Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1884-01-19


would like to see the probable future ap-
pearance of cur cherry and plum orchards
has only to visit that beautiful valley and
half dead and dying shrubs covered with
black and warty excrescenees, which mark
its rsvages upon the choke cherry (PrURuS
demissa) Recently it has reached US again
from the Coast Range to the westward of
Menlo Park. 1t Will thus be seen that it
is already dangerously near our fruit or
chards, and there is too much reason to
fear that We shall soon have to contend
with it, especially as our trees become
weakened by age. The opinion seems to
be prevalent among our horticulturists that
it will only grow among the mountains of
the State, and that we OF the lower levels
have nothing to fear from fungus of such
limited range. Unfortunately for US this
comforting theory is
CoNTRADICTED BY EXPERIENCE,
For in the East it is found wherever the
plum and cherry grows from the mount.
aims to the seaboard. II might be supposed
that in the dry valleys of the interior there
would be less danger than in the humid at.
mosphere of the coast but there is an al
lied species which ravages TIE sage brush
{ArtemiSiG Cdttornica) on the and slopes
of the foothills of Mount Da5lo, but as we
are not greatly concerned about the fate of
this odorous shrub 1t may be left unregret.
ted to its fate. TIE only remedy for this
disease is the knife the affected branch
should be sacrificed, and if it appears upon
solitary trees il would be better at once to
destroy the tree. Pruning should be care
fully done when the fungus is immature,
and the spores not formed. Il is always
safe to do this before the fall of the leaf.
The folly of pruning tree of the mature
knots, Earring and scattering myriGds of
through the orchard before burning, may
be readily appreciated.
CAPNoDIsM CITRI.
For more than twenty years complaints
have been made by growers of the citrus
fruits of the annoyance to which they are
exposed by the prevalence of this fungus,
which is known and has been described
under several Fumago, Aatennaria.
etc. It ia found upon the upper surface of
the leaves, the twigs, and fruit. and ordi-
narily appears like stratum OF SCOT. some
what felted by extraneous matter. When
in fruit, however, It's appearance is some
what different. Standing up all over its
surface may be seen great number of
irregularly awl. shaped bodies, which open
by ragged assures at the apex and throw
out great quantities OF spOres. The spore-
cases are from one.fourih II one-half a line
in hight, and so may readily be seen by the
naked eye. This fungus is an epiphyte-
that IL, It lives upon the leaf without draw
ing any portion Of its sustenance from it,
and does but little harm beyond depriving
it of some portion of light and air, and rem
dering the fruit unsghtly. The real cal
prit in this cage is a eoccus, the scale,
as it ia usually called, and this sooty fun
gus advertises at Great distance the pres
ence Of its more hateful sllv. l. is often
difficult to convince gardeners that tits not
the excretion of the scale, but the real re-
alton between them is that the insect ex-
udes sweet secretion which, dropping on
the aves below, furnishes a suitable indus
for the growth OF the fungus, which is
never found unaccompanied by coccus or
aphis, and VII, OF course, disappear on the
destruction of its insect friend. Many
species of Copaodium exist within the bor-
ders of the State, prominent among them
being c. PM, which infests the piaes
of our p4k; c.. saiici0um, Of the will
low; c., PomGr5sm, which abounds on
heteromeles &. loaosum, of the tig etc
Ali of them having this same history as c.
c1ri etc, depending on the presence Of
similar insects.
APPLE LEAF FUNGUS.
This fungus is the cause Of r.i5 able
loss 10 the apple. growers in yae E,sern
States, but has not. to my knowledge, yet
appeared in this, although from 20 sc re-
ports which have reached me it may rave
done so. 1t makes Its first op sea7aacs rs
a yellow spot on the leaf, when in a skcrt
time develops q number of little yellow
tubes filed with orange-colored spores. As
rule nearly all the leaves Of tree being
simultaneously attacked, and their vitality
being destroyed, they turn yellow and fall,
leaving the immature fruit usually about
half grown upon the trees, to lihger for a
time and snare their fate The Eastern
my cologists, Farlow, Peck, Ellis and 9TH
era, consider this to be merely state OF
another fungus which abounds upon the
so-called cedar apples" which are found
on the red cedar. Should tbs theory
prove correct we nay escape the visitation
unless some other plant OF our locality may
serve as host, which is quite probable, as
have found it upon our white cedar ia
the Sierras.
THE ROSE BLIGHT.
The white mildew of the rose is an
Oidi1tu, and is now known to be only the
early stage of the fungus Sph9rotFecd
Pannosa. 1t is familiar to everyone, and
il it were confined to the rose would be en-
tircly out of our scope, but it is very read
lily propagated to others of the Rosacs e,
affecting the apple and peach, to
both of which it does considerable damage.
In its mature stage it forms felted gray,sh
mass encircling the twigs. and having i'm
bedded WIthln it the miDG.9 glObular re-
ceptacles, each receptacle h"iaing Gue sscus
eight spores. Sulphur is used
with some success in the early stages of
this and allied species, and 3 WISE precau
ton would be to destroy al roses which
are subject TO mildew growing nsar or
charda. Roses vary very greatly in their
liability to attack, aud h5:le care will
prevent much harm. The fungus kuo@n
So FUslcluliun DeHdriicUm appears as an
irregul .rly radisting brown spot on the
leaves of the pear, medlar, apple and toyon,
or Christmas berry (which is a near rela-
ton to the APPLE. 1t occasionally de-
prives the trees of more leaves than can be
very well spared, but causes no very great
injury.
THE CURLED LEAF,
More has been said and written about
this fungus (AScomyces detormans) than of
almost any other, and yet it is very imper.
fectly understood. 1t appeared in this
State almost as soon as peaches were
planted. l observed it fiji st IN 1855. Ev.
cry che is familiar with its appearance, and
it Is almost unnecessary tn describe it. The
fungus consists of stratum of closed
tubes, closely packed side by side, and
standing erect on one or bo;h surfaces Of
the leaf. These tubes are asci, and each OF
them contains eight spores. As a square
inch of the leaf eurface contains some hun
dreds Of thousands of these asci, its great
fecundity may readily be appreciated. Be
fore the curl has reached maturity it is Of
a pinkish- gray color, and somewhat vel.
vety; the excessive growth Of mycelium
swells the leaf into misshapen macs, the
veins being firmer do not WELD so readily,
and the leaf is drawn into folds and
pouches. As the fungus natures the
spores are discharged by the bursting OF
the ssci. These often accumulate as a
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