STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 8^ 



are parasitic ; as the dodder, some orchids, the mistletoe of the 

 south and others ; the most are provided with chlorophyll, the green 

 coloring matter of plants, and capable of elaborating their own living. 

 They are frequently called the higher plants and are believed, as a 

 class, to have been the last introduced upon the earth. Most of the 

 plants we cultivate for their fruits, roots and seeds belong to this 

 group. In fact most of the useful plants of the world are tlowering 

 plants. 



The cryptogams or flowerless plants produce neither flowers nor 

 seeds, but are perpetuated by minute simple cellular organisms called 

 spores. Some fungi produce several kinds of spores, each capable 

 of reproducing the species. The spores of most fungi develop into 

 the parent form directly, but in many flowerless plants, there are one 

 or more intermediate growths or generations. The real plant among 

 fungi is so small, that it is not usually noticed, especially when it is 

 parasite and internal. The plant bod\' of fungi is usually composed 

 of small, white, slender threads. These ramily through the host 

 plant, or the decaying matter on which the fungus feeds. In other 

 forms the parasite spreads over the surface of the host. The repro- 

 ductive organs being so much larger, they are the parts that generally 

 attract attention. The white slender threads, that compose the real 

 plant, are collectively called the mycelium. The fungi that get their 

 nourishment from decaying or dead organic matter, are called sapro- 

 phytes, (Corpse-plants). They are the scavengers of the vegetable 

 world, hastening the decay of organic matter, and converting it into 

 food for higher plants. They serve a good purpose, and cannot be 

 classed as injurious fungi, only as they attack wood used for fuel and 

 timber, or hasten the death of weak or diseased fruit or shade trees. 

 There is another class of fungi which live on the inside or outside 

 of living plants and derive their nourishment from them. These are 

 called parasites. They are the tramps, paupers, and robbers of the 

 vegetable world. They have no chlorophyll in their structure and 

 therefore no ability to make their own living. They have the voracity 

 of tramps, the dependence of paupers and the audacity and perti- 

 nacity of robbers. They seize their victims with relentless grasp, 

 sapping their life juices, producing weakness or decay. This is the 

 class of fungi that damage our fruits and fruit trees. There is 

 another class of fungi that are saproprytic in some stages of their 

 growth and parasitic in others. These may be injurious. 



Fungi may be perennial, that is, the mycelium ma}' live from year 

 to year. When this is the case the continuance of the species from 



