85 



The mycelium or plant body of the fungus remains dormant during the 

 winter in the dried or mummied plums which are left on the trees infected 

 with the disease, or on the ground beneath them, and when warm weather 

 comes the following season will produce an abundtuit cr(ji) of spores to start 

 infection afresh. 



In dealing with this disease, it will be easily seen that the most successful 

 treatment will necessarily be of a preventive nature. It is usually first 

 noticed in the season on cherries, especially on soft varieties which burst their 

 skins after a rainstorm, such as the Governor Wood, and, undoubtedly, infected 

 fruits which are left to dry up on these trees are a fertile source of infection 

 to plums later In the season. Great care should be taUeu to gather and burn 

 these, and also the first infected mouldy fruit noticed on plum trees. In 

 orchards which have been infected this season, the first thing to be done is 

 to pick off, as soon as possible in the fall, all dried up or mummied fruit which 

 may have been left on the trees, then with a fine-toothed garden rake gather 

 together all fruit that may have fallen on the ground, together with fallen 

 leaves and trash, and burn up all these sources of infection ; after whicli the 

 trees should be thoroughly sprayed with Bordeaux mixture of double strength, 

 viz. : S pounds sulphate of copper. S pounds lime, and 50 gallons of water ; 

 the ground beneath the trees should also be well sprayed with the mixture. 

 This should be followed by a thorough spraying with No. 1 Mixture (lime, 

 salt and sulphur spray), during the dormant season, both of the trees and of 

 the ground beneath them. 



In the spring, the spraying of the trees with Bordeaux mixture of the 

 ordinary strength should be commenced as soon as growth starts, and at least 

 two sprayings given after the blossoms have fallen. 



If there is reason to expect an attack of the disease after the fruit has 

 attained its size and before ripening. Spray No. 10 — the Carbonate of Copper 

 Spray — should be carefully used, as at this stage the fruit is particularly liable 

 to be infected. Cherry trees should be carefully sprayed with double strength 

 Bordeaux mixture as recommended for plum trees, while the trees are dor- 

 nuint, and in the si)ring the trees should be sprayed with Bordeaux mixture 

 of ordinary strength when growth commences, and again after tlie fruit has 

 formed. 



In Oregon, it is stated by Professor Cordley. "that now the disease is well- 

 established, any prune or cherry grower who fails to employ preventive 

 mea.sures against brown rot deliberately takes the chance of lo.sing a large 

 proportion of his crop, even though such loss may occur every year," and this 

 statement applies with the same force in Lower British Columbia. 



In selecting and packing fruit for market too much care cannot be exer- 

 cised to exclude not only infected fruit, but all that which has been in contact 

 with it, and it has been amjjly demonstrated that this season almost the entire 

 crop of some badly infected orchards was unfit for shipment. A good deal of 

 the loss experienced this year was due to the development of the disease 

 in the packages cti route to market, the temperature inside cars filled with 

 fruit being high enough, and sufficient moisture present to furnish favourable 

 conditions for the spread of the rot to a large portion of the shipment. 



