1 62 Inserts and Diseases. 



fruit, some weeks earlier than usual accompanied with a ratl er 

 insipid flavor, and with purple discolorations of the flesh. These 

 usually occur the first season, and on a part of the tree which has 

 been first inoculated with the poison. The following season, nume- 

 rous small wiry shoots are frequently thrown up from the larger 

 branches, the leaves become yellow, the whole tree assumes a 

 sickly appearance, and eventually perishes. No instance is knowr^ 

 where a decidedly developed case of this disease has ever been 

 cured. When once attacked, to prevent a spread of the disease, 

 the tree should be immediately removed and burned. No young 

 trees should be planted on the same spot, as the diseased roots still 

 remain. Stones for seedlings should be procured from districts of 

 the country where it has not been introduced. 



In some parts of the country, possessing a strong fertile soil, as, 

 for instance, portions of Western New York, this disease has not 

 spread extensively when introduced from abroad. It has generally 

 destroyed a few trees near the affected ones, and has then disap- 

 peared. 



The curl of the leaf, in the peach, occurs during the early part of 

 the season, and appears to be caused by a minute internal fungus 

 in the pores of the leaf, developed by cold weather. The only 

 known remedy is a thrifty growth, imparted by good cultivation and 

 pruning back. When the disease is severe, it destroys most of the 

 foliage, and injures and sometimes kills the tree. 



Mildew of the Peach. The growth of peach-trees is often retard- 

 ed by mildew. It seizes the tender points of the shoots and young 

 leaves, and sometimes wholly stops their growth. It is confined to 

 glandless, cut-leaved varieties only ; such as the Early White Nut- 

 meg, the Early Anne, and some of the earliest varieties of the Red 

 Rareripe. Yellow-fleshed peaches rarely or never suffer from it. 

 It is not often a formidable evil, although it seriously lessens the 

 thrifty and handsome appearance of some varieties while growing in 

 the nursery. 



It is a minute fungus, and may be destroyed or lessened without 

 injury to the tree, by syringing with soap-suds on its first appear- 

 ance. A mixture of lime-water with the soap-suds is preferred by 

 some cultivators, and a subsequent dusting with sulphur has been 

 recommended. A thrifty growth and good pruning are, however, 

 usually the best remedies. 



Mildew of the Gooseberry. This is the most serious obstacle to 

 the successful cultivation of the foreign gooseberry in the United 

 States. In the cool and moist climate of England, it does not 



