20 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
LOOT KNOT 
Th(' States l)e[)artnient of Agriculture has is- 
siK'd a l)ulletiii on Root Knot Fanner’s Bulletin No. 
I.'iio. that should he of extreme interest to nurserymen. 
Whih' th(‘ hulletin states that Root Knot control is not 
as simple a matter as the control of some other diseases, 
it do('s |)oiid out methods by which it can he eradicated 
and eontrolh'd to a greater or lesser extent. It is an ex- 
tr(*mely serious disease, causes immense losses. 
Tin' principal value of the hulletin to nurserymen is 
that it gives tin' life history and deseri])tion telling the 
conditions umh'r which it thrives, the soils and tempera- 
lur(\s that ar(“ most favorable to it and otherwise. x\lso 
gives a list of plants that are attacked and those that 
an' immune from it. If the nurseryman knows these 
things he is more likely to he able to control it and if his 
grounds an* not infeet('d can take precaution to prevent 
its introduction. 
It is a hulletin that should he read by every nursery¬ 
man. The following is a summary: 
Summary 
A serious disease of ])lants known under the names of 
root-knot, root-gall and hig-root, causes immense dam¬ 
age in all exee])t the most northern parts of this country. 
The j)arasite causing the disease is a minute nematode, 
or eehvorm {Ileterodera mdicicola) ^ which multiplies 
very rapidly under favorable conditions. The life cycle 
may he completed in about four to five weeks, and each 
female may lay as many as 500 eggs. When invaded by 
the worms, roots become enlarged, distorted or deform- 
('d, resulting in a hindrance to the growth of the plant. 
Root-knot flourishes best in light, sandy soils which 
are moist and warm. It can not thrive in heavy soils or 
in those that are constantly wet. 
Most ero{)s are susceptible to the attacks of the disease. 
Some, however, are resistant. The most important of 
lhes(‘ are the lion, Rrahham, Victor, and Monetta cow- 
peas. corn, barley, heggarw-eed, rye, redtop, sorghum, 
the Laredo soy bean, timothy, velvet beans, wheat, and 
winter oats. 
The nematodes may he transported from one locality 
lo anothei“ in many ways, as in the roots of growing 
plants and by means of tubers, bulbs, and nursery stock. 
They can he carried from field to field by such agencies 
as running water and the soil which clings to agricul- 
lural implements, tin' feet of men, and the hoofs of 
animals. 
The disease may he eliminated in greenhouses and 
seed beds when they are not being used by the applica¬ 
tion of steam under high pressure or by the introduction 
of uninfesli'd soil into clean white-washed benches. 
The home vegetable garden of the South can very well 
he brought hack into jiroductiveness by a special grain, 
chicken-yard, and garden rotation. This requires chicken 
fencing to divide the available land into three parts and 
a llock of chickens large ('nough to keep down the growth 
of all vegetation within the inclosure designated for 
them. 
In orchards, ornamental gardens, etc., no entirely sat- 
isfactorv method of control has been worked out. Culti- 
V 
vation and high fertilization may cause trees to overcome 
the trouble by inducijig rapid growth. In eases of local 
infestation, badly diseased tiees should he removed and 
the infested soil treated with formahh'hyde before re¬ 
planting with healthy stock. Do not [daiit susceptible 
cover crops, as they ra})idly increase the number of nem¬ 
atodes. Never ])lant an orchard on land that is not 
known to he nematode free. Do not plant infested nur¬ 
sery stock on either clean or infested soil. 
The most satisfactory method of combating the nema¬ 
tode in fields not ])lanted to perennial crops is by the cul¬ 
tivation of immune cro])S for a period of two to three 
years and by carefully killing all weeds and susceptible 
plants in which the nematode can live. A desirable rota¬ 
tion is that where winter grains alternate with resistant 
cowpeas, Laredo soy beans, velvet beans, or beggar- 
weed. Care must be exercised to prevent drainage water, 
implements, animals, etc., from bringing the nematode 
from near-hy infested fields. In ridding land of root- 
knot, ])lant only those crops which are known to he free 
from the disease. 
Starving the nematodes by keeping the land free from 
all vegetation for two years is an effective control meth¬ 
od, though often impracticable. 
THE MECKLENBURG NURSERIES, INC. 
The Mecklenburg Nurseries, Inc., has been organized 
to operate the Mecklenburg Nurseries at Charlotte, N. C.. 
and the Corley Island Nurseries, Leesburg, Florida. 
Captital stock is -^50,000.00. 
Officers are S. R. Ilowudl, president. Knoxville, Tenn.; 
Hugh L. Ault, vice president, Leesburg, Fla.; S. A. Ault, 
secretary and treasurer, Charlotte, N. C. 
The Mecklenburg Nursery now has a general line of or¬ 
namental stock for the middle southern trade at Char¬ 
lotte, N. C., located on a 10-acre tract of land in the heart 
of Charlotte’s most exclusive residence suburb, Myers 
Park. The Corley Island Nursery has a 40-acre tract lo¬ 
cated on Corley Island at Leesburg, Florida, on Lake 
Harris, one of the most beautiful large lakes in Florida. 
They are now putting out under slat houses five acres of 
asparagus plumosus, which planting w ill be increased to 
20 acres as fast as they can get plants and material for 
the additional 15 acres. They wfill also plant a general 
line of tropical ornamentals for the low er southern trade 
and will })ropagate for the benefit of their stockholders 
who are composed of florists and nurserymen from sev¬ 
eral southern cities. One of the aims of the company is 
to build a bunting lodge for the use of stockholders, as 
Leesburg is situated in one of the best game and fishing 
sections of the Slate. Some of the stockholders are Paul 
C. Lindley, Pomona Nurseries, Pomona, N. C.; Charles 
and Karl P. Raum, Baum Florists, Knoxville, Tenn.; F. D. 
Landis and Fred Mindler, Lookout Nursery, Chattanooga, 
Tenn.; G. x\. x\ult, Mecklenburg Nursery, Charlotte, N. C.; 
J. F. Donaldson, nurseryman, Warsaw, Ky.; Bruce and 
S. R. Howell, Howell Nurseries, Knoxville, Tenn.; C. S. 
Howell, La Grange, Ga.; H. L. x\ult, Corley Island Nur¬ 
sery. Leesburg, Fla. 
This company, of course, is primarily organized for 
