FUNGOUS AND BACTEIUAL DISEASES lilT 



3. If liviug si>oros iiro coutiuuuUy Milting down from the air, wo 

 must keep the surface of leaf or fruit covered with something tlial 

 will kill them as they germinate. If we wait till they get in, tiie crop 

 will be ruined. Various Bordeaux solutions and lime-sulfur washes an- 

 effective for this purpose, and, iiatiii-ally, while leaNes are unfolding 

 ra[>idly or fruit is growing, we must sjtray (•\fry few days. 



1. If the s[»ores are alive in the soil, there is nothing to <lo 

 but rotate. Plant something they eanm^t grow ii|>oii — sonu'thing that 

 will starve tliem out; there is no other way of killing them out of 

 the ground. 



5. Seek continually for resistant varieties and strains. With every- 

 body on the lookout for these valualde variations, we may liojte for 

 more rapid progress in the control of fungous diseases of [ilants. 



0. ( )bserve general soil and plant hygiene. A\'it!i the soil mellow and 

 well drained we may minimize danger from root rots and damping-ofV 

 fungi ; with plants W(41 spaced to let in sunlight and allow free circu- 

 lation of air, or pruned with this iu view, a!ul with fruits thinned so as 

 not to touch, we may greatly reduce danger from aii'-boi-iie spores. 



Every comiimiiity organization, rural or suburban, oiiLcltt 

 to have a conmiittee on funo()us diseases of })lants and tlieir 

 practical control. The local class in biology mioht widl be 

 the laboratory right arm of smdi a coinniittcc. \\y \\()iking 

 out cooperative plans, tliorougldy agreed upon, which niighi 

 spread from neigliborhood to neighl)orhood as tlicy were de- 

 velo[)ed and perfected, uuuiy of our worst fiuigus enemies 

 might be completely stamped out. Xo real estimate of the loss 

 caused l)y them has ever been even attempted. We do not 

 know enouoh about them. I)uo-(rar's guess of ^r)00,()()0,()00 

 a year is ^■erv low, and, w hile it mioht a])pi'oximate the lossi's 

 to th(^ larirc markets and chaniuds of trad(\ we nuist certainh 

 ad<l to this all the danuio'e to the home o-arden and orcduu'd, 

 with the labor and expense of lighting fungi in them. The 

 class in civic bioloo-v which mves us even a iirst attempt at 

 a detailed account of the expenses and losses chargeable to 

 fungous diseases of [)lants in any connnunity will mark a 

 distinct forward move in this field. 



