1 888. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



it after the crops are harvested, and tliis 

 clearing up deprives some pests of desirable 

 winter locations, wliile if tlie stntf is burned, 

 others are destroyed. Kor example, the 

 tarnished plant bug is not affected by fall 

 stirring of the ground, but the imago hiber- 

 nates in ruljbish, and by destroying this we 

 deprive the imago of winter shelter, if we 

 do not destroy it itself. This pest has 

 destroyed thousands of dollars worth of 

 Strawberries in Southern Illinois, by suck- 

 ing the juice and vitality from the unripe 

 fruit. It is an indiscriminate feeder, and .so 

 destructive that any measures that will 

 lesseaits numbers, should not be neglected. 



Poultry in Vineyards. 



The vineyards of that part of France, to 

 thesouth of the Garonne and Gironde Rivers, 

 knoMTi as the Medoc, where the wine inter- 

 ests are so large, hius been visited by Mr. 

 Stephen Beal who reports concerning them 

 as follows: " These vineyards are subject to 

 enemies, and at one season, June, they are 

 infested with vast liordes of slugs and earth 

 worms, which if not kept down will destroy 

 the vines. The eft'orts of fowls are very 

 largely depended upon to destroy these pests. 

 At other seasons of the year fowls are fouud 

 to be most valuable adjuncts to the success- 

 ful working of the vineyards. 



There are to be seen on every side and in 

 every field small poultry houses. Some of 

 these are permanent structures, but the 

 majority are movable, narrow enough to 

 stand between the rows of vines, and with 

 handles at each end to facilitate carrying. 



There is only one season of the year when 

 fowls are kept off the vineyards: namely, 

 when the fruit is just rii)ening, for then they 

 would pick at it. At all other seasons they 

 are permitted to wander at will. At the 

 time of my visit, plowing operations were 

 going on very extensively; and behind every 

 plow were a lot of birds revelling in the fat 

 things laid bare by the plow. At first it 

 might be feared that the poultry might do 

 harm to young and teiuler shoots, but in 

 practice this is not found to be the case. I 

 suppose there is so much that is better for 

 them on the earth, and the weeds growing 

 thereiu, that the birds do not feel any incli- 

 nation to eat off the vine, save at the time 

 already mentioned. 



One very remarkable thing I learned is 

 that the best fowls are reared on the estates 

 where best wine is made. Evidently the 

 qualities that go to make the liest wines, are 

 just those needed to produce a fine (juality 

 of flesh in fowls. 



Fungi and Plant Diseases. 



TBOF. T. L. BRUNK, BEFORE THE TEXAS STATE 

 HORTICULTURAL S<PCIETY. 



These diseases are known as rusts, smuts, 

 mildews, blights, rols, and scalds. Every 

 branch of horticulture suffers serious losses 

 from these enemies, no climate or section 

 long escaping their attacks. The number 

 that affect the interests of horticulture will 

 certainly count by hundreds, and to estimate 

 their loss of market value, by these low 

 forms of vegetable life, involves probably 

 hundreds of millions of dollars. 



Internal Fungi, Funj^us disea^^es were 

 formerly thought to be diseiised growths of the 

 tis.«ues themselves, upon which Kungi was sup- 

 posed to live and thrive. The cause of the 

 abnormal growth was attributed to the met<?oro- 

 logiual conditions, especially warm, misty 

 weather, but by the higher elaborations of the mi- 

 croscope within the lust halt century, it has been 

 shown that the tissues of higher plants do not 

 change into the things called Fungi, neither do 

 they originate in any other manner than as 

 descendants of pre-existing parent forms 

 through as rigid specific lines as can be traced 

 among any animals or plants. 



The beautiful researches of M. Pasteur, have 

 established the fact, verified by other observers 



e<|\ially authentic, that a spore is !is necessary 

 for the pniduction of the nnnutust speck of 

 niouldiiie.>i.s as the acorn is for the germination 

 of a giant (tak. 



There is in some species, a kind of siMire which 

 reproduces only in siunmer, being destroyed iiy 

 a low tcmiteraturc. Another that rctjiins its 

 vitality in the most intense cold, piopagathig 

 the disease the following season, by giving off 

 still different .se.vual bodies so very light, as to be 

 easily wafted to a distance by the wind. 



After these spt)res or conidia reach the lu)st 

 plant, they inuuediately, under the proper ron- 

 ditions of nioistnre and heat, licgin to .send out 

 a germinating tube. R.v hecnming rxcifed, \iy 

 imiabing moisture, its outer wall bursts and 

 simply allows the liWng Huid within, known 

 as protojiliusm, to increase into a d*'licate tube 

 (or in some cases zo-ospores), and at the suae 

 time increase in iiuantity. This tube, in inside- 

 growers, begins to force its way into the tissues 

 of its host, probably through the small pores 

 known as stomata. The delicate growing tube 

 or, (when they have become a great munlier,) tlur 

 mycelium, forces its way upwards through the 

 intercellular .spaces and between the cells, not 

 entering the cells liodily. 



