i8 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 203. 



clear view of the entire situation. The matter of this so-called 

 " whole-root" grafting, which really means the use of a longer 

 or shorter top-cut of the root on which to work the cion, was 

 started by a Missouri nursery firm, and could hardly have 

 originated where the necessity of putting the tender root as far 

 beneath the surface of the soil as possible is fully compre- 

 hended. 



The necessary depth for planting out grafts of iron-clad 

 varieties, worked on roots grown from seeds of tender varie- 

 ties, can only be gained by the use of long cions, and these 

 must extend far enough below the surface to insure sufficient 

 moisture about them to cause the putting forth of strong roots 

 from the cion itself. Success in this depends upon the height 

 of permanent moisture in the soil. In northern New Eng- 

 land so great a length of cion is not needed ior this purpose 

 as m many parts of the west, and especially in the dry states 

 like Kansas and adjoining portions of Missouri. 



But why is so little said yet about using iron-clad seedlings 

 for stocks ? Is there any good reason to suppose that the 

 seedlings of Oldenburgh would not be as hardy as their 

 parent ? Have we not sufficient ground for believing that if 

 we plant the seeds of the iron-clad Apples of north central 

 Russia, the seedlings grown from them. will be sufficiently 

 hardy to be used and planted in the same way as more 

 tender seedlings are in a milder climate } Not only for root- 

 grafting, but for budding, will not Oldenburgh-seedlings 

 serve and answer all our needs in the cold north ? I read 

 nearly everything I can get hold of on these matters, and have 

 sets of the proceedings of all the horticultural societies of the 

 cold north ; but I do not recall any discussion or even men- 

 tion of so important a question. 



It is very doubtful whether our American iron-clads, which 

 are, so to speak, mere accidents, could be reasonably expected 

 to give us reliable seedlings for this purpose ; and I should 

 not care to plant seeds of Astrachan, or any apple of south 

 Russia, to grow stocks for budding, or even grafting. But I 

 believe it is fully time to begin some exhaustive tests to settle 

 this not unimportant problem. Some may ask why so little 

 -has been done about it. I can only say, for myself, that as I 

 have a ready sale for all my Russian apples, and never have 

 ground any for cider, I have always sown the ordinary Apple- 

 seeds obtained from dealers. But I mean to keep the matter 

 in mind, and I write this to urge the same course upon others. 

 Newport, vt T. H. Hoskins. 



Anthracnose in Bean-seeds. 



T HAVE received a letter from a large seed-house asking for 

 ■•■ information concerning the anthracnose in Bean-seeds, and 

 Mr. Lyon, in his article, "Damping Oft," in Garden and 

 Forest, vol. iii., p. 599, virtually requests the same thing. 



The fungous disease of the Bean has been known for many 

 years, and my purpose here is only to record a few observa- 

 tions and suggest a feasible method of avoiding serious 

 trouble. 



The fungus (Colletotrichum Lindemuthianum) most fre- 

 quently attacks the pods of the bean when they are partly 

 grown, forming deep dark pits and lessening the yield. The 

 fungus spreads rapidly, from pod to pod, in the market-place, 

 and a spot may be established by inoculation upon an other- 

 wise healthy plant in thirty-six hours. Whatever may be the 

 true life-history of this fungus, it is certain that it can exist 

 from one season to another in the mature beans themselves, 

 and when these diseased seeds are planted the best possible 

 condition is given for perpetuating the disease. 



Beans of various sorts were examined, and a large percentage 

 of some of the Wax sorts were found defective, particularly in the 

 region of the eye. Instead of the natural color and plumpness, 

 the coat would be brown and wrinkled. When such beans were 

 split open the rusty appearance would be found extending 

 half-way through the seed. By placing such imperfect beans 

 in a dish in a moist chamber and keeping them moist, a rank 

 growth of the fungus quickly developed upon the diseased 

 portions and rapidly spread over the healthy portion of the 

 seeds. The spore-patches were often so abundant as to almost 

 completely cover the surface of the beans, and the spores 

 developed in countless numbers. As a rule, bacterial fer- 

 mentation soon after set in, and the small heaps of halved beans 

 became offensive masses of decay. This only shows that 

 the beans are rich in those substances enjoyed by the fungi, 

 hence the rapid development of the anthracnose. A more 

 careful examination of the diseased beans when first split and 

 before they had remained for a time under favoring condi- 

 tions, showed that the surface in some instances was already 

 studded with the spore-masses, thus demonstratino' that the 



dry beans in the market and seed-stores may be infested with 

 the disease. 



The next point was to note the behavior of the seedlings. 

 Those from good seed came up promptly and looked well, al- 

 most without exception, but only half of the diseased seed 

 germinated under the same conditions, and the plants were 

 sickly and spotted with the disease. Several of the plants were 

 so badly infested that there was scarcely a healthy place to be 

 found from the root to the leaves. From such plants it was 

 an easy matter to introduce by a needle the infection into the 

 tissues of a healthy stem. 



The next step was to test the value of treating the diseased 

 seeds with some fungicide, and it was found that the best re- 

 sults were obtained by soaking the seed for one hour in a solu- 

 tion of three ounces of the carbonate of copper, one quart of 

 ammonia-water, and four and a half gallons of water — that is, 

 five times the strength of the standard solution for grape-rot. 

 From comparative tests it can be safely stated that the product 

 from untreated seed was diseased four times as much as that 

 from the copper-soaked seed. These experiments teach that 

 one method of reducing the disease is to have seed that is 

 free from the anthracnose. This cannot be ascertained with- 

 out a microscopic examination, but a brief soaking in a fungi- 

 cide, while it does no apparent harm to seeds free from the 

 disease, has the power of greatly reducing the amount of it in 

 plants from infected seed. Unlike spraying plants in the field, 

 the soaking of the seed is a simple and very easy matter, done 

 once for all at the expense of a few cents for an acre ; and, 

 therefore, this method is recommended wherever the disease 

 threatens the crop. 



Rutgers College. Byron D. Halsted. 



The Carnation Rust. 



nPHE note by Professor Halsted on the Carnation Rust (vol. 

 •'■ iv., p. 596) has called forth many letters, from which it ap- 

 pears that this fungus, Uromyces caryophyllinus, has already 



u 



-^c- 



Fig. 5. — Uromyces caryophyllinus: pustules on thestem and leaves of a Carnation. 



obtained a very wide distribution in this country. It is said 

 that some of the growers along the Hudson River have known 

 of this pest for three years. Professor Galloway, of the United 



