VZGETABLE DISEASES" 



' ROU^'D T.VBLE 



-201 



^Ie. Grefeeath: I have had mildew on outdoor lettuce. It 

 appears in Kttle spots, and in a very short time the entire head wih be 

 affected, especially in the fall of the year. Some six or seven years 

 ago was the first time I noticed it on a field. I had a field of very nice 

 lettuce, and I wanted to keep it for a later market. I arranged to 

 cover one-quarter of an acre with a canvas during the frosty nights, 

 and carried it through two or three very lieaAw frosts — down to 

 twentv'-eight — in good condition. Two heads would fill a hamper. 

 I asked a party in New York what he would give at this time. He 

 would give one doUar a basket. I thought it was not enough. A 

 few days after that, I discovered some of these tiny transparent spots, 

 and in a short time I had no lettuce at all. 



Dr. Reddick: I think that disease is caused by the same fungus 

 that makes the celery go down. 



cucu:mber diseases 



Dr. Reddick: What about cucumbers.' There was a lot of 

 blight last summer. 



Professor Stew.irt: What is commonly called bhght is the 

 disease in which the leaves at the center of the hill are attacked first, 

 and turn yellow in spots. Those leaves later become dry and die, and 

 the disease gradually works out towards the ends of the \dnes. There 

 will be a few green leaves at the ends of the ^dnes. and those back of 

 that will be yellow. That we know as the blight or the downy 

 mildew. One of the downy mildew fimgi causes it. It may be con- 

 trolled by spraying with bordeaux mixture. On Long Island in our 

 experiments, we have had very good success in controlling it. We 

 beheve the spraying should start just about the time the plants begin 

 to run. At first, we believe, bordeaux mixture should be used at a 

 strength of 3-3-50, later at 5-5-50. If you use the strong solution 

 at first, you are hable to do some injury. I believe the plants should 

 be sprayed at intervals of about ten days through the season. 



QiTESTiox: Would bordeaux mixture be detrimental to the 

 cucumbers.' 



Dr. Reddick: Xot at all. It does not do them any injury, and 

 there is no danger of poison. Where pickled or put into the salting 

 house, what is on them readily disappears. 



