172 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
CROW IS GALL IIS ISURSERY. 
A Warning Against Allowing Disease to Obtain a Foothold in Nur¬ 
series—Has Been Overlooked Because of Connection with 
Aphids — All Seedlings Should be Examined—Nature of 
the Disease—Bulletins on the Subject. 
C. A. Wieting, commissioner of agriculture, Albany, N Y., 
has issued a circular upon the importance of guarding against 
the spread of crown gall in nurseries. He says : 
This disease of the apple, almond, peach, pear, grape, raspberry, 
blackberry, walnut and some other plants, is one of the most serious 
that threatens the cultivation of nursery stock. It has been overlooked 
by most nurserymen because the galls were supposed to be caused by 
wooly or other aphids; this was a very natural error because aphids 
often make their homes in the galls, indeed both the crown galls and 
the galls produced by aphids are found frequently on the roots of the 
same trees. The presence of various fungus growths of nemetodes 
and the aphids, have made some people attribute the disease of crown 
gall to these causes, but the fact that none of them are a cause is well 
established, and the origin of this particular disease is still very ob¬ 
scure to our best botanists and plant pathologists, therefore no satis¬ 
factory remedy is known except burning and certain care in the sort¬ 
ing of stock for planting. 
The crown gall may be present in a block of trees or plants, and if 
other kinds of stock are planted on the same land they are almost sure 
to contract the disease, as it is supposed to remain in the soil A case 
is known where three crops of peach trees were raised on the same lot, 
following a block of raspberries. Ten per centum of the first crop of 
peach trees were ruined by crown gall, fifty per centum of the second 
crop and all of the third crop ; plants propagated from the raspberries 
were affected with galls. 
Crown gall may be found on the roots of one year seedlings ; on the 
roots of older trees, at the surface of the ground ; and occasionally two 
or three feet up on the trunks of the affected trees. They are of all 
sizes up to two or three or more inches in diameter. 
One year peach trees affected with crown gall will not usually live 
to bearing age, and the injury to other plants and trees is very serious. 
Nurserymen should examine all their seedlings with great care and 
reject all that have galls on them, and no trees should be planted in 
the orchard that have crown galls ; no trees should be considered fit to 
plant that come from blocks that have ever been found infected with 
crown gall. 
All galls on the roots are not crown galls and a distinction between 
them may be made, but surely it were safer to burn all plants with 
galls on them than take any chances. 
The galls caused by aphids are usually knotty and very hard, while 
the crown gall is rather soft and as easily cut as a turnip, its tissue 
being brain like in formation. It sometimes appears as a warty for¬ 
mation on the larger roots or collar of the trees and again it may be on 
the smaller roots, spherical in form, and one inch or more in diameter. 
Sulphur and copperas have been used as remedies but the results 
have not been uniform or satisfactory. 
All authorities agree that this is a very contagious disease and that 
great care should be exercised to prevent its spread. Nurserymen 
should be especially careful to examine the roots of their stock at the 
season of the year when exposed to view. The disease may be very 
general in a block and not be specially noticeable in the summer 
months. 
lor further information on the “crown gall” reference may be had 
to the following bulletins of the experiment stations: No. 170 New 
York Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva, N. Y.; Nos. 79, 104 
and 121 of the Ohio Experiment Station, Worcester, Ohio ; the tenth 
annual report of the Arizona Experiment Station, Tucson, Arizona, 
and reports of the botanical section of the New Jersey Experiment 
Station, New Brunswick. N. J. 
C. E. Baldwin & Co., of Augusta, Mich., was incorporated Feb. 13, 
for the purpose of increasing the wholesale and retail nursery business. 
Capital stock, $ 5 , 000 . 
NOTED FRENCH NURSERIES. 
The firm of Transon Brothers was founded some years be¬ 
fore 1750 by the ancestors of Messrs. Paul and Eugene Tran¬ 
son ; but up to 1855 it was a very small business with only a 
local trade. Six men were employed in the nursery. 
Messrs. P. and E. Transon who spent several years working 
in the principal nurseries of England and Germany and other 
countries, had, in their travel remarked that the young stock, 
such as seedling plants, cuttings and grafts, wanted for nur¬ 
sery planting were mostly grown under glass in all these 
countries and were then produced at a pretty high price. 
When they came back home in 1855 they devoted themselves 
to the growth of these small nursery stocks, which owing to 
the excep' ^nal conditions of climate and ground of Orleans, 
they were in a position to grow at cheaper prices than they 
were in foreign countries. They began then to export their 
plants. 
Since then the business has been increasing yearly and in 
1892 when they sold their nursery they had about 200 men 
employed in the 160 hectares or 400 acres of ground. 
In 1892 Messrs. P. and E. Transon sold their business to 
their old collaborators who were Albert Barbier who was ad¬ 
mitted as the 14 th man in 1863 , Eugene Barbier, brother of 
the former, in 1865 as the 21 st. They became foremen of 
different departments and later on directors of the nurseries. 
Rene Barbier, son of Mr. Albert Barbier, was in the office 
since 1884 . 
From 1892 up to 1898 the business has been conducted 
under the name of Barbier Brothers & Son, Leon Barbier, 
another son of Albert Barbier, was then admitted as a partner 
and the name of the firm has been changed to Barbier & Co. 
The specialties of this nursery are, just as with their prede¬ 
cessors, the growth of roses, ornamental trees and shrubs and 
principally small nursery stocks one, two, and three years old. 
They grow more than 5,000 varieties of all sorts of plants, and 
are dealing all over the world, especially Europe, America, 
Australia, South Africa, etc. 
Last year they had exhibited in Paris a general collection 
of conifers, 473 varieties and about 25,000 small plants one 
and three years old, in nearly 3,000 sorts. Albert Barbier, 
who was a member of the jury, has been awarded the cross of 
chevalier of the Legion of Honour. He was for some years, as 
well as Eugene Barbier, officier of the Merite Agricole. 
HOW TO FUMIGATE. 
We repeat Prof. W. G. Johnson’s directions for fumigating 
nursery stock: 
Trees should be dug from the nursery and loosely packed in the 
house, either on end or flat on floor. The-chemicals used are as 
follows: 
1. Cyanide of potassium (98 to 99 per cent. pure). 
2 . Suphuric acid (specific gravity 1.83). 
3. Water (clean). 
First, measure the acid in a glass beaker with the ounce-mark on the 
side, and pour it in a 2 or 4 quart earthen jar. Do not use iron or metal 
vessels of any kind, as the acid will ruin them. Second, measure the 
water and pour this on the acid. Third, drop the cyanide, paper and 
all, into the liquids and close the door, lock it and leave exposed for at 
Last half an hour. No person should be permitted to enter the build¬ 
ing. One man should always he responsible for the fumigation and 
keep the time accurately, so that the house can be opened and thor¬ 
oughly ventilated later. 
