that it is admitted by Rieord, Diday, Depaul, 
Acton, Harvey, Tyler Smith and Balfour, all 
authoritative writers upon this specialty, 
although the contamination of the mother 
through the ftetus is not always a necessary 
consequence of a contaminated ovum. Dr. 
Bumstead was also a botanist of large attain¬ 
ments, and in exchanging views with him on 
for, to have fruit trees to bear and mature 
good fruit and to be also long-lived, we must 
not force matters at all. The soundest and 
most valuable rirnber grows the most slowly, 
and is never found in wet soils which would 
induce late growth, and consequently imper¬ 
fect ripening of the season’s growth. 
In growing fruit trees, if it is found ihat the 
Supposing that the plants are now well 
grown, we will begin to stimulate and repress. 
Water every third day with good, rich liquid 
manure all through the season. This will 
produce an enormous growth of new shoots 
and close foliage, aud enable the plant to bear 
well. Nip off three fourths of these shoots, 
leaving those which bear the most flower buds; 
tie the long, heavy stems up to laths stuck into 
the ground, exposing the fruit to the full 
sun ; mulch heavily all round the main stem 
for three feet, and thin oat, the fruit where it 
grows too closely. 
This thinning out requires an amount of 
moral courage which few amateurs possess. 
The fear of not having enough tomatoes is a 
dreadful feeling, but when we once learn that 
a few splendid large fruits are infinitely bet¬ 
ter in every way than a great many small, 
ill-sbapen ones, we learn to look upon the ex¬ 
cess as enemies to the plant, exactly as we 
view the great green worms, aud then our 
courage comes. 
Now for seed for next season !! More moral 
courage, and a repression of that curious 
longing for the first fruits, which all amateurs 
experience, must govern us, or our seed for 
next year will produce later and weaker plants. 
Select the earliest flue tomato; cut off every 
other oue from the same cluster; tie loosely 
around its stem a white string as a mark, 
and grow that particular fruit as if all your 
future enjoyment of tomatoes depended upon 
it—as it really does. When dead-ripe on the 
vine, pick it and at once wash out the seeds, 
and dry them in the shade. Tomatoes are 
said by some to be very unwholesome food, 
but I have never yet found any ill effects from 
them, except when there was none to be had; 
then they do dlstrub my system terribly. 
s. it. M. 
RASPBERRY BLIGHT 
The New Jersey Experiment Station received 
some time ago from E. Williams, Esq., of 
Montclair, Essex Co., N J., specimens of tasp- 
berry eanes which had been killed by some 
cause. Mr. Williams m ys that the disease pre¬ 
vails over a wide exleut of country, that it has 
entirely ruined some plantations and its inju¬ 
rious effects are experienced in many others. 
The specimens were submitted by the Station 
to examination by t he Camden Microscopical 
Society aud the following report has been re¬ 
ceived from them: 
“ The canes were found to have their epidermis 
ruptured in many places, the result of a growth of 
a fungus which had attacked them either during 
the w inter or In the early spring months. In order 
to determine the species, one of the canes was 
submitted to J. H. Kills, Newtleld, N. J., a reliable 
authority on microscopic fungi. Ills reply Is as 
follows: 
1 on receiving the stems of Kubus, I went and 
looked at my red raspberries which were alt killed 
to the ground last winter and 1 found the canes 
near the ground had the bark ruptured like your 
specimens. The trouble with my canes was the 
red rust (Credo) which took the leaves off, the mid¬ 
dle of last summer, thus enfeebling them so that 
they died before the middle of January. There 
was a fungus on one of your specimens, an Aste- 
roma, perhaps, or the mycelium of some fungus, 
but. l do not think this caused the trouble. If, as 
In my case, the ('redo was the eauBe. the preven¬ 
tion of this would be a remedy, to effect which 
enrich the ground and cultivate well to cause a 
strong growth, aud If necessary further, apply 
lime or sulphur to the affected leaves.’ 
in this Instance, as in many others, we may 
see that a weakened or diseased condition offers 
the opportunity for a fungoid attack, showlug by 
analogy the Intimate relations between vegetable 
and animal life. When our systems are reduced 
from their uotmal condition by over-exertion, or 
by weakened vitality, our bodies are more liable 
to disease than if the normal condition were main¬ 
tained If the growing plant Is kept healthy and 
vigorous fungoid attacks detrimental to Its exist¬ 
ence ara not to be expected, as the conditions are 
not offered for them. This healthy condition of 
vegetable growth can best be had by cultivation, 
and a supply of good manure In proper season. 
And here must be sought the remedy In the case 
of the Kubus blight. 
“Isaac G. Mautindaue, Chairman.” 
“The hest fertilizers for promoting the 
healthy growth of the raspberry,” says George 
H Cook, Director of the Experiment Station, 
"will probably be barutaid manure with from 
200 to 400 pounds of muriate or sulphate of 
potash per acre. In ease barnvard manures 
cannot be got, the potash mauures may be 
used alone broadcast, or they may be composted 
with muck or loam. In any ease, however, 
care must be takeu to have the manures well 
mixed with the soil, so that they mav not in¬ 
jure the plauts." 
