THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



39 



F. F. Reeves, Humber Bay. 



The Toronto branch of the Onlaiio Vegelable Growers* 

 Association is the strongest branch of the provincial 

 organization in the pro\'ince. It has over 100 paid mem- 

 bers. Monthly meetings are held at which addresses 

 are given by li>cal vegetable growers. One of the secrets 

 of the success of this organization lies in the hard work 

 that has been done by its efficient secretary. Mr Reeves, 

 who has been a successful vegetable grower for a num- 

 ber of years. Mr. Reeves was in charge of the vegetable 

 exhibit at the Ontario Horticultural Exhibition and is a 

 director of the Ontario .Vegetable Growers' Association. 



Celery Blig'Ht 



What is the cause of celery blight, and what 

 is the best remedy? What experiments have 

 been conducted to find the cause? — F.F.Reeves, 

 Humber Bay, Ont. 



Prof. F. C. Sears, Truro, N.S. : There 

 are two common diseases of celery that 

 are known as "celery blight." As one 

 appears much earlier than the other they 

 have been distinguished as the early and 

 the late blights. Both are fungous dis- 

 eases and both begin as spots upon the 

 leaves, but in the early the spots are at 

 first grayish-green and later brown and 

 ashen ; while in the late blight the spots 

 are of a tawny color. 



The remedies that have proved most 

 satisfactory are : growing celery in moist 

 ground and, where feasible, shading it; 

 practising rotation so that the disease 

 may not be carried over in old celery 

 plants and attack the new crop; de- 

 stroying all refuse, plants and leaves, 

 and spraying with Bordeaux mixture in 

 the early part of the season, and later, 

 as the plants near maturity, with cop- 

 per carbonate solution (copper carbon- 

 ate six ounces, ammonia water two pints, 

 water 45 gallons). It is also recom- 

 mended to dip the tops of plants on set- 

 ting them out into the copper carbonate 

 solution. Extensive experiments have 

 been made at the following experiment 

 stations : Ithaca, New York ; New Bruns- 

 wick, New Jersey; New Haven, Con- 

 necticut, and U.S. Department of Agri- 

 culture, Washington, D.C. 



ANOTHER ANSWER 



Prof. L. R. Taft, Michigan: Celery 

 blight is caused by a fungous disease 

 that is especially troublesome when the 

 growth of the plants has been checked 

 either by lack or excess of moisture. Its 

 effects can be lessened by using land 

 that is naturally moist but well drained 

 and that is well supplied with plant food. 

 The use of mineral fertilizers rich in 

 phosphoric acid and potash seems to 

 reduce the tendency to the attack of 

 this disease. When the disease has been 

 troublesome it is a good plan to use the 

 land for some other crop for a year or 

 two. Spraying with Bordeaux mixture 

 or weak copper sulphate solution will 

 reduce the injury. Sometimes the dis- 

 ease appears on a few plants and it will 

 be well to remove and destroy the in- 

 fected leaves. It will also be well when 

 harvesting celery to carefully gather 

 and destroy all the leaves. 



ONLY ONE BLIGHT 



Prof. S. F. Edwards, Guelph, Ont.: 

 The term celery blight is commonly ap- 

 plied to several diseases of celery, but 

 accurately speaking there is only one 

 that should be called blight. The cause 

 of this trouble is a fungus, Cercospora 

 apii, Fr., which may appear at almost 

 any time during the season, attacking 

 first the lower leaves, and producing ir- 

 regular brownish blotches that later turn 

 yellow. Probably the most beneficial 

 treatment is spraying with Bordeaux 

 mixture, twice on the young seedlings, 

 and again a few weeks after transplant- 

 ing. 



Another disease of celery that is some- 

 times called blight, and which is prob- 

 ably of bacterial origin, is under investi- 

 gation in this laboratory. In connection 

 with this work, specimens of a few leaves 

 of diseased celery, accompanied with 

 data as to the extent of the trouble, 

 percentage of loss, and varieties of celery 

 most affected, would be gladly received. 



Gro-wing Cauliflower 



The question of growing cauliflower 

 was ably discussed at the meeting of the 

 Toronto branch of the Vegetable Grow- 

 ers' Association on January 6, by Mr. 

 Jno. McKay, the cauliflower king, of 

 Doncaster. It was stated definitely 

 that for success in growing this crop a 

 suitable soil must be provided. As a 

 rule success cannot be had on land that 

 is suitable for growing celery. A sandy 

 loam is the best soil and much better 

 than heavier soil. A liberal stipply of 

 manure must be added and frequent 

 cultivation is required throughout the 

 season. It is an expensive crop to grow, 

 as the plants are delicate and will not 

 stand extremes of heat or cold, and there 

 are numerous insect pests to combat. 



For success the best seed is needed. 

 These should be started about June 1. 



Mr. McKay used to sow the seeds before 

 May 15, but he found that the white 

 maggot usually did much damage when 

 the plants were started early. He 

 advised setting out a few plants about 

 July 1, and the main crop July 15, and 

 holding a few thousand as late as July 

 20. The best returns were obtained by 

 setting the plants in rows two and a half 

 feet apart, and the plants two feet apart 

 in the row with those of one row opposite 

 the spaces in the adjoining rows. All 

 the plants were watered as they were 

 set out, two men setting while the third 

 put on the water. It is well to set the 

 plants out during showery weather but 

 when three or four acres are to be planted 

 suitable weather cannot be awaited. 

 Plants with two to two and a half inch 

 stems were claimed to be better than 

 longer specimens. 



Frequent cultivation with the horse and 

 constant use of the hoe to keep the weeds 

 down results in rapid growth, and when 

 the head has developed to the size of a 

 hen egg or duck egg the leaves should be 

 pulled together over the top and tied 

 with a string to prevent the sun from 

 burning it. 



Mr. McKay was asked what his ex- 

 perience with commercial fertilizers had 

 been, and he remarked that he had used 

 different fertilizers both in the green- 

 house and for field crops. In some 

 cases excellent results followed and 

 again, under similar conditions, no im- 

 provement in the crop was noticed. 

 The blight could not be kept down no 

 matter how much fertilizer was used. 

 Mr. Shuter said that the fertilizers tend- 

 ed to make the plants stronger and more 

 able to resist disease and insect attacks. 



When asked what variety gave best 

 results Mr. McKay said that Erfurt 

 seed procured from one of the Toronto 

 seed houses was most satisfactory on his 

 soil. He started the seed on a knoll and 

 secured more sturdy plants there than 

 when the seed was planted on lower 

 ground. 



THe BurdocK 



Will a burdock bear seed the first year, or 

 how many years will the same root bear seed? 

 — Subscriber, Clinton. 



The burdock is generally considered 

 a biennial (that is, it takes two years to 

 reproduce itself), but in rare conditions 

 it may be found as an annual. The 

 biennial burdock starts from seed but 

 does not flower the first season. The 

 following spring it resumes growth and 

 produces seed, after which the whole 

 plant dies. The same root bears seed 

 only once. 



Plants should be treated more as 

 human beings who eat and drink and 

 breathe. Weak plants are usually 

 caused by high feeding, or the addition 

 of something that the plant doesn't like. 



E. F. Collins, Toronto. 



