THE GRAPE IN KANSAS. 127 



DISEASES AND INSECTS AFFECTING GRAPES. 



Unhealthy parentage from which cuttings were taken and very poor or over- 

 rich soil help to develop disease. Overbearing also causes debility and a 

 diseased condition. Heavy, wet soil or stagnant moisture is also a source of dis- 

 ease. Too much washing-suds to vines on city lots often causes harm. 



Almost the only disease causing any uneasiness in our state is black rot, 

 which can be largely controlled by bagging and spraying. 



Insects are not bad; at no time in any part of our state have they caused 

 alarm; a few flea beetles, a few aphides, a little scale nothing serious. 



Grasshoppers, in some parts of the state, cut the stems and cause the fruit to 

 fall. Wasps, English sparrows, orioles and perhaps some other insects and birds 

 perforate the berries, thus attracting bees, and causing them to be wrongfully 

 accused. 



Birds are readily scared away by tying a hawk-kite to a string six to ten feet 

 long, at the end of a pole, and fastening the pole at an angle of forty-five degrees 

 (this keeps the string from winding about it) to something upright a tree or 

 post. Several of these kites, which are cheap, will keep birds from any crop of 

 grapes, berries, cherries, etc. They will also keep poultry off the garden or away 

 from any spot where their presence is annoying. 



ANTHRACNOSE. 



The anthracnose, or scab (Sphaceloma ampelinum}, is a very serious fun- 

 gous disease. It is most apparent on the fruit, where it makes a hard, scabby 

 patch. Its most serious work, however, occurs on the stems of the clusters, and 

 on the young growth, where it makes sunken, discolored areas, and where it in- 

 terferes seriously with the growth of the parts. It is not so easily controlled 

 as mildew or black rot. Careful attention to pruning away all the diseased wood 

 and burning it will help in controlling the disease. Before growth starts, spray 

 the vines, trellis and posts with strong sulphate of copper solution. After the 

 leaves open, use the Bordeaux mixture. Bailey's Cyclopedia of American 

 Horticulture. 



POWDERY MILDEW OF THE GRAPE. 



This mildew flourishes best in dry, hot weather, and prefers the hybrids of the 

 European wine grape, Vitis vinifera. It attacks the foliage, shoots, and fruit. 

 The leaves become yellowish, changing to brown, with whitish patches of the 

 ruiting threads of the disease on the surface, usually the upper surface. The 

 whitish patches turn light-brown later in the season, as the winter spores develop. 

 On the fruit, brownish spots appear, which may run together, checking the 

 growth of that part and causing deformed berries, which soon decay. 



Remedy. The treatment recommended for black rot of the grape will also 

 apply to powdery mildew. 



