376 



CURRENT GARDEN LORE. 



formly over the surface of the fruit. Heat alone will not 

 evaporate fruit. Heat simply extracts the moisture, 

 while the rapid current of hot air passing over the sur- 

 face of the fruit sucks up the moisture like a sponge, in 

 its passage upward aud outward. If a dryer is not pro- 

 vided with this rapid and continuous air-current, it is 

 simply an oven in which fruit will bake at 225 degrees, 

 but with it, 300 degrees will not even overheat it. To 

 obtain this current of hot, dry air, blowers, suction-fans 

 and other appliances have been resorted to, in order to 

 force the air up and through the fruit, but without 

 any appreciable results. In spite of every effort the fruit 

 drips and sweats ; and the heated air, in its endeavor to 

 escape, will rush to the places offering the least resistance, 

 over-drying the fruit at such places and leaving the re- 

 mainder comparatively green. The instantaneous re- 

 moval of moisture by the dryer, as fast as heat brings it 

 out, renders sweating and dripping impossible. It there- 

 by prevents the fruit from sticking to the tray, and also 

 leaves it clear, bright and of excellent flavor, — Fruits 

 and Flvn'crs. 



Hyacinthus candicans in Masses. — This is a beau- 

 tiful bulb for beds and masses, and quite hardy. It is 

 advisable to cover the surface of cold, wet soil, not to 

 prevent the bulbs being frozen but to throw off e.xcessive 

 moisture. The bulbs do not long thrive in very wet 

 ground, but in a well-drained position and sandy loam 

 they do well. In a wet clayey border or bed the roots 

 die back and the flower-spikes become small. In unsuit- 

 able soils this bulb well repays special cultivation ; in- 

 deed, if peat and leaf-mold can be given plentifully, it is 

 thoroughly at home. There are two varieties of //. caji- 

 dicans, and one is inferior — at least I consider it so. It 

 is known as H. princeps, and has smaller and greenish- 

 colored flowers. Both are known under the name gal- 

 tonia, but Hyacinlhiis cajidicaus is the best in every 

 way. Its large pure white, fragrant, drooping flowers 

 make it one of the most interesting of plants for beds or 

 clumps. These bulbs are now so much grown for expor- 

 tation to this country that they may be secured at a small 

 cost, and when the long-lasting property of the flower is 

 taken into consideration, they are worth good culture. 

 If the small offsets from the large bulbs are saved and 

 planted in a light compost, they soon make nice-sized 

 bulbs. Plant in an open position, and avoid fertilizing 

 with manures. — Ga>-dc>ic?-s' Magazine. 



Black-Knot of Plum and Cherry.- The mature 

 form of the disease appears as a rough, wart-like excres- 

 cence or distorted outgrowth from the bark of twigs and 

 branches ; in severe cases it may extend along the trunk 

 for several feet. At A in the illustration is shown a knot 

 only partly formed ; B represents a mature knot on a 

 small twig. The fungus may appear on any part of the 

 tree above ground, and no portion of either trunk or 

 branches is exempt from its attacks. The first outward 

 sign of the formation of a new knot is seen in a swelling 

 of the tissue within the bark, either in the fall or during 

 the growing season of the tree. The swelling increases 

 till the bark is ruptured, as shown at A. Over the sur- 



face thus exposed the fungus sends out numerous threads 

 (hyphae), which produce a velvety appearance and are of 

 an olive-green color. Microscopic examination of the 

 velvety surface reveals multitudes of newly-formed and 

 forming spores borne on these upright threads. These 

 so-called summer spores, when full-grown, drop off from 

 the supporting threads. When carried by winds, insects, 

 or other agencies to another host-plant, under favorable 

 conditions they start growth and form a new center of 

 disease, from which, in time, other trees may be infested; 

 and thus the disease spreads from tree to tree and from 

 neighborhood to neighborhood. After a time the produc- 

 tion of summer spores ceases, the velvety threads die 

 away, and the surface of the knot becomes hardened, 

 gradually changing in color to dark brown and finally to 

 black. Late in the fall the surface of the knot appears 



to be covered with pimples visible to the naked eye. 

 These pimples are the outside covering of tiny spherical 

 cases, inside of which, in long colorless sacs, the winter 

 spores are ripened. They become mature and capable 

 of germination in February or March. The fungus is 

 perennial, and the best way to deal with thoroughly in- 

 fested trees is to cut down and burn them. Trees not 

 badly infested may be treated by cutting off affected 

 branches some distance below the knot. This operation 

 is best perfomed in the fall immediately after the foliage 

 drops. The summer spores must also be taken care of in 

 their season. As soon as there are any indications of the 

 formation of a new knot, in spring or during summer, the 

 branch on which it occurs should be cut and burned. 

 The first outbreak would probably be noticed about the 

 middle of May. — Sidlctin o/N. Y. Experiment Station. 