BROOM SEDGE.--—ANDROPOGON SCOPARIU8.— FIG. 208.— (SEE FIRST PAGE.) 
soil is too rich, or too wet. resort must be hud 
to transplanting, or root pruning. This may¬ 
be accomplished on a small scale by cutting 
off all roots outside of a circle, say, of three 
feet from the trunk with a sharp spade ; but if 
there are too many, use the plow to cut the 
roots, throwing a furrow from the rows, to bo 
turned back again before winter seie in. 
To insure heavy crops of sound fruit, plenty 
of roots aud perfectly ripened wood is required, 
but the roots should be- near at home—near the 
trunk while the tree is young. Older trees 
which bear must be allowed to spread then- 
roots, unless the soil close to the tree is en¬ 
rich-d annually. This is the best plan, us 
wandering roots work slowly, aud are apt to 
travel so far from the truuk as to get out from 
the shelter from (he hot sun, which the foliage 
above would give them. 
To get a tree into bearing early, where tbe 
life of the tree is not uu object, it is only 
necessary in June to root-piuuc quite elose to 
the tree. This is an attack -ipou the life of the 
tree, aud at ouee timber growth is stopped, 
and fruit buds form that season for next 
year. Forcing fruit trees in a nursery, to 
make them look well, then selling them to a 
green-horn, who follows the same plau to pro¬ 
duce fruit, is killing the goose to get two 
golden eggs. S. Rufus Mason. 
Dodge Co., Neb. 
this subject, be saw no reason why some of 
the diseases of plants might not be communi¬ 
cated to healthy plants through the pollen of 
those which are diseased. 
It will not do to say/with unproven dogmatic 
assertion, that the Yellows is caused by changes 
in climate and in atmospheric condition, for it 
does not attack b!1 the trees in an orchard 
simultaneously, but spreads gradually from 
one or two diseased trees; neither is it due to 
injuries from iusects, for uone are found upon 
them that could . roduee any snch results. 
Over-production, to which the p„ach tree is 
very prone, may have somethi g to do with it 
bv enfeebling it and destroying or injuring its 
powers of reproduction. Ia that case, thinning 
out the fruit would be a preventive, for the 
eneigies ot a plant are devoted to the produc¬ 
tion of the seed- and are readily exhausted by 
over- production. No cure, or mode of culti¬ 
vation that will effect one is yet known, so 
that tbe only mode of staying its spread, is to 
take, out the diseased trees, root and branch, 
and burn them a6 soon as the symptoms show 
themselves. 
I am strongly inclined to the belief that 
other diseases amonsr fruit trees are analagous 
to those found in animal life. The cracking 
of the fruit in many varieties of pears, the pear 
blight tbe black-knot in plums and cherries, 
aud such diseases as gangrene in some plants, 
I think are of this character. They are com¬ 
monly attributed to insects or to atmospheric 
influences, or to some mechanical action of 
light or heat, upon the juices of the trees ; but 
after years of reading and observation I can 
only arrive at a Scotch verdict of “not proven ” 
I think that the line of investigation should 
take another direction than that which has 
been hitherto pursued, and that the obscure 
diseases of vegetable life, of whieb we know 
so little, might have some light thrown upon 
them, were they studied by those who have a 
knowledge of tbe diseases incident to animal 
life. It. is certainly au interesting and import¬ 
ant field for investigation, aud I commend it 
to onr Agricultural Department and Agricul¬ 
tural Colleges. 
ttiorUfidturai 
TOMATO-LOGICAL 
This fruit (it is certainly more like a fruit 
than a vegetable) is susceptible of- vast im¬ 
provement by a moderate degree of attention. 
It is so very luxuriant in foliage, aud so pro¬ 
lific of fruit, ihat it overbears, aud is sure to 
produce large quantities of inferior tomatoes— 
inferior in size, shape, color and flu-or. There 
is no garden plant which will respond more 
quickly to proper care aud fertilizers, and 
none that will so amply repay the amateur or 
professional gardener for studying its neces¬ 
sities. 
The seed in the hot-bed must bo forced along 
rapidly, aud the plant kept stocky by fre¬ 
quent root-pruning after ihe second pair oi 
leaves appear. It must be transplanted twice 
to cooler beds to induce roots aud stoekineBs ; 
must- e set out in the ground only after all 
possibility of cool nights is over ; then left to 
itself (except thorough hoeing and weeding) 
until flowering begins. 
Propagating Strawberries.— When the 
last berries are picked, the plot should be 
thoroughly weeded, and if new plants are not 
desired, all runners should he cut off To ob¬ 
tain exu a-strong young plants, plunge, in 
July, four iuch pots in the ground to the rim, 
fill these with soil, and let the first joint of 
each strong runner take root in a pot, and 
pinch off the tip of he runner. Such plants 
can be transplanted with ball and will be much 
stronger from the start than those produced 
by the ordinary method of propagation 
Timber or Fruit— Which 1 
Many amateurs and too many regular nur¬ 
serymen have, au idea that thrifty, rapid 
growth is a benefit in growing young fruit 
trees. The young plants are placed in very 
rich soil, highly cultivated and forced along at 
the most rapid rate. These men are only 
growing timber, and very bra6h stuff at that; 
