56 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



December, 



No satisfactory remedies for borers have 

 yet been discovered. Their mode of life is 

 such that they are at no time in position to 

 be attacked by insecticides. This weevil 

 has its parasites that keep it in check some- 

 what, and some of our smaller birds seek 

 out the larvie and pupte under the bark and 

 feed upon them. The only way of checking 

 their ravages when they appear in parks is 

 to trim out and burn all infested branches 

 and twigs very early in spring, and again 

 about the middle of July. In this way the 

 larvfe will be prevented from coming to ma- 

 turity, and there will be no imagos. So long 

 as there are other unpruned trees about, 

 this remedy is palliative merely; but still so 

 many will be destroyed that a much larger 

 proportion of leaders will escape, and the 

 injury will be considerably reduced. — Oar- 

 den and Forest. 



A Universal Tree Scraper. 

 Whether the removal of much of the dead 

 bark on orchard trees, etc., or in other 

 words the scraping of the 

 bodies of such trees by 

 forceful means, is a com- 

 mendable practice or not, 

 is yet a matter of dispute. 

 We do not think we would 

 go about it in a very 

 rough fashion. It is 

 thought that the dead 

 scales, Mosses, which cov- 

 er older trees, etc., often 

 serve a very good pur- 

 pose in giving shade and 

 protection. However this 

 may be, we know that 

 these scales also afford 

 hiding places for injur- 

 ious insects, for their eggs 

 and pupse. For this rea- 

 son we do not object 

 to a moderate combing or 

 scraping of the trees, and 

 the universal " tree scra- 

 per," picture of which we 

 here present, appears to 

 us like a very good and desirable tool for 

 the purpose. Its action is not excessively 

 harsh or rough, and while it will be effect- 

 ive in removing the dead scales, and with 

 them insect enemies, we do not think that 

 it can do harm to the live bark underneath. 



TREE SCRAPER. 



CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 

 SIXTH PAPER. 



Ghape Rot, Its Prevention and Cure. 



DB. J. STATMAN, LEAVENWORTH CO., KANSAS, 



In 1878 I wrote to Hon. LaDuc, Com- 

 missioner of Agriculture, in answer to 

 questions concerning Grape Kot: " There 

 must be some other theory than of a fungus 

 growth to reconcile it with our observations. 

 We have a vineyard of four acres planted 

 in '67 and 'H8 which produced well until '73, 

 and then commenced to rot and has become 

 worse each year since, so that we consider 

 it worthless. A portion of this vineyard 

 was grafted with other varieties, but it was 

 the year of the grasshoppers (1875) so but 

 few lived. The shoots or suckers came up 

 from the roots and lay on the ground in the 

 weeds without any cultivation ever since, 

 and produced Grapes which did not rot 

 under the same conditions that the others 

 rotted, save they were never cut off and did 

 not lay in the grass. Here we have the same 

 moisture and temperature without fungus 

 or Grape rot. 



Here we have a fact that occurred thirteen 

 years ago, on a scale sufficiently large to 

 demonstrate, that it was cutting off the 

 vines that produced the result. The same 

 result has followed here and elsewhere, 

 whenever \'ines were cut back to the ground. 

 At our home place, 200 feet below the above 

 mentioned vineyard and two miles away, 



we had a vineyard set in 1862, which had 

 also become so worthless by rot that we 

 had all the vines cut off in the ground for 

 the purpose of destroying them, but they 

 threw up such strong good suckers that we 

 let them and see what they would do. The 

 result was, the next year and for several 

 years after, they produced good crops lying 

 on the ground without rotting. We then 

 pruned and put them on a trellis, where 

 they bore for a number of years without 

 rotting. We had two other rows adjoining 

 that were cut off in like manner at the same 

 time, one row was pruned and trained on a 

 trellis and cultivated some; the other row 

 was not pruned or cultivated, but lay on the 

 ground. Both of these rows produced 

 Grapes that did not rot. The one trained 

 up, however, produced the largest and finest 

 fruit. Both rows were about ruined by rot 

 before they were cut off. All the vines 

 spoken of were set out by the common plan 

 of digging holes about twelve inches deep 

 and setting the vines in them. 



We have another row of about 40 vines that 

 were set out in 1860, and were used for prop- 

 agation by layering, some years we would 

 layer so much that there would be no wood 

 left to layer the next year. We then would 

 let them grow and make wood for the next 

 year, and then layer them again. This sys- 

 tem has been kept up from year to year 

 except some few canes were left to bear 

 fruit. In no instance has this row shown 

 any rot. These vines, however, were set in 

 a trench dug two and a-half feet deep and 

 rich soil and material put in bottom for the 

 foot roots to grow in, which may account 

 for the freedom of rot. 



