1903.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 37 



of the season they showed some of the usual blights. The 

 foliage of tomato plants which we observed was absolutely 

 perfect, there being no trace of the flea beetle or Macro- 

 sporium. None of the crops developed any fruit of any 

 consequence. The melons, etc., should have been provided 

 with bees to fertilize the flowers, and the tomatoes should 

 have been shaken frequently, to accomplish the same pur- 

 pose. Cucumbers did well, but failed on account of bees to 

 set fruit. It is generally agreed by growers that the foliage 

 produced under tent cloth was of superior quality, though, 

 on account of the inability of the crops to set fruit, they 

 were considered a failure. The foliao-e of o-eraniums and 

 other decorative plants w^as excellent, and the geraniums 

 showed no tendency to a leaf spot which had been rather 

 abundant during the past summer. Our experiments in 

 growing muskmclons under glass during the smnmer were 

 more favorable than those conducted under tent cloth, both 

 in respect to fungi and setting fruit. Our melon crop ran 

 into October, and there was not to be seen the sliofhtest 

 trace of any form of blight during the whole season . The 

 house was ventilated freely during the day time, hence allow- 

 ing insects free opportunity to fertilize the flowers, as a re- 

 sult of which we had a superabundance of fruit. Since it 

 was our purpose to observe what efiect the absence of mois- 

 ture would have upon infection, the foliage of the vines was 

 kept entirely free from water tliroughout. Notwithstanding 

 that the various blights which afiect the cucumber were 

 present everywhere out of doors, no infection took place 

 in this crop. We are convinced that Plasmopara or the 

 downy mildew (see p. 31) can be held in check in green- 

 houses, if the moisture conditions are controlled ; and the 

 same may hold good to some extent in the Alternaria and 

 the anthracnose. At any rate, none of these fungi made 

 their appearance on the foliage under glass. There is con- 

 siderable difierence in the conditions prevailing under glass 

 from those under tent cloth. Tent cloth may succeed in 

 keeping ofi" dews and mists from the plants. It will, how- 

 ever, allow rain to pour tlirough without much difficulty, 

 whereas the greenhouse can be kept practically tight. In 



