64 CURRANT. 



It is now many years since the attacks of the Gall Mites (figured 

 at p. 63), which cause the Black Currant buds to become mere swollen 

 knobs, abortive for all useful purposes, have been a great trouble to 

 Currant growers. 



These knobs may be found scattered at distances along an other- 

 wise healthy shoot, or they may occur numerously near together on a 

 shoot of Avhich the regular growth has been checked ; they may be 

 merely round swelled growths, or some slight attempt at development 

 of leaf or flower, may have taken place ; but even where this is so the 

 diseased buds represent a total loss on them to the grower. The 

 attack is caused by the Phytoptm, or Gall Mite, which is as figured 

 (greatly magnified), at p. 63, cylmdrical, and furnished throughout its 

 life with two pairs only of legs, placed at the head extremity, which 

 narrows into a bluntly pointed proboscis. 



This Mite is to be found in vast numbers within the galls, or 

 knobbed growths, and for this reason breaking off these galls and 

 destroying them as early as possible in the season, so as to get rid of 

 the Mites, and also of their eggs (which I have found with the Mite 

 formed within as early as the 4th of April), is a sure method of 

 lessening amount of coming attack. 



Various measures have been tried, such as syringing with soft-soap 

 and sulphur washes, to destroy the Mites that might be straying about 

 the bushes, or sheltered in forks or crannies where the wash would 

 run down and stifle them ; also all applications to, or treatment of, the 

 ground which would remove shelters, or destroy Mites harbouring 

 during winter at the surface ; and (where attack is noticeable for the 

 first time) the promptest possible measures in totally destroying the 

 attacked boughs, or, if reasonably possible, the attacked bushes, should 

 be carried out at once. 



These measures have all been repeatedly entered on, but in the past 

 season the use of Paris-green has been reported to me by Mr. John 

 Biggs, of Laxton, Howden, East Yorkshire, as an application which 

 was of some amount of service joined to dressings of caustic lime on 

 the ground. 



Mr. Biggs observed, writing on the 20th of April:—" You will, I 

 am sure, be interested in knowing that I have, to a certain extent, 

 prevented the Phytoptus utterly ruining my Black Currant trees. As 

 you suggested in a letter of last March, we syringed the bushes twice 

 with the solution of Paris-green, which I procured from Messrs. Blun- 

 dell,* and gave the soil all under the bushes a good coating of caustic 

 lime. I also gave the bushes another dressing of the Paris-green. 

 Just when the buds appeared this spring I had a boy gathering all the 



* Address of the firm is, Messrs. Blundell and Spence, Hull. 



