64 FUNGOUS DISEASES AND SPRAYING 



angular edges, and roughened with minute pimples which con- 

 tain the spores. 



Treatment. The same as for downy mildew. 



ft. 



MUSKMELONS 



Muskmelons often suffer from downy mildew. The appear- 

 ance of the disease and treatment are the same as for cucum- 

 ber. Similar results to those reported under cucumber were 

 obtained by spraying muskmelons in 1902. 



OATS 



Oat Smut. Affected plants usually smaller than healthy 

 ones ; but the disease is difficult to detect until the oats have 

 " headed out, " when in place of sound grain there appear 

 black powdery masses which are composed of spores. The 

 oat plant is infected shortly after germination by spores which 

 are usually sown with the grain. 



Treatment. This consists in destroying, before it is sown, 

 the spores which adhere to the grain. This may be done by 

 soaking the seed in a solution of formalin, one pint to fifty gal- 

 lons, for two hours. The seed may also be treated by sprink- 

 ling with this solution, thoroughly wetting it and allowing it 

 to remain in a heap for several hours. 



PEACH 



Leaf Curl. Early in season leaves become curled, wrinkled, 

 or puckered ; later wrinkled surface takes on a whitish or frosted 

 appearance. Leaves turn yellow and drop off. 



Treatment. Spray thoroughly with Bordeaux mixture a 

 short time previous (two weeks) to the opening of the buds. 



Peach Yellows. The following is Lodeman's description : 

 " The trees first ripen their fruit prematurely, the peaches 

 possessing distinct red streaks extending from the surface 

 towards the pit. The following 3^ears the new growth is gen- 

 erally tufted, and branched shoots are produced from wood 

 which is more than two years old. Such growths have narrow 

 horizontal leaves, which p,re yellowish in color. The disease 

 is contagious, and affected trees should be burned as soon as 

 the disease is discovered. No cure is known. " 



