THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



155 



FigHtin^ Onion Milde-w 



I 



ONION growers in various sections 

 are seriously troubled with Onion 

 Mildew, and frequently whole 

 patches are destroyed. Several means 

 of combatting the disease have been 

 advised, but in most cases the ravage 

 is not materially checked. 

 ■ Last year, Mr. W. J. Justice, of Barrie, 

 succeeded in saving a large patch of 

 onions grown from sets. In a recent 

 letter to The Horticulturist, Mr. 

 Justice wrote: "In fighting the Onion 

 Mildew I u.sed lime and sulphur, dry. 

 A few sprayings with Bordeaux mixture 

 were given, but I don't think it is of any 

 use for the purpose. I had been using 

 lime and sulphur for two or three weeks 

 before I wrote to the Ontario Agricul- 

 tural College for advice, but was not 

 succeeding as I thought 1 should. I 

 wrote to the College and asked for a 

 remedy, and found that for once I had 

 guessed right. The onions affected were 

 not seed onions; they were sets. 



"A package containing specimens of 

 affected onions were sent the College 

 when I asked for the best treatment for 

 the trouble. Professor Lochhead's re- 

 ply was as follows: 



' Onion Mildew is a destructive para- 

 sitic disease. As a rule the bulb is not 

 affected, but if the trouble appears early 



the bulbs remain very small. After the 

 fungus has secured an entrance into the 

 onions it is difficult to cure. All we 

 can hope to do is prevent it from spread- 

 ing. In the early stages it can be check- 

 ed by dusting with powdered quicklime 

 and sulphur — twice as much lime as 

 sulphur. This is best applied with a 

 bellows when the plants are damp. 

 Sulphide of potassium may be used one- 

 quarter ounce to a gallon of water. 



"Prevention rather than cure should 

 be aimed at, and this can be assured if 

 the known means are thoroughly car- 

 ried out. The first appearance of the 

 disease depends on resting spores of the 

 fungus, and they are produced on leaves 

 previously killed by the fungus. There- 

 fore, it is necessary to collect and burn 

 all diseased leaves. If they are allowed 

 to rot on the ground, the resting spores 

 are set free in the soil, and as they retain 

 their vitality for at least two years, there 

 is a constant and certain danger of the 

 disease breaking out afresh. If practi- 

 cable onions should not be grown on the 

 same land more than once in three 

 years. At the end of that time all 

 resting spores are dead. Damp and 

 shaded situations favor the spread of 

 the summer form of the disease." 



Growing tKe Celery Crop 



I 



AT the monthly meetings held by the 

 Toronto vegetable growers during 

 the winter months celery growing 

 in its various phases was fully discussed. 

 Several gardeners belonging to the 

 Toronto branch association have had 

 many years' experience with this crop, 

 and are looked on as authorities. 



The celery king of Huniber Bay, Mr. 

 Wm. Harris, said that on good celery . 

 ground the plants might be set outside 

 about May 24, but much depended on 

 the season. The earlier they were set 

 out the better would be the crop of 

 celery, as greater growth was made 

 during the long days of summer. Later 

 in the season, when the nights became 

 longer, blight is caused if the soil is not 

 well adapted to this crop. On heavier 

 soil the plants should not be set out 

 until June. 



Some gardeners recommended setting 

 the plants in rows 2}/> feet apart, but 

 Mr. Harris claimed the best celery is 

 obtained when the rows are three or 

 i]/2 feet apart. He preferred planting 

 them in double rows with a four-inch 

 space and eight inches apart, because 

 it saved hnnber when the plants were 

 being bleached. If the ground is dry 

 more space can be given between the 

 plants so that enough moisture will be 



fvirnished. He advised mulching with 

 manure after the plants are six or seven 

 inches high. In the best celery land 

 the less cultivation given the better 

 after the plants have reached that 

 height, as black muck drys out freely 

 when stirred. Besides, cultivation on 

 such soil after the plants are about 

 seven inches high, frequently causes 

 blight. He claimed that this trouble- 

 some disease remains in the ground, 

 and said that patches on which refuse 

 from tanneries had been used as a 

 fertilizer produced good celery free 

 from blight. It was thought that the 

 salt in this refuse had something to do 

 with the absence of the trouble. Last 

 year celery planted in double rows was 

 affected more by blight than was that 

 in the single rows. 



It was claimed by Mr. Harris that 

 black heart is found only on soil that is 

 not adapted to celery growing. He had 

 found it in his crop in odd places where 

 the soil was not deep. Kxperience had 

 shown him that celerv cannot be grown 

 on shallow soil, and that the deeper the 

 soil the better the crop. Paris Golden 

 Yellow is the variety best suited to his 

 soil, and most sought after on the mar- 

 ket. Some growers had said that it had 

 a poor heart, but his experience showed 



that no other variety filled out as well 

 as does the Paris Golden. 



Mr. Courtice said that the supplying 

 of a suitable market until late in the 

 season is as important as the production 

 of an ideal crop. Black swamp soils 

 are suitable for producing celery for the 

 early market, but if celery is wanted to 

 keep late in the season it should be 

 planted on a moderate grade on higher, 

 well-drained soil. This soil must be 

 kept continually cultivated. Celery of 

 better keeping quality can be produced 

 from planting in single rows than by 

 the double row system. It should not 

 be planted too early in the season. 



The secret in producing long-keeping 

 quality is to have the crop out as late 

 as possible in the fall. He preferred not 

 to take it in before November 10, and 

 said that every three days it is left out 

 after that time meant three weeks in 

 the keeping quality and also makes it 

 more edible. 



The aim of celery growers should be 

 to produce a first-class article. With 

 such it is not hard to hold the trade. 

 Mr. Courtice said he always took his 

 celery to the customers in boxes well 

 lined with paper, and instructed these 

 customers not to leave it loose in the 

 boxes and exposed to the air. If care- 

 fully handled and kept away from the 

 air it will keep crisp for a week or 

 longer. 



The best keeping celery that he has 

 grown is Evans' Triumph. It has a 

 whole heart and the stocks are crisp. 

 Paris Golden Yellow was much sought 

 after on the market, but it has not as 

 good a heart, and is seldom found free 

 from strings. The length of time that 

 celery can be kept depends on the season. 

 He has kept it as late as March. 



It was pointed out by Mr. Joseph 

 Rush that Canadian celery growers have 

 lost the art of keeping that crop. He 

 said that when he first came to Canada 

 he opened a pit on May 17, and sold it 

 as late as June 10. This lot had been 

 stored in a pit with sand in the bottom. 



That the market demands a blanched 

 celery, was referred to by Mr. J. McKay. 

 The blanched sorts, he said, do not keep, 

 and the green supply does not sell. If 

 the customers would buy green celery 

 Ontario growers could supply them, 

 and one stick of it would be worth more 

 than half a dozen of the goods now im- 

 ported from California. 



Budding is best performed when there 

 is still sufficient sap beneath the bark to 

 pe'rniit of the latter being easily raised 

 with a knife. On the other hand, if the 

 work is done when the tree is still grow- 

 ing vigorously the bud is liable to be 

 "drowned out," or in . other words, 

 forced out by reason of too much sap 

 and growth of the stock.— W: T. 

 Macoun, Central Experimental Farm, 

 Ottawa. 



