208 THE GRAPE CULTURIST. 



cultural papers ascribing heavy dews as the cause of the 

 rot. If this should prove to be the fact, a preventive can 

 be readily applied by nailing a wide board flat-wise on the 

 top of the trellis ; it is worth a trial at least. I have never 

 had any difficulty in checking this disease and saving a part 

 of the fruit, the part saved, however, is scarcely worth the 

 trouble. 



Dusting the bunches with sulphur at the first appearance 

 of the disease will generally stop its further progress ; but 

 this would be a tedious operation to perform on a whole 

 vineyard; besides, the sulphur will adhere to the inside 

 of the bunches until the fruit is ripe, making a rather un- 

 pleasant mixture of grapes and sulphur. A preventive 

 is what is wanted, and not a remedy, for of these there have 

 been any number recommended such as gypsum, ashes, 

 lime, mulching the vineyard, besides the most absurd of all 

 practices, that of allowing the weeds to grow unmolested 

 and the ground without cultivation during the summer. 

 Probably the best method to pursue is to choose those 

 varieties that are the least liable to be affected, and plant 

 them upon well-drained soils. 



The first appearance of the disease is a small dark-colored 

 spot upon the green fruit ; this soon spreads over the en- 

 tire berry the growth is stopped, and it either falls off or 

 shrivels up, still adhering to the bunch. Sometimes the 

 whole cluster is affected ; at other times only a few of the 

 berries. This disease (if it is the same) seems to have af- 

 fected the Concord differently from the other varieties. As 

 the fruit came to its full size, not a berry dropped off with 

 me, but they only changed to a dark red and remained 

 stationary, making no further progress ; neither were there 

 any whole bunches affected, only a few berries in each. 



MILDEW. 

 Mildew is a very minute fungus, or parasitic plant, that 



