FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
47 
enough to bend the peduncles over, and 
the fruit hanging in a pendant condition. 
Then spraying should be again resorted 
to. An application of once in two or three 
weeks will be sufficient at this time. After 
the fruit has arrived at the size of a hen’s 
egg no further spraying need be done. 
WITHERTIP OF CITRUS. 
For the last six or seven years, work 
has been carried forward actively on the 
study of withertip of the citrus. As said 
before, this disease and the mangO’ blight 
are caused probably by what is the same 
species. Colletotrichuni gloeosporioides. 
Similar to the bloom blight of the mango 
we have a bloom blight of the citrus, in¬ 
cluding grapefruit and lemons. Citrus 
bloom, when attacked by this fungus, 
sheds off in great quantities, leaving 
scarcely any fruit set. As soon as the 
grove owner discovers a condition of this 
kind, he should give careful attention to 
the blooms. If withertip fungus is pres¬ 
ent in this stage of the citrus bloom, a 
considerable number of the petals in place 
of being pure white, as they should be, 
or withering a brown, will have turned 
a brownish red. By means of the hand 
lens, one will be able to learn to distin¬ 
guish fungus infested petals from petals 
that are merely dropping and withering. 
Treatment.— Here again, as in the 
case of the bloom blight of the mango, 
our recommendations are contrary to the 
usual practice of spraying, in that we 
advise spraying directly into the bloom, 
using Bordeaux mixture of the ordinary 
strength. While this operation will de¬ 
stroy a quantity of the bloom, it will be 
comparatively insignificant when compar¬ 
ed with the amount that it saves. As 
new blooms open constantly, the spraying 
should be repeated at short intervals, prob¬ 
ably not more than three or four days 
apart. This, of course, will depend upon 
the severity of the disease in the grove, 
and the possibility of doing the work with 
the spraying machine. 
After the bloom has shed and a con¬ 
siderable quantity of the fruit has set, 
there is still considerable danger from 
withertip fungus. If a large quantity of 
young fruit is shed off free from the 
calyx, one should regard it as a very sus¬ 
picious condition and make careful 
examination for the withertip fungus. If 
the fungus occurs, the young fruit should 
be sprayed as promptly and thoroughly 
as possible. From the time the fruit is 
set until it reaches about the size of a 
large hazel-nut it is very apt to be attack¬ 
ed by this fungus. After the fruit has 
reached the size of a large hazel nut there 
appears to be little danger of its being 
attacked by this fungus. From this time 
until the fruit reaches the coloring stage, 
it seems to enjoy comparative immunity. 
During this period, when the fruit ap¬ 
pears to enjoy immunity from fungus at¬ 
tack, the tree itself seems to be vulnerable 
to its injuries. For controlling the disease 
in the tree we would not advise spraying, 
but would advise pruning. Prune out all 
dead and diseased wood, and do it as 
thoroughly as your time and pocketbook 
will permit. This pruning out should be 
done preferably before the middle of July 
in the summer time, and before the middle 
of February in the winter time. 
In the fall of the year, after the fruit 
has begun to color, it is again vulnerable 
to the attack of this fungus. The mark¬ 
ing on the fruit, whether it is grapefruit 
or oranges, is rather characteristic in that 
it makes a large brown sunken area, be¬ 
ginning usually with small size spots and 
