Page 44 



BETTER FRUIT 



April 



projects a mass of fine cottony threads. 

 From this observation it is plainly seen 

 that the rhizomorphs consist of very 

 large numbers of threads of the myce- 

 lium, enclosed by a solid coat. While 

 breaking the rhizomorphs into sections 

 it will also be noted that they will 

 slightly stretch before breaking. . Roots 

 of sorrel will break off squarely, and will 

 usually snap. 



Trace the rhizomorphs on the surface 

 of the plant. At intervals they will 

 disappear. Where the rhizomorphs dis- 

 appear the mycelium enters and spreads 

 out as a white, fan-shaped layer of deli- 

 cate threads, which, when abundant, form 

 a white sheet. The black, outer layer of 

 threads has disappeared. This pro- 

 tective coat is not necessary, since the 

 threads are now buried in and protected 

 by the parts of the plant in which they 

 grow. Of the means of identification, 

 rhizomorphs are the best, since they are 

 so characteristic and are most constant 

 of the visible parts of the fungus. 



3. As indicated by a large number of 

 observations, the fruiting stage, or toad- 

 stool, is seldom formed. In case they 

 do appear they are of considerable serv- 

 ice in identifying the disease. They are 

 honey-colored or light brown over the 

 entire surface, including stem, cap and 

 gills. They are about the same size as 

 the common edible mushroom, and may 

 be situated on any part of a root or the 

 crown of a plant. They occur in groups 

 of two or more, and frequently form 

 large, dense clusters. There will be diffi- 

 culty, in most cases, in finding speci- 

 mens in which the relation of the toad- 

 stools, rhizomorphs and mycelium may 

 be readily seen, since specimens may be 

 taken showing all the parts intact — toad- 

 stools bearing a rhizomorph, the end of 

 which terminates in a velvety-white, 

 fan-shaped sheet, or a thin, fan-shaped 

 layer of radiating threads embodied in 

 the roots or crown of the plant, usually 

 lying between the bark and the wood. 

 The toadstools rarely occur until late in 

 the fall, and then only persist for a few 

 days, since they decay quickly. Decay 

 is also hastened by the action of the fall 

 rains. For this reason they are of less 

 diagnostic value in the identification of 

 the disease than the rhizomorphs, which 

 are by far more constant and very sel- 

 dom decay. 



After a plant has become diseased 

 there is no hope of curing it. It may live 

 for a period of several years or may die 

 in a single season. It is advisable to 

 retain diseased fruit trees as long as 

 they produce paying crops of fruit, unless 

 they are a menace to neighboring trees. 

 Since the rhizomorphs seldom occur 

 more than eighteen inches below the sur- 

 face of the soil the spread of the fungus 

 through the soil may be prevented by 

 digging a trench about two feet in depth 

 around the tree near the ends of the roots. 

 The dirt should be thrown inside the 

 trench line. In removing a diseased or 

 dead tree the trunk and enough of the 

 main roots should be removed to collect 

 all parts containing the fungus in order 

 that the destruction will be as complete 

 as possible. 



Diseased plants, such as the bush or 

 other small fruits, should be removed 

 and burned at once. The plants are 

 grown so close together, especially in 

 the rows, that the fungus is readily car- 

 ried to neighboring plants through culti- 

 vation or by the rhizomorphs growing 

 from the roots of one plant into those 

 of another with which they may be in 

 contact; or by growing through the soil 

 from one plant to another, which is not 

 of rare occurrence. After the diseased 

 plants have been removed and burned 

 one should avoid resetting any kind of 

 plant the fungus will attack. When this 

 system has been practiced results have 

 been discouraging. The fungus in the 

 soil will also attack the new plants, and 

 in time will kill them. The ground from 

 which diseased plants have been taken 

 must be utilized for a period of at least 

 three years for growing crops which are 

 not susceptible to the disease, such as 

 grains, grasses and garden truck. There 

 is no known method by which the fungus 

 in the soil can be destroyed. In case 

 toadstools form before the plants are 

 destroyed these toadstools should be 

 collected and burned at once. They pro- 



THE following story taken from the 

 columns of the Journal of Com- 

 merce and Commercial Bulletin of 

 New York City gives some facts and 

 figures which, to the student of irriga- 

 tion, present some phases that are 

 entirely new, and also startling. The 

 article also shows the Yakima irrigated 

 lands are considered the most valuable 

 of all watered lands: 



