36 The Connecticut Pomological Society 



immediate gathering and destruction of fruit showing any sign 

 of the mold, must be relied upon to reduce the trouble to a 

 minimum. 



The black knot {Plowrightia morbosa) . As in the case of 

 cherries, growers of plums for profit have finally succeeded in 

 rendering this once-dreaded disease a practically negligible 

 factor in the plum orchard. There are two seasons of the year 

 at which the black -knot fungus matures spores capable of 

 spreading the fungus. One is in January, the other in May or 

 June. In November and December the fungus is inactive; the 

 summer spores have disappeared, the winter spores are not yet 

 ripe. This, then, is the season for destroying the knots. They 

 should be removed by cutting of? the twig or branch bearing 

 them (cutting at least three inches below the knot), and these 

 cuttings should be burned. If they occur on the large limbs or 

 upon the body of the tree, they can be sliced of?. In any case, 

 the cut surface should be covered with paint or grafting-wax. 

 It has been demonstrated over and over again that the black- 

 knot is readily controlled in this way, but, of course, there is 

 always danger of reinfection from neighboring orchards or from 

 wild hedgerows, so long as the force of public opinion is not 

 sufficiently aroused to compel owners of orchards and waste 

 ground to destroy this pest. It occurs upon all native species 

 of plums and cherries, both wild and cultivated. 



Quinces. — The growing of quinces on a commercial scale 

 appears to be waning in Connecticut. V^ery few new orchards 

 are being developed and the older ones are being allowed to 

 decline. 



The principal disease which we have noted on quince trees 

 is the familiar \eai-spot {Entomosporium maculatum) . This was 

 the first disease selected in this state to illustrate the value of 

 fungicides, and it has been a standard and brilliant illustration 

 of this fact for many years. It would be difficult to name a 

 plant disease which is> at the same time, so destructive to the 

 tree attacked and so easily controlled. 



Another fungus which has been sent in to us with increas- 

 ing frequency by quince -growers is the rust {Rcestelia auran- 

 tiaca) , which attacks the young fruit and the twigs, dwarfing 

 the former and producing on the latter peculiar, knot - like 



