66 



THE LANCASTER FARMER 



[May, 



sidered— was altogether arbitrary and incur- 

 able. Little advance was made as to the real 

 cause of the Wack-knot, from the period of 

 our boyhood down to the year 0^65, other 

 than the propounding of theories, all of which 

 differed from each other. 



The late B. D. Walsh, of Rock Island, 111., 

 in a paper published in the Practical Entomo- 

 logist, dated March .5th, 1866, seems to have 

 demonstrated as rational a system of the 

 origin, development and prevention, or cure 

 of the black-knot, as any that has come under 

 our observations ; and, is in confirmation of 

 the limited observations we personally made 

 about the same period, and published in the 

 Gardeners^ Monthly. 



The black-knot is neither a vegetable cancer, 

 nor a gall, but is a Fungus, belonging to the 

 same division of the Vegetable Kingdom to 

 which the mushrooms, rusts, smuts and 

 moulds belong, and propagates itself by means 

 otsporides, just as the higher organizations of 

 the vegetable kingdom perpetuate themselves 

 by means of seeds, nuts, etc. This fungus 

 matures about the end of July, in this lati- 

 tude—but earlier and later south and north of 

 this— and when thus matured it scatters its 

 spores abroad, not only on the same tree, 

 but they are wafted by the winds to other 

 trees. We may therefore reasonably conclude 

 that if all the infected branches are removed, 

 or the knots cleanly shaved oft", during the 

 latter part of June and first quarter of July— 

 carefully burning the excresences thus re- 

 moved—" an effectual stop will be put to their 

 further propagation." Provided alivays, that 

 your neighbor who has similarly infected 

 trees, does the same thing to them. Much 

 depends upon contiguous co-operation, in the 

 destruction of the pests of vegetation. Bear 

 in mind; it will be useless to " lock the stable 

 door after the horse is stolen." The removal 

 of the black-knot must be eflected before it 

 ripens and matures its spores. That is pretty 

 much all that it is necessary for the farmer or 

 fruit-grower to know about it, except the 

 date, which we have indicated in the fore- 

 going. Backwardness or forwardness in a 

 season may make some difference ; it will 

 therefore be safer to anticipate than to wait 

 until it is too late; under any circumstances, 

 we cannot remove a knot until one has 

 formed. 



By the middle of June the knot is sufficient- 

 ly developed to afibrd an immediate recogni- 

 tion. It is then of a brownish color; soft, and 

 fleshy inside, and of a greenish tinge, but to- 

 wards the end of July it becomes a coal black 

 outside, and inside of a rust color. Mr. Walsh 

 says, " the first week in August the surface 

 of the matured knot is covered with cylindric 

 filaments about one-eighth of an inch long, 

 which doubtless bear the "spores." The 

 blackness of the knot is due to the presence of 

 numerous small fungi, about the size of the 

 head of an ordinary pin, and from each plant, 

 or at least each female plant, the little fila- 

 ments spring up; aud after they cast their 

 spores they soon fall off. The same thing oc- 

 curs on what is called the "Cedar Apple," 

 and the fruit of the hawthorn. Two or three 

 years ago we attended a " picnic," in the vi- 

 cinity of which was a hawthorn hedge, into 

 which we had occasion to penetrate in order 

 to secure a subject ; and, we carae out of the 



ordeal covered with reddish rust— spores of a 

 fungus, doubtless a species of Sphmrea. The 

 fruit was covered with little radiating fila- 

 ments. Now, we would not advise any one 

 to wait until these filaments appear, for, at 

 the least touch they may " go off" and dis- 

 charge their pernicious seeds far and wide. 

 Of course, many millions of these spores never 

 germinate at all, but some will be surrounded 

 by congenial conditions and grow. Millions 

 are washed off by showers and carried in 

 rivulets to larser streams, thence to rivers 

 aud oceans. Enough remain, however, to per- 

 petuate the species. 



EXCERPTS. 



Pretty bedroom curtains are made of a 

 single width of crimson ottoman cloth over a 

 second pair made of antique lace. 



The essentials to success in onion culture 

 are plenty of manure, thorough fitting of the 

 ground, good seed and clean cultivation. 

 Here is the whole story in a nut shell. 



It is not necessary to have a vineyard in 

 order to have a supply of grapes for home use. 

 A dozen vines properly cared for will give an 

 abundance of this most desirable fruit for an 

 ordinary family. 



It is not right to milk slowly. It exhausts 

 the patience both of the animal and the milk- 

 er. Quickness in milking and patience in 

 stripping will give the most milk and be most 

 satisfactory to the cow. 



