February ii, 1891.] 



Garden and Forest. 



7i 



central farm at Ottawa. Notwithstanding- the short period 

 since the establishment of this farm, we have succeeded in 

 getting a large number of varieties of fruits for testing. In 

 addition to many varieties of standard American apples there 

 are over 200 Russian varieties being tested and 3,000 seedlings, 

 the seeds of which were collected from the best fruit obtain- 

 able near the northern limit of apple-production in Russia. In 

 addition to the apples, we are testing many varieties of pears, 

 plums and small fruits. Sixteen hundred miles west from 

 Ottawa in Manitoba, near the town of Brandon, is the next ex- 

 periment farm, part of which lies in the valley of the Assini- 

 boin River. Here many experiments in forestry are taking- 

 place. The next farm is 200 miles farther west, lying in a dry 

 belt of country, swept by hot winds from the south, thus giv- 

 ing very different climatic conditions from the farm next east 

 of "it. The most western farm is 1,500 miles farther on, near 

 the Pacific coast. The climatic conditions in this territory of 

 British Columbia are difficult to understand. 



"Within twenty-five miles there is a change from a rainy cli- 

 mate similar to that of England to a rainless district just as 

 there is in Washington upon the other side of the line. Here 

 fruit-growing can be carried on with the greatest promise, 

 most of the plant diseases of the Atlantic states being un- 

 known here. The climate is especially good for apples and 

 pears, which possess a peculiarly fine flavor. In Manitoba 

 and Assiniboin, fruit-growing is difficult. The soil is so rich 

 that the trees grow vigorously throughout the summer and 

 fail to ripen their wood sufficiently to endure the rigor- 

 ous winter. For this reason it is difficult to make even 

 the hardy Russian trees succeed, and eastern trees are of no 

 use whatever. We have yet to determine what fruits can be 

 adapted to this region. A few Russian Cherries and Apples 

 have grown fairly well. An important condition of fruit cul- 

 ture here is that of shelter, and with this aid trees develop an 

 unexpected degree of hardiness, so that we feel that there is 

 much to hope for from this source. The wild Raspberry 

 grows well here, and Currants and Gooseberries also are quite 

 successful. 



'* One of the most valuable lines of experiment work for these 

 various farms seems to be the testing of all attainable varie- 

 ties, as sometimes trees, from which it would not be expected, 

 prove successful in our climate. In Manitoba, for example, 

 very good specimens of the Wealthy apple have been grown. 



" These farms are visited by hundreds of farmers who seem 

 anxious to learn the results of these various experiments. 

 Having observed that the forest-trees were very fruitful this 

 year, a large collection of tree-seeds was made at the various 

 farms, and these have been distributed in small packages 

 through the mails to farmers throughout the Dominion." 



HISTORY AND CURRENT PROGRESS OF ECONOMIC STUDY OF 

 PLANT DISEASES. 



In an instructive paper on this subject Professor A. N. 

 Prentiss stated that while early writers on agriculture noticed 

 the occurrence of diseases of plants, several chapters of Pliny's 

 Natural History being devoted to the diseases of trees, the 

 remedies suggested were all in the line of superstitious be- 

 liefs and practices. No real progress was made in the knowl- 

 edge of this subject for centuries. Without referring to the 

 history of the economic study of plant diseases in the Old 

 World, Professor Prentiss went on to say : 



"The first meritorious work of this kind in the United States 

 appears to have been a paper on the diseases of the Grape, by 

 Dr. Engelmann, in 1861. It was not until 1876 that Dr. W. G. 

 Farlow's exhaustive study of the Black Knot was published.* 

 This must be regarded as the first paper which, while possess- 

 ing the highest merit as a biological study, was also of much 

 value in its practical bearings. For as a rule the first step to 

 be taken in gaining a knowledge of the proper method of 

 combatting a plant disease is to acquire a thorough knowl- 

 edge of the parasitic Fungus which is its cause. This paper of 

 Dr. Farlow's was speedily followed by other important contribu- 

 tions by the same author. In our own state the work of the 

 State Botanist, Mr. C. H. Peck, begun in 1868 and continued to 

 the present time, has been of great importance. The work of 

 Dr. J. C. Arthur on plant diseases at the Geneva Station in 

 1884-1887, largely of a practical and experimental nature, is 

 well known. Nor should we forget to mention the researches 

 of Dr. Burrill, especially on the Pear Blight, which established 

 beyond doubt the cause of that destructive malady. 