This plant tapeworm, as it were, grows on and 

 on, sinudtaneously with the growtli of the host 

 plant, till it reaches the uttermost parts of the 

 leaves, branches or fruits, when it next sends 

 to the surface miniature forests of branches on 

 which are uuitured the sp'^res or conidia like the 

 Parent reproductive body. The millions of ex- 

 ternal erect stems present to the naked eye the 

 appearance wdiich we call rust or mildew. 



To this class lielong, of the tirape, the dreaded 

 black rot iPhiisahispdva BithvcUii) ; anthracnose 

 (Sphat-flinna Amtiehniuii): downy mildew (/'o'o- 

 aoypora ntU-ula); Grape leaf blight it'i iciitiiiitni 

 viticiila); leaf spot fPhyltasticta lalirtiseit) ; of the 

 Peach rust of leaves iPvcviuUi prM/ji.spb/o.sa); 

 Peach curl iK.riia,scii.sdr/(«-maHs); black knot of 

 Plum iPlowriulitia marbosa) ; scab and leaf blight 

 of Pear [FimicUulium pijrinum) ; Ajiple scab and 

 leaf blight iFru^h-Iadivin dentriticuni); Black- 

 berry ami Dewberr.v red i-ust ii'ivttinaiiiliHfi} ; 

 Potato rot il'Iuilttplilhttra infr^stanv) ; and others. 

 Bacteria Ailments. The bacteria live and 

 move in the ccmtcuts of li\ing cells of both 

 animals and plants, often until they break u)) 

 the compoiuids, on which the plant lives, into 

 those which seem to disintegrate and decompose 

 cell contents and struetures, causing what arc 

 commonly called bhghts or rots, as Pear, Apple, 

 and Quiuce blight, yellow disease of Hyacinths, 

 and prol)ably Peach yellows and gummosis. Cot- 

 ton blight and Tomato rot. 



This cliiss of infinitesimal enemies slay their 

 \ictims by the millions, and no adversary yet 

 found, save knife and tire, can overtake them. 

 At on(! stage they move with untiring activity. 

 Some oscillate and (piiver, never making pro- 

 gress in any given direction; othei-s slowly and 

 smoothly gli<ie along in a straight line, while 

 others whirl and dance and roll. 



They are single minute cells filled with that 

 living licpnd known as protoplasm, and having 

 a distinct plant substance (cellulose) for walls. 



The.'i' multipl.\' by a method known as fission, 

 that is, each bacterium becomes two by the for- 

 mation of a transverse partition across the mid- 

 dle of the adult cell. 



These minute plants gain admissifin to the 

 cells of their h<)st by the iiLsect punctures and 

 woiuids made on the h()st, and by the very .voung 

 ends of buds and root hairs, probably aided by 

 some acid or alkaline condition of air ttv soil. 



External Ailments. The external plant |iara- 

 sites are not .so numerous nor so diflicult to cope 

 with as the internal growers. The spores of 

 these Fungi float in the currents of air to the 

 proper plant where they germinate, but instead 

 of forcing an entrance to the interior, sim|ily 

 spread out over the surface of the part infested, 

 in many cases like a finely spun cobweb. Their 

 presence is indicated liy curling of the leaves, 

 turning yellow, (!r white powdery blotehes. 



As a rapid means of repr()duction, these fine 

 crossing and i-annfyliig threads or hyplia-, .send 

 uj> many vertical branches which di\'idc into a 

 chain of l(»osely attai'hcil bodies, the topmost 

 one of which falls olf Hi-st, f<j]iowed by the next, 

 and so on. Each of these have the power to ger- 

 minate, and proibice a new myccliiun all seasim. 

 Late in the fall a sexual reproducti\e bod.v is 

 formed upon the hypha^ which cfjutains from 

 one to several sacs, and these sacs each contain 

 from one to twenty-four spores. These bodies, 

 in the spring, b.v rupturing, allow the spores to 



escape, to go through the same cycle of eients 

 as the i)arents. 



tinder this class of causes we have the Pea 

 blight {Kruxiiihr Martirii) and powdery nnldew 

 of the tirape, (('miiiiidi .«p(r«(i.<). As compared 

 with Peronospora of the (irai)e, the Uncinula 

 likes a nnnh dryer atmosphere, and oft<'n oi^ca- 

 sions most injury iluring seasons of protracteil 

 drought. There renuiius yet t<) be given the 

 remedies and preventi\es applicable to the three 

 classes of Fungi mentioned. 



