CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



shoots Careful experiment has proved that the vines that were 

 not stripped did not do as well as the others, as the dormant buds 

 in many cases did not come out, and those that came out were not 

 healthy and strong, and hardly had any grapes. The damaged 

 shoots that were not removed died gradually, and at the junction 

 with the cane new shoots came out without any grapes at all, while 

 two-thirds of a crop came on the frost-bitten vines, which were 

 stripped of the damaged canes; hardly any first cfop and only a 

 second crop on the vines which were not attended to. 



DISEASES OF THE VINE 



One of the most prevalent diseases of the vine in California is 

 caused by a fungus which affects leaves, canes, and berries, and is 

 locally known as "mildew." This disease is recognized by grayish 

 white coloring of the affected leaves, which, as the disease pro- 

 gresses, shrivel and dry up ; the young cane also blackens and dries, 

 and the berries show whitish patches, which become darker colored 

 and the berries crack open. The usual remedy for the trouble is 

 finely-ground or sublimed sulphur applied several times during the 

 season. Definite reference may be found in the chapter on diseases 

 of trees and vines. 



The Bordeaux Mixture and other copper preparations are some- 

 times useful upon grape-vines, as will be cited in the chapter on 

 plant diseases. 



Coulur. A frequent misfortune of the vine, and for which no 

 remedy is yet known, is coulure, a term signifying the failure of 

 the fruit to set or to remain on the cluster. This occurs in varying 

 degrees from the loss of a few berries to the almost complete clear- 

 ing of fruit from the stem. It is worse with some varieties than 

 others and in some localities than others. The trouble is believed 

 to arise from various causes. 



There is, also, occurring with more or less frequency, a redden- 

 ing and death of the vine leaves, supposed to be identical with the 

 trouble known to the French as "rougeole." The leaves show 

 light-colored spots at first, which afterward turn red and finally 

 involve the whole leaf or cane, and sometimes the whole vine. It 

 usually occurs in mid-summer, and is not necessarily fatal in its 

 effects. 



Root Knot. An evil occurring on the main stem of the vine, 

 generally near the surface of the ground, is an excrescence of woody 

 character commonly called "black knot." There has been much 

 discussion as to the cause of this abnormal growth, without full 

 agreement among observers. Some attribute the knots to injuries 

 to the stump in cultivation, others to outbursts of sap which the 

 short pruning system does not give top growth enough to dispose of, 

 and to various other causes, but the agency is now definitely 

 known to be invasion by bacteria. This is analogous to the "crown 



