DISEASES. 207 



class, as the Isabella and Concord are in some localities 

 more or less affected. 



Some ten years since I spent a season in southern Illinois, 

 where this disease is often very destructive. I made a 

 number of experiments for the purpose of ascertaining the 

 cause as well as to find a remedy therefor, but my limited 

 time did not afford me sufficient opportunity to arrive at 

 any satisfactory conclusion ; yet I was fully satisfied that a 

 compact wet subsoil was one of the causes, and my obser- 

 vation since has tended to confirm that opinion. The past 

 season this disease showed itself in my garden in Brooklyn 

 for the first time ; the location is very high, and the soil is 

 what is usually called a stiff loam, intermingled with stone. 

 Anna, Diana, Isabella, and Catawba were about equally 

 affected, the Concord but slightly. On my place in the 

 country, the soil of which is sandy, there were no signs of 

 this disease. 



That an excess of moisture has much to do with this dis- 

 ease is also apparent, from the fact that it is usually more 

 prevalent in wet seasons, or after we have had a long rain. 

 This was the case last season, as about the time the berries 

 were half grown we had several weeks of alternate rain 

 and sunshine, soon after which the disease made its ap- 

 pearance. 



In southern Illinois some of the old settlers believed that 

 the rot was caused by the heavy dews, which are usual in 

 that section ; this may be one of the causes, but probably 

 there are several that have something to do with it. I have 

 seen vines, a part of which were trained under the eaves of 

 a house ; the fruit on this part was not affected, while on 

 that portion which was not so protected from the dew, it 

 was almost entirely destroyed. In the same garden there 

 were vines growing in among the branches of small fruit 

 trees ; the grapes on them were sound, while those unpro- 

 tected were destroyed. 



Since that time I have seen several articles in our horti- 



