 to attacks from fungi. — Dr. Bykon D. 

 Halsted, in American Gardener. 



WASH FOR FRUIT TREES. 



The object in applying a wash to 

 trees is not so much to remove the 

 rough and scaly outer bark as to destroy 

 the parasitic plants and insects which 

 adhere to the surface of the bark and 

 sap the vitality of the trees by a con- 

 stant drain upon the circulating current. 

 One form of wash is made by adding 

 one pound of whale oil soap to three 

 gallons of warm water, stirring well 

 and applying with a stiff* broom brush. 

 The trunk should be rubbed thoroughly 

 and-hard to remove as much as possible 

 of loose bark, that the liqiiid may reach 

 every part of the surface. Another 

 good wash is a weak lye from wood 

 ashes. A third wash is made by adding 

 two quarts of soft water to one gallon 

 of common soft soap. Place these in a 

 vessel over the fire, and when warm the 

 soap and water are retidily combined by 

 stirring, and should be applied in the 

 same manner as the whale oil applica- 

 tion. The best results are obtained bj 