" No organized work of any importance was undertaken by 

 the General Government until 1885. In that year was estab- 

 lished the efficient section of Vegetable Pathology of the 

 National Department of Agriculture. The work of this divi- 



* The Black Knot. W. G. Farlow. Bulletin of the Bussey Institution, 1876. 



sion, carried on by Professor Scribner from 1885 to 1887, has 

 since been under the direction of Mr. Galloway. The division 

 has now grown into large proportions, with a number of assist- 

 ants and agents. Valuable information has already been 

 widely disseminated, which, while touching all branches of 

 agriculture, is of principal value to the fruit-grower. 



" The most recent advance in the way of special work in the 

 field of our present inquiry, is that of the experiment stations 

 organized in every state under the Hatch Bill. In the pub- 

 lished report of these stations no less than eighteen of them 

 mention the Fungus diseases of plants as one of the most 

 important subjects of investigation. Of course, provision for 

 this work is no where completely adequate. Indeed, if the 

 energies and funds of a station were wholly devoted to this 

 subject, the ground could not be completely covered. The 

 vastness of the field may be indicated by noting the number 

 of Fungi which live upon almost any one of our cultivated 

 plants. Thus, no less than fifty species are recorded as 

 living upon a single species of Grape {Vitis Labrusca); on 

 the Peach, twenty-eight ; and on the common apple more than 

 eighty.* Not all of these are parasites preying upon the living 

 plant, and of these only a comparatively few are known to be 

 to any important degree injurious; but no one can say when 

 any one of them may not spring into prominence as caus- 

 ing plant disease, owing to changed climatic conditions or 

 other obscure or unknown causes. The contributions that 

 have thus far been made to our subject by the experiment 

 stations could not in the very nature of things been very great ; 

 but a beginning has been made, and we must not be too im- 

 patient for results. An examination of the bulletins of the sev- 

 eral stations for 1889 shows that some twenty papers were 

 published. These vary greatly in extent and value, those of 

 the Cornell Station, so far as fruit-growing interests are con- 

 cerned, occupying the first place in point of merit and im- 

 portance. 



"As a further indication of the hold which the subject hason 

 the public mind, it may be stated that laws intended to prevent 

 the spread of plant disease, or looking to its suppression, have 

 been enacted by some of the states, and the subject has been 

 more or less agitated in others. How efficient these laws are, 

 or may become, can only be ascertained by experience. Be- 

 sides this, the subject is now receiving attention in all of the more 

 prominent agricultural, horticultural and even botanical jour- 

 nals. During the past year many valuable contributions have 

 been made, and in at least one of our horticultural journals a 

 special department, fully abreast of the times, in which the 

 articles are well written and admirably illustrated, is main- 

 tained. 



" In the line of remedies for Fungus diseases only a single 

 general method, varying more or less as to the details of its 

 application, appears to be of unquestioned benefit. The un- 

 derlying purpose in all cases is to destroy the germ or spore 

 from which the injurious Fungus springs. The method con- 

 sists of treating the affected plant with some preparation 

 which, while not. injuring the plant to any material degree, 

 destroys the parasite. A very considerable literature is now 

 available which discusses the best substances to be used and 

 the best methods of application. While the operations called 

 for are not especially difficult, the work can best be accom- 

 plished by those who have acquired skill in the matter by 

 study and experience. It may therefore transpire that in time 

 every community will have some one person, well equipped 

 with suitable apparatus and material, who will make it a busi- 

 ness to perform the work for the fruit growers of his region 

 to the profit of all concerned." 



The Com mittee on Ornamental Plants advised a more general 

 planting of native trees and shrubs, and they recommended 

 among promising novelties the following : A golden form of 

 Hop-tree (Ptelia trifolrala) , which is easy to transplant and is 

 said to retain its color better than any other shrub or small 

 tree, its foliage remaining a pure yellow until November ; a 

 pendulous form of the American Elm found in Cayuga County 

 by Mr. Henry A. Morgan, and which is represented as growing 

 with an upright trunk and long, drooping branches which 

 have abundant foliage ; the form of Black Locust which has 

 foliage resembling the Mimosa, and which, with a large num- 

 ber of other varieties of this American tree, originated in 

 Europe ; a purple form of the Weeping Beech, and a sport of 

 Nordmann Fir, which has yellow shadings on its dark-green 

 foliage. 



Mr. C. A. Green, in speaking of the value of improved varie- 

 ties of fruits, gave some figures to show that the Concord 



*A Provisional Host Index of the Fungi of the United States. W. G. Farlow and 

 A. B. Seymour. 1888-1890. 