"The future of irrigation is large with 

 promise. Eleven million acres were 

 under irrigation in the United States on 

 January 1, 1908; since then the rate of 

 progress has quickened, and a respon- 

 sible government official now says that 

 'a conservative estimate is that 30,000,000 

 acres of land will be reclaimed in the 

 arid West. On this basis there will be 

 homes on the land for more than a mil- 

 lion families. Each family on the farm 

 will support another family in the urban 

 communities which will rise on these 

 new agricultural districts. Looking for- 

 ward to 1950, when our population is 

 likely to be 150,000,000, who can measure,' 

 he asks, 'the importance of a work which 

 will guarantee homes and employment 

 for ten millions of people, and which will 

 bring into cultivation such a vast food 

 producing area? National reclamation 

 gave a wonderful impetus to private 

 enterprise, and astonishing success in the 

 settlement of large areas has followed 

 the efforts of a number of corporations 

 working in conjunction v/ith state gov- 

 ernments. There is more activity on the 

 part of individuals in irrigation work 

 today thaft in any previous time in our 

 history.' 



"The need for wider and more scientif- 

 ically directed agricultural activity was 

 never greater than it is today, when food- 

 stuffs have risen to prices that mean 

 hardships for many thousands, not to 

 say millions, of our population. Irriga- 

 tion not only turns virgin deserts into 

 fruitful fields, but it makes possible that 



duce countless numbers of spores. Each 

 spore is capable of producing new infec- 

 tion. Trampling the toadstools into the 

 ground, throwing them into the roadway 

 or burying them is not a good practice. 

 None of these methods destroy the 

 spores. The toadstools must be col- 

 lected and burned in order to accomplish 

 the desired results. There is no doubt 

 that the spores are the best means of 

 scattering the fungus. There is good 

 evidence that in many cases they are 

 responsible for isolated groups of black- 

 berry and raspberry plants becoming 

 diseased. 



Since the fungus frequently enters 

 plants through wounds caused in culti- 

 vating care must be taken not to cut the 

 roots by deep plowing. The greatest 

 amount of root injury from cultivation 

 is probably due to a lack of cultivation 

 during one or more years, followed hy 

 deep cultivation to put the ground in 

 good tilth in as short a time as possible. 

 Such a system should not be practiced, 

 since disastrous results are apt to fol- 

 low. Practice a good system of culti- 

 vation, in order to keep the plants in a 

 vigorous, healthy condition. 



intensive cultivation which has been so 

 wantonly neglected, though sorely needed 

 in this country. President W. C. Brown 

 of the New York Central Railroad sys- 

 tem, recently pleading for better farm- 

 ing, said: 'Given the same methods of 

 seed selection, fertilization and cultiva- 

 tion, our lands will produce as large 

 crops as those of any other nation. A 

 simple comparison of the average yield 

 per acre of the principal cereals in this 

 country with those of the older nations 

 is the severest possible criticism of our 

 methods, or our want of method. Dur- 

 ing the last ten years our farms ha^-e 

 produced an average yield of wheat of 

 less than 14 bushels per acre. England 

 produces more than 32, Germany about 

 28, the Netherlands more than 34 and 

 France approximately 20. Of oats the 

 United States produces an average annual 

 yield of 23.7 bushels per acre, England 

 42. Germany 46 and the Netherlands 53 

 bushels. Potatoes, like wheat, corn and 

 bread, are also a staple of the poor man. 

 Our average yield is 85 bushels per acre, 

 while Germany, Belgium and Great 

 Britain produce 250 bushels.' 



"Irrigation can aid in rectifying all 

 this. For what is irrigation, as now 

 being discussed? It has been aptly 

 described by a well known banking firm 

 engaged in this business as 'the applica- 

 tion of moisture to land by artificial 

 means, for the purpose of fertilizing land 

 and stimulating the growth of crops 

 thereon. It may be briefly explained as 

 the permanent diversion of water from 

 rivers, lakes and other sources of supply, 

 and its subsequent conveyance over 

 19829 Bet Frt Morath 3-17-11 Gal 44 

 tracts of land, by means of canals and 

 ditches of gradually diminishing size, 

 until through miniature ditches or fur- 

 rows — perhaps but a foot or two apart — 

 it serves to fertilize the soil with which 

 it is brought in contact. The ideal engi- 

 neering condition in irrigation projects 



WHAT IRRIGATION IS DOING FOR UNCLE SAM'S 