Unless you are able and willing to person- 

 ally superintend the scalding of your milk 

 pans it would be better to use earthenware. 

 Nothing but boiling water and plenty of it will 

 remove the germs of disease that lurks in the 

 half washed tin vessel. 



If you have any spare land, with no pros- 

 pect of being put to remunerative use, suppose 

 you plant a few forest trees. It will pay, and 

 even if you don't live to see the day of the 

 golden harvest, your children will. 



A POTJLTBY-RAISER iu Georgia finds chop- 

 ped or pulped yellow turnips a very valuable 

 food for fowls during the winter. He prefers 

 whole corn for the last feed at night, but uses 

 vegetables, unmarketable rice, and small grain 

 at other times. With a variety of cooked food 

 for fowls he gets eggs all winter. 



A Correspondent of the London Ulectric- 

 ian says the following is an instant remedy 

 for toothache : With small pieces of zinc and 

 a bit of silver (any silver coin will do), the 

 zinc placed on one side of the afflicted gum, 

 and the silver on the other, by bringing the 

 edges together the small current of electricity 

 generated immediately aud painlessly stops 

 the toothache. 



A GROWING, living tree robs the soil of 

 ^water, aud, to some extent, of fertility, for a 

 wide distance. This is distinctly seen iu 

 fields devoted to lioed crops. It is scarcely 

 possible te manure highly enough to bring 

 corn or potatoes under or near trees to the 

 average in other parts of the field. Butter- 

 nuts or hickory are especially injurious to 

 hoed crops near them, possibly because the 

 wash from their leaves positively injures the 

 soil. 



The Husbandman says : " There is no dan- 

 ger whatever that apples, peaches, pears or 



any other useful fruit will be produced in ex- 

 cess of the demand. The truth is, demand 

 keeps pace with production. People will use 

 a great deal more fruit when it is plentiful, 

 and when they acquire the habit of using, 

 they retain it. There is, perhaps, no branch 

 of farming that yields safer or more steady re- 

 turns than orchard fruit." 



A great convenience is found in this sim- 

 ple contrivance : Have a tin dish made 

 tapering and with a long handle ; have it 

 small enough around so that you can place it 

 inside the tea-kettle; it is invaluable when 

 there is sickness in the family, as there are so 

 many occasions when one needs to cook gruel 

 or custards at short notice, and with perfect 

 immunity from the danger of burning, even 

 though constant attention cannot be given 

 them. 



To renovate alapaca or black cashmere 

 dress goods, rip the dress and fold the pieces 

 ready to place into a preparation made as fol- 

 lows : Two ounces of borax, one ounce of gum 

 arable, dissolved before adding to the mixture 

 enough hot rain water to cover the goods, 

 which should be made very blue with bluing, 

 such as is used in rinsing white clothes. Stand 

 until cold, or over night. If needed, one 

 tablespoonful of the extract of logwood can be 

 added, mix well before adding the goods. 

 Press on the wrong side, very wet, with hot 

 irons. 



If your earthen pie-plates are discolored 

 rub them well with whiting or sand soap. 



A LITTLE powdered charcoal will cleanse 

 and sweeten bottles if it is well shaken about 

 in them. 



A well-beaten egg is a great addition to 

 a dried apple pie, giving lightness and a good 

 flavor also. 



White shades for gas or lamps may be 

 beautified by covering with a lace veil dotted 

 with gold spots. 



A riECB of soft sponge tied upon a smooth 

 stick is very convenient to use iu greasing tins 

 or the griddle. 



If the stair-rails are dingy their appearance 

 may be improved by washing them with a lit- 

 tle sweet milk ; polish them with a flannel 

 cloth. 



To Clean Carpets. — Dampen some In- 

 dian meal, mix salt with it, and sprinkle over 

 the carpet ; sweep vigorously. Take a small 

 sharp-pointed stick to remove the salt and 

 meal from cracks and corners. 



Paint which has become dry and hard may 

 be removed by rubbing the spot with oxalic 

 acid and diluted with water. Try a weak 

 solution first, and if it dees not remove the 

 stain, increase the strength. 



Never mulch anything in the spring till 

 the ground has become warm. 



The most prolific cause of disease among 

 fowls is uncleanliness of their quarters and 

 runs. 



A CORRESPONDENT of the Ohio Farmer 

 counsels us not to sow the wrinkled varieties 

 of peas too early. The small, smooth sorts 

 are the tough ones. Nine-tenths of those 

 who complain that their seed "don't come 

 up," sow the tender sorts. 



A Vermont dairyman says a young calf 



