VEGETABLE DISEASES 



781 



best cure for this trouble is to dissolve 10 oz. of sulphate of 

 potassium — liver of sulphur — in two quarts of boiling water, adding 

 two gallons of water, and thoroughly wetting the plants with this. 



Tomatoes, Black Stripe of. — This is a fungoid disease, the 

 origin of which, up to the present, is unknown. It is a parasitic 

 fungus and attacks both the stems and fruit, but can only gain 

 a footing when wounds are present in either or both ; and once 

 an attack has been experienced, it is very difficult to prevent its 

 reappearance the following season. To prevent a second attack, 

 all the soil in which the plants have been grown should be cleared 

 out and burned. The house, too, in which the plants have been 

 growing should be disinfected and scrupulously cleaned, while 

 the soil that is to be used the following season should be sterilised 

 by placing it over a fire on a sheet of iron and allowing it to become 

 heated, almost to the point of being charred. To guard against 

 a further attack of the fungus after the plants have become 

 established, spray them with sulphide of potassium every other 

 week or so right through the season, using i oz. of sulphide to 

 3 gallons of warm water, in which 2 oz. of soft soap have been 

 dissolved. Of course, a greater quantity of the spraying mixture 

 may be required, but the same proportions should always be 

 followed. Avoid giving stimulants to such an extent as to cause 

 the fruits to crack, and do not remove any more of the leaves than 

 is absolutely necessary. 



Tomatoes, Scalding of. — This is caused when, in the morning, 

 the moisture condenses on the fruits because the house has been 

 shut up too close, and the sun strikes them before they are dry, 

 as very often happens in the case of grapes. Scalding, too, may 

 to a great extent be caused by cutting aw^ay the foliage, which 

 is all too common. Rich food is often given in excess, and without 

 foliage to absorb such food it is taken up by the fruits, causing 

 bad flavour, spot, and scalding. We do not denude other plants 

 of their leaves in the same way as we see the Tomato treated, 

 and when this is done it is impossible to prevent the scalding of 

 the fruits when this severe cutting is carried to excess. The 

 smooth-skinned varieties of the Perfection type scald much sooner 

 than the corrugated kinds, the skins being probably more 

 sensitive. 



Tomatoes, the "Sleeping Disease." — The resting spores 

 of this, known scientifically as Fusarium lycopersici^ attack the 

 delicate root hairs and rootlets of the plants, finally invading the 

 whole of the roots and spreading up the stem. To make sure 

 that the disease has been destroyed, it is well to burn all the plants 

 that are tainted with it, at the same time removing all the soil, 

 mixing lime with it, and replacing with fresh before replanting. 

 Fresh plants should also be purchased from an untainted source. 



