574 Report oF THE HorvticULTURIST OF THE 
including the diseased plants, off from the field before stripping 
for market. 
2. Try blanching with boards, instead of earth, during hot | 
weather. 
3. Experiment in a small way with fertilizers in Sikes to 
determine what element or combination of elements will give the 
best plants on that particular soil. For instance make a small 
strip of soil rich in nitrogen another rich in phosphoric acid © 
and another rich in potash, and compare the results with those 
obtained from using banyard manure and from unmanured strips. 
_ 4, Be careful to keep the plants free. from leaf blight from the 
start. This will necessitate treating them in the seed-bed as here- 
after recommended. 
STALK BLIGHT. 
Before the celery is banked a bacterial disease is seen affecting — 
the leaf stalks (petioles) where the leaflets join the main leaf 
stalk. From such a diseased joint the blight extends downwards — 
and the leaflets above the joint wither from lack of nourishment. 
Sometimes this stem blight seems to start from an insect puncture — 
and the eggs and larvae of some insect, probably dipterous, have 

been found in the decaying stems, but on the other hand many — ; 
diseased stalks show no evidence of insect puncture. It is posst- 
ble that the germs of the disease are distributed to some extent 
by insects, but its origin can not be attributed primarily to an 
insect sting. Probably this trouble is due to the same germ ~ 
which causes the soft rot of the centers. Of itself it does not — 
appears to be a serious difficulty, but if it proves to be identical - 
with the center blight it deserves attention. 
CELERY LEAF SPOT DISEASES. a 
There are several parasitic fungi which attack the leaves of 
celery causing them to become spotted or blighted. These fungi 
live within the leaf, absorb for their own growth the nourishing 
juices of the host plant, and produce countless spores for the 
reproduction of their kind. The spores, which are the germs of the 
fungi, are too small to be seen with the naked eye’and are so 
light that they easily float in the air and are readily carried — 
by the winds to other plants. By means of these spores pro- 
duced by diseased foliage the fungous diseases spread and ee . 
healthy foliage. 3 3 