Our experience of at least sixteen years 

 tells us that cutting vines back to th e ground 

 will prevent Grape rot. To more fully con- 

 firm the fact stated we will refer to an essay 

 by Prof. Hawn of this place read in 1888 

 before the Leavenworth County Horticul- 

 tural Society. He said; "After abandoning 

 the old lines of research for the cause of 

 Grape rot, and entering on the new, I found 

 a single vine of Concord in my vineyard 

 entirely free from rot, while my other vines 

 and those of my neighbors were badly 

 affected, and from reports to your society a 

 general disastrous rot prevailed. This soli- 

 tary vine stood near a pond of water, rarely 

 dry for days in succession, and so rainy was 

 the season that the furrows of my vineyard 

 were rarely dry during crises of the rot. 



So active was parasitic growth in this 

 humid atmosphere, that mildew attacked 

 and destroyed the leaves of this solitary 

 vine before the fruit arrived at perfect 

 maturity, an incident that had never oc- 

 curred before on the Concord leaf, yet not a 

 rotten Grape was found on any of the clus- 

 ters, some of which might have weighed a 

 pound. In examening into the cause of this 

 exemption I found that in pruning .the 

 previous year I had cut the vine down to 

 the ground to bring it into a better shape, 

 and the new canes of the subsequent 

 growth produced the exceptional fruit. This 

 led to fiu'ther experiments on this line 

 which finally terminated in reducing the 

 whole vineyard to this sytem. 



During this transition, wherever a vine 

 was subjected to this treatment during the 

 nine years through which the experiments 

 were conducted, the loss from rot did not 

 amount to two per cent in any one year, 

 though losses outside of this mode were 

 never less than 30 per cent and in one or 

 two years nearly total." 



Here we have the experience of Prof. 

 Hawn continuetl through nine years with 

 the same result as our own proving beyond 

 a doubt that cutting the vines at or into the 

 ground is a remedy for Grape rot. The only 

 difference in the Prof, experiments and our 

 own is that he cut to the ground while we 



cut off several inches below the surface. 

 Which of these methods are the best, time 

 and experience will decide. 



Pruning Crape Vines Under Glass. 



SUBSCKIBER. 



The two principal modes of pruning the 

 vines are the long arm and the spur system; 

 the latter amongst practical gardeners is 

 generally preferred where an even crop 

 throughout the house is desired, but if on 

 the other hand large bunches are required, 

 the long arm system should be adopted. 



In pruning vines on the spur system, be 

 particular to alternate the spurs as nearly 

 as possible, to allow more space for the de- 

 velopment of the foliage. This is of more 

 importance than is generally supposed, both 

 in assisting the coloring of the fruit and also 

 to encourage more root action. Allow a 

 space of about eight inches between the 

 spurs on either side of the vine, cut back the 

 shoot to within two eyes of the cane. 



To grow Grapes on the long arm system, 

 allow the first season's growth to run the 

 length of the rafter, stopping all lateral 

 growth at the first or second joints to con- 

 centrate the sap in the main shoot. In win- 

 ter pruning cut the cane back to the bottom 

 of the rafter; in the following season train 

 up two of the strongest shoots to the top of 

 the house, stopping all lateral growth as 

 above, and when they have completed that 

 season's growth, cutoneof them back to two 

 eyes at the base. The shoot left will produce 

 fruit the following year. It is advisable to 

 cut back this shoot according to its strength. 

 The shoot that is cut back to two eyes will 

 furnish arms, one to take the place of the 

 rod bearing fruit this j-ear, the other to be 

 cut back to two eyes as before directed. 



Cleaning the vines must be done after 

 winter pruning; take down the cane from 

 the trellis and scrape thoroughly with a dull 

 knife, be careful not to injure the fruit buds 

 or penetrate the inner bark, then wash the 

 vines with Tobacco water, afterwards paint 

 with a mixture of Tobacco, soap, clay and 

 water. After the canes are dry, tie in a hor- 

 izontal position along the front of the house 

 to encourage an equal flow of sap through, 

 out the vine, allowing them to remain in 

 this position until they start into growth; 

 then tie them to the trellis. 



Forceps for Numbering Labels. 



The little device for numbering zinc or 

 lead labels is sent out by a German firm as 

 the best and simplest of its kind, and cost- 

 ing only about ■*2.50. It is small enough to 

 be carried in one's pocket, and has siifficient 

 purchase to be easily worked. Any number 

 from to 9999 can be pressed into a label 

 with a single impression. The number ready 

 for impression is also indicated by same 

 number appearing on top between two of 

 the dies, and the operator is thus enabled to 

 avoid all mistakes. To avoid the necessity 

 of setting the whole machinery for single 



FORCEPS FOR PRINTING METAL LABELS. 



figures (from to 9), these' figures appear a 

 second time, and independently, on the 

 handles, as appearing in illustration, and 

 impressions of them than be taken rapidly 

 without changing the wheel. 