Black rot and Bowny mildew of the Grape. 

 During the sumnii'r of I.s.s7,an cxtensivi' set <•( 

 c.v|iurinu'nts with thesi' two <jiseiuses was earried 

 out both in France and this coutUry, with very 

 eneouraging results. Among those wdio did 

 Viduable service in many |>art.s of this country, 

 in aiding the Department at Washington, was 

 our President, Mr. T. V. Munson, anil several 

 other gentlemen of this State. The two experi- 

 ments gi\iug the most satLsfaitory results were 

 with the Bordeaux ndxture and Itlue Water or 

 Eau Celeste, as the Fren<:h term it. 'Ihe fii-st is 

 made by dissolving in a wooden vejssel, eight 

 pounds of sulphate of copper in fifteen gallons 

 of warm water; in another ve.s.sfl, slake ten 

 pounds of ipiick lime in five gallons of water. 

 When both mixtures are cooled r>our the latter 

 slowly into the former, stirring constantly. The 

 second is prepared by dLssolviiig one pound of 

 sulphate of copper in three or four gallons of hot 

 water. When the copper salt has comi)letely 

 dissolved, and the solution coolcil. add one pint 

 of li(piid eommereial aniinunia. Wln-u ready to 

 apply dilute to twrtUy-two gallons. Botli of 

 these solutions are applied with a spraying ap- 

 paratus. 



Anthracnose. Thiseomparati\ely new disease, 

 which acts on the Grape leaves and blanches as 

 though currents of hot air had parched and 

 shriveled them, and spf)ts the l>erries not entirely 

 unlike the black rot, has not been as thoroughly 

 mastered as mildew. It, however, has been 

 found that when the \dnes were sprayed thor- 

 oughly two or three times early in the season, 

 with sulphate of iron, followed by a dusting of 

 sulphur mixed with air-slaked lime, and con- 

 tinued several years, this disease rarely appears. 



Orange rust of Blackberry and Dewberry 

 (CccijinanUens) is a disease forming red blotches 

 on the whole luider surface of the leaves, com- 

 pletely robbing them of all vitality, and they 

 droji from the stock. This disea.se is rapidly 

 spreading westward. It has already reached this 

 State, and is beginning to play sad havoc with 

 these berries in the east, and in Illinois, whole 

 plantations have been swept away. Nothing but 

 fire and knife will extenninatc it, and every 

 grower should be vigilant in removing every 

 plant on the first indications of the disease. The 

 disease is not caused by any insect, though an 

 insect may happen to work simultaneously with 

 the disease, but on that account alone could not 

 be reasonably considered the cause. 



Pear Blight. This strange disease w hich has 

 bathed all attempts to prevent or destroy it, is 

 caused no doubt by a bacterium known !is Mi- 

 crococcus amylovorous. The blackened leaves 

 and patches of bark are usually the tii-st indica- 

 tions. The disease will then ha\e Ix-en at least 

 three weeks in progress. By removing the 

 diseased branches some inches lielow the point 

 where the bark is discolored, the disease nuiy be 

 checked, and possibly cause the tret! to enliiely 

 recover. Do not contaminate the knife by cut- 

 ting the effected parts, as it wouM convey the 

 virus to every branch cut thereafter until disin- 

 fected. As preventi\es, says Dr. .\rthur, the 

 most jiromising is to check th<' growth of the tree 

 by mulching, witholding fertilizei-s and cultiva- 

 tion, or by i>utting the orchanl into grass. 



For all Fungi that grow only on the surface of 

 the host, flowers of sulpluu' has been found to be 

 a very effectual remedy. Apply with a bellows 

 when the surface is damp. 



K33. Barberries from Seed. These are exceed- 

 ingly easy of (>ropagation. Sei-d ma.v be sown 

 immcKliatedly after ripening in tlu' fall"; or in tlie 

 s|)ring, in clean garden soil, well enriched. The 

 growth is rapid, and the plants will need only to 

 be wintered safel.v,—E. P. P. 



S(>!i. London Purple on Cabbage. Itiscrimi- 

 mtl to put any arsciui-al pi'cparafion on Cabbages. 

 We have already ti»o uuich risk to run with our 

 Potatoes. Man,\" physicians of high repute insist 

 that we are sulfering new comiilaints owing to 

 the am(»unt of Paris green ustrd on the Potato. 

 On the Cabbage it would certainly he in part lieM 

 by the leaves. Cabljage eati'i-s nnist look to this. 

 asago<Hl deal of arsenic is already nsi-d by grow- 

 ers who look only to profit.— E. P. Powell. 



