THE APPLE. 85 



vinegar. If to be shipped to a distance apples should be packed in 

 clean, new barrels, into which they should be pressed so firmly 

 that they cannot move. If packed loosely they are almost certain 

 to arrive in market in a badly injured or worthless condition. A 

 regular press is made for this purpose and is sold by all implement 

 dealers. 



Some Important Things to Remember Are: — 



(1) If the roots of trees are frozen out of the ground, and 

 thawed again in contact with air, the tree will probably die. 



(2) If frozen roots are well buried before thawing at all the 

 tree will be uninjured. 



(3) Manure should never be placed in contact with the roots 

 of trees when they are set, but old pulverized earth compost 

 answers well. 



(4) Trees that are received in a shrivelled condition may gen- 

 erally be revived by burying, tops and all, with earth for a few 

 days. 



(5) If trees are to be watered in dry weather it is very im- 

 portant that they have a heavy covering of mulch, otherwise the 

 earth will be crusted over, causing the water to dry out rapidly. 



(6) If watering is commenced it should be continued until 

 rain comes, otherwise it may be worse than no watering at all. As 

 a rule heavy mulching is better than watering. 



(7) A tree of small or medium size that is thrifty is much to 

 be preferred, for transplanting, to one that is very large, but 

 which will be checked in its growth by being moved. 



Diseases.— Blight. In order to be truly hardy and desirable 

 for northern sections an apple tree should be hardy against fire 

 blight as well as the weather. This is the blight that kills the 

 growing wood in the summer. It is due to the growth of a very 

 small microscopic plant termed Micrococcus amylovorus. It is much 

 the same as the germs of disease which attack animals. These 

 germs are very light, are thrown off by the plant and readily blow 

 about. They grow in and destroy the tissues of the tree. It is a 

 very insidious enemy, and as yet we know of no method of destroy- 

 ing it or stopping its ravages. Some varieties, for reasons not 

 known, are not subject to its attacks, while others are only slightly 

 affected or only in occasional years. When it appears the best 

 treatment is to remove and burn all the diseased parts as soon as 

 may be, cutting considerably below where the disease appears. 

 The only way to avoid it is to plant varieties that are not subject 

 to its attacks. In pruning it should be borne in mind that the dis- 

 ease may be carried from a diseased to a healthy tree by the prun- 

 ing implement. 



Scab {Ftmcladiu'ni).—Tti\s is the disease that causes the scab or 

 blotches that deface the skin of apploc and destroys the leaves. 



