The Canadian Horticvltukist. 



THE BLACK KNOT. 



In bulletin 59 of the Michigan Agricultural College, Prof. Taft reminds u& 

 that in order check the devastation of our plum orchards, which will surely 

 result from continued neglect, we must be vigilant even during the winter season, 

 as at that time the old knots of the past year's growth ripen millions of spores 

 which will each be capable of starting a new generation. 



Every old knot, whether on plum or cherry tree, growing in fence corners or 

 along roadsides, ought to be most carefully cut out, removing the limb some 

 distance below the part affected, and burned as soon as possible before the 

 spores have had time to float away to trees that are hitherto healthy. 



In some cases, of course the trees would be badly injured by this cutting 

 away of the knot, and it has been found that by cutting away as much of the 

 knot as possible and burning it, and then painting over the wound with linseed 

 oil, the fungus can be destroyed. Turpentine has been found still more effective, 

 but it is injurious to the healthy portions of the bark, and must therefore be ap- 

 plied with great caution. 



I'EXPERIMENTS WITH TOMATOES. 



Bulletin 21 of Cornell University, states that by trimming the vines of 

 tomato plants late in the summer, a greatly increased yield of fruit can be 

 obtained. In the experiments, the plants were headed back from three to six 

 inches on all the leading shoots, July 28th and August ?5th, and all the sprouts 



from the base of the plants were taken off. 

 The labor was very little and the result was a 

 decided gain in both earliness and productive- 

 ness. 



There are some forty varieties under test 

 Ift " " ' 'M ^t Cornell, but of them all the Ignotum, (fig.3), 

 stands at the head. 



Another point clearly demonstrated is, that 

 p'°- 3- it pays to set plants in the open as early as 



possible. A batch of Ignotums were planted out on the 9th of May, and 

 another beside them, on the 12th of June, and the difference in earliness 

 was very marked, for by the 5th of September there had been gathered from the 

 early set plants thirty-seven ripe fruits, and from the late set ones, only eight. 



PAPER AS SUBSTITUTE FOR GLASS FOR HOTBEDS. 



A Florida correspondent of the American Garden says he has found either 

 cloth or manilla paper saturated with pure raw linseed oil, the best substitute 

 for glass for hotbed covers. Boiled oil rots the paper or the cloth, but cloth that 

 has had two coats of raw linseed oil is both air and waterproof, and remains soft 

 and pliable indefinitely. Paper, so prepared, is nearly equal to glass, admitting 

 the passage of light quite freely. 



