620 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 253. 



Bacterial Disease of Beans. 



ABOUT a year ago my attention was called to a disease of 

 beans by a large commercial seed-house m the west. 

 Samples of the affected beans were carefully examined, and 

 only bacteria were found associated with the trouble. When 

 planted, such beans quickly decayed, an occasional one only 

 developing into a sickly plant. Previous to this a peculiar 

 spotting of the pods of Lima Beans had been observed, and 

 with this, too, only bacteria could be found, the leaflets at the 

 same time showing large discolored blotches, which soon 

 became brown and lifeless. While at the New York State 

 Station at Geneva, Professor Beach called my attention to the 

 same spotting and decay of pods and leaves of the common 

 field beans, and informed me that he could attribute the work 

 to nothing else than bacteria. Since then, during the fall 

 months, visits have been made to large Bean-fields in New 

 Jersey and Pennsylvania, with the result that this decay is 

 found, not only wide-spread among beans, but common to all 

 sorts, both bush and climbing, and in some places it ruins the 

 crop. 



From samples gathered upon one of these visits, 

 the accompanying illustration has been made. The 

 diseased spots show less plainly than in the real 

 pods, because the contrast in color between them 

 and healthy tissue is but slight. It was an easy 

 matter to prove by inoculation that the decay of 

 the Wax Beans is the same as that upon the 

 Limas. 



One of the most dangerous features in connec- 

 tion with this disease is that the germs are carried 

 over from one season to another in the beans 

 themselves. If it were possible to defect and 

 thereby reject all affected seed, it would make 

 matters easier. Many seeds are worthless at har- 

 vest-time, but others are only slightly infested, and 

 it is these latter that do the most mischief. Great 

 care should be taken with the beans used for seed ; 

 only the very best should be planted, and, if 

 possible, purchases should be made of those 

 who have not had any bacterial trouble in the 

 field. 



There is only one other Bean disease that might 

 be mistaken for this, namely, the " pod spot," 

 and this can be distinguished by its making 

 deep pits, which are pinkish with spore-bearing 

 pimples. 



Rutgers College. Byton D. Halsted. 



The Propagation of Hardy Plants. 



'X'HE approach of another year reminds us that 

 -'■ next summer's display depends largely on 

 what is done now, while outdoor work is sus- 

 pended. In every garden there is always more or 

 less propagating to be done, whether by means 

 of seeds, cuttings or grafting, and the next three 

 months is the best time of the year to forward the 

 work, more especially as we have now complete 

 control of the temperature and atmosphere. 

 Longer and hotter days means more air in the 

 greenhouse and less moisture, and propagators 

 well know how quickly cuttings wilt unless prop- 

 erly shaded and kept moist. Again, young plants 

 started now gain strength with the advancing 

 year and are in a good condition to set out when 

 the proper season comes, and will, in many 

 cases, flower this year. 



We have just been grafting Clematis paniculata. 

 The operation is simple enough, all that is needed being 

 to splice the cion on the roots of another species, pref- 

 erably C. stans or C. Virginiana. These are potted and 

 plunged in a frame in the greenhouse, and they will start 

 to grow in two weeks, and all will flower this year equally as 

 well as seedlings three years old. Young grafted plants of this 

 Clematis niake excellent pot-plants when trained to stakes, for 

 they flower from every leaf the plant makes, even from the 

 level of the soil. 



Perhaps the best way to propagate hybrid Roses is to obtain 

 roots from some vigorous-growing species, such as Rosa 

 setigera (the Prairie Rose), or Rosa canina, so much used in 

 Europe as a stock for budding. Last year we took these roots 

 and cut them in three-inch lengths and spliced single eyes of 

 hybrid kinds on them. The kinds used were Ulrich Brunner, 

 Heinrich Schultheis and Mrs. J. Laing. The first made growths 



five feet long last summer, and the other sorts did almost as 

 well, and they are the best plants we have now, out of several 

 hundreds, for winter forcing. Cuttings taken at the same time 

 and treated similarly are not more than half as vigorous as the 

 grafted plants, and we experience no difficulty from suckers 

 from the Brier roots as we do in plants budded in the orthodox 

 way, for we take care to match the roots and the cion, using 

 both of the same size, and it is difficult now to see where the 

 union was effected, and there is no other way that I know 

 whereby plants can be obtained of such strength in less than 

 a year. 



Those who wish to increase their stock of Anemone Japo- 

 nica can readily do so now by cutting the roots in pieces, three 

 inches long, and placing them in sand in a warm house. When 

 they begin to grow, in a few weeks they may be potted up 

 singly, and, later on, planted out. They will all flower this 

 year if treated liberally as to soil and moisture, for this Anem- 

 one loves moisture, as all know who have grown it in pots 

 for autumn decoration. In Massachusetts we lose half the 

 flowers by frost when grown in the open ground. Seeds of 



Fig. 106. — Pods ot Beans showing Bacterial Disease, 



perennials should all be sown as soon as obtainable now, as 

 many, indeed most of them, take longer to germinate than the 

 seeds of annuals do, and if the sowing is delayed until late in 

 spring, a whole year is often lost in obtaining flowers. The 

 one error of all others that is most common in seed-sowing, 

 is that of sowing too thick. The plants either damp off whole- 

 sale in the seed-boxes when small, or, if they live', grow weak 

 for want of space to develop perfectly, and when transplanted 

 the loss is often great. It is far better to sow just as much as 

 one can take care of properly. Plants, which have been 

 stored for winter propagation, such as Phlox, Helianthus, 

 Hardy Pinks, or others that are propagated from cuttings, 

 should be encouraged to grow now and the cuttings should 

 be taken as soon as possible, as they will root much more 

 readily at this season than they will later. 



South Lancaster, Mass. E. O. Orpet. 



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