204 The Canadian Horticulturist. 



GOOSEBERRY MILDEW— HOW PREVENTED. 



HIS fungus has for the past three years been successfully combated- 

 At the N. Y. Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva, fine crops of 

 this fruit have been grown entirely free from mildew. The success 

 has been so marked as to attract the attention of a number of lead- 

 ing fruit growers, and this station is in frequent receipt of inquiries 

 in regard to the application made. 

 The practice at this station is to begin spraying so soon as the young leaves 

 unfold, and continue the sprayings at intervals of from eighteen to twenty 

 days. In case of frequent, heavy rains, it will be necessary to spray more 

 often. The fungicide used is potassium sulphide ; liver of sulphur. Formula : 

 one-half ounce dissolved in one gallon of water. If hot water is used the sul- 

 phide will dissolve more readily. As commercial liver of sulphur costs but 

 little, from fifteen to twenty cents per pound, and one gallon will spray ten or 

 twelve large bushes, if applied with a force pump and spraying nozzle, it will be 

 seen that the largest cost will be that of labor. If spraying is done with a 

 syringe on a small number of plants, the amount of liquid necessary will be 

 increased, of course, but, however lavish one is with the solution, the beneficial 

 results will more than compensate for the outlay. The few fruit growers who 

 continue to grow gooseberries claim that they are one of their most remunerative 

 crops, as the markets are almost always destitute of them, and buyers are will- 

 ing to pay almost any price for bright, clean fruit. To test the matter of prices 

 for superior fruit, a five pound basket of several varieties was picked at fruiting 

 time last year and taken to a leading grocer of Geneva, who sold them as follows : 

 the basket containing the large varieties bringing fifty cents, those containing the 

 medium and small varieties bringing forty cents. The grocer stated that he 

 could dispose of a large quantity at those prices. The average yield of three- 

 year-old plants was over five pounds per plant, and as by setting plants four by 

 four feet, two thousand seven hundred and twenty-two (2,722) can be grown on 

 an acre, the results would have been a yield of thirteen thousand six hundred 

 and ten (13,610) pounds ; which, if sold at twenty-five cents a basket, would have 

 brought the sum of six hundred and eighty-five dollars. Surely there is money 

 in gooseberries when taken care of and kept free from mildew. In conclusion, 

 it may be well to say that it is often claimed for certain new varieties, that they 

 are mildew proof; but experience goes to show that, while some varieties are 

 better able to resist the attacks of the mildew, sooner or later they will become 

 afflicted as badly as older sorts. — New York Agricultural Experiment Station, 

 Geneva, N. V., May i, i8gi. 



To Free Strawberries from sand, in a way less injurious to their fragrance 

 and delicacy than washing, it is recommended to gently shake them in a piece 

 of damp muslin. The sand will remain attached to the muslin. 



