The National tribune., 1896-09-24
OUR RURAL TOPICS.
Some Practical Suggestions FOX Our
Agricultural Readers
Diseases Of Fruit Trees.

large crops were harvested. the pear becom-
ing almost extinct where once it hourished
and gave large profits. The peach has also
been destroyed by the yellows, and the grape
by the rot The conditions Of growth, ell
mate, and SOL should be considered, bus
there are some unknown causes for the dis
eases fourishing in localities where they
were before unknown. It has been sup
posed that the only method Of securing
hardy trees is to grow them from seed on
the places where they are to remain witbous
grating or budding, az such trees have been
known to bear fruit for half century, but
the difficulty is that if trees are thus grown
there must be sacrifice Of the present we'll
known varieties, az not one seeding IN
hundred proves valuable. Hence, the only
resource is for the fruit-grower to accept
present conditions and fight the various dis
eases which are in his path with every
means in his power.
One of the sources from which diseases
come is the nursery. 1t is not doubted that
reliable nurserymen are very careful to use
gratis and seeds only from healthy trees, but
they themselves may be the victims of
others. The tree pedler is the one who has
country, and caused so much damage to
fruit-growers, and it may be safely claimed
that the fruit-grower himself has not been
as careful as he should have been III the
selection of trees. A single mistake made
by one grower viii cause loss to the whole
community. Diseases are also spread by
allowing affected trees to remain too long
before destroying them, and in not consunn-
ing all rubbish and cuttings with fire. The
tendency to cease work after Spring and
Summer spraying is finished is also mis-
take, as it is late in the Fall and during
the Winter when much of the work of de-
stroying the spores can be done.
The first duty on the approach of disease.
or when any evidences appear, Is TO cut
away the affected parts of a tree and burn
them; and the cutting must be severe, so as
to be sure of reaching the healthy wood, and
all instruments used should be disinfected,
or the diseases may be communicated to
healthy trees. After cutting off a branch
apply linseed oil freely to the exposed
parts, and spray the trees during the Winter
several times with the well-known Bordeaux
mixture. Do not force the trees IN growth,
seeding the land TO clover occasionally and
blowing it under. The practice of growing
hoed crops between the trees, with the ex-
pectation of beneitiug them, has been found
Injurious Pear trees of slow growth have
been free from blight when more thrifty
trees were attacked, the latter possessing
more tender and less ripened wood. When
tree is affected, and cutting does not re-
suit in benefit, remove the tree at once and
burn the stump with kerosene. Use only
varieties that appear best adapted to the
soil, ard do not be afraid to spray FREE
quently and at all seasons.
Mineral Fertilizers for Clover Seed.
On long cultivated grounds il is difficult
to get the old-time yields of clover seed.
While the clover itself may grow with as
much luxuriance as ever, the heads do not
fill with seed as they ought to do, and used
to do, when the land was new. Some at
tribute this failure of the clover seed erep to
scarcity of humble bees. But if humble bees
grow scarcer, the italian bees are becoming
much more common, and these have pro-
boscis long enough to take honey from red
clover. Failure of clover seed is more often
due to lack of mineral fertilizer than to
ANYTHING else heterogeneous fertilizers make
a great growth of leaf and stalk with little
seed. Potash and phosphate turn the ener-
gies of the plant to seed production. Wher-
! ever phosphate is largely sOwn with gram
crops the yield of clover seed on clover grown
| with the grain is increased.
MARKETING Apples.
Where spraying has eliminated most OK
the wormy fruit, it will pay to throw otls
the rest, and send only perfectly sound
/ APPLES to market If the trees are kept we'll
| pruned, so that all the fruit has grown in
| the light, and if the small and wermy fruis
| has been left out, the grower will find no
| trouble in selling his fruit at top prices, and
| will have no complaints to make about the
| middleman. Such apples sell themselves,
and the commission merchant is sure to do
| his best to keep the trade of shipper who
puts up his fruit in the best style.
Farm Notes.
| Sweet potatoes are more fattening than
corn, as they contain large proportion OF
| both starch and sugar. Sugar beets are also
| valuable as stock food because of their pro-
portion of sugar and amount of digestible
matter. 1t will pay to feed the small pOta-
toes that are unstable to stock, cooking as
a mess and thickening with bran and
ground oats.
| Nearly all soils contain potash, but every
| fruit farm should have potash applied, and
| especially in the form of wood ashes, as
they contain also a large proportion Of
lime Where wood ashes can be obtained
| at a low cost, if the farmer is satisfied
that they are unleached, they should bs
used freely.
The Country Gentleman Gays that horses
do quite as well when fed on sheaf oats as
on thrashed, if the oat straw is bright and
the oats have been carefully screened
otherwise there will be more dust present
than is best, especially for driving horses.
In feeding sheaf oats, unless care is taken
the quantity Of grain fed per day is likely
to vary widely. For wintering farm horses
which, if idle, should receive but little
grain, they might be fed in the sheaf, but foI
driving horses it is safest to have them
thrashed.
If the strawberries are on rich ground
they will not fail next Spring, provided
they are properly managed during the Win
ter A mulch of straw or salt hay late IL
the Fall will be an advantage. If the run
ners have not been separated from the parent
vines it will be proper 10 do so now, or the
old vines will be compelled to perform
greater work next Spring.
1t has frequently been asserted that thu
brilliant colors of many flowers serve to at
tract bees and butterflies to them. Experi
ments recently reported to the Belgian
Academy of Science seem 10 show that the
perfume rather than color of the flowers Is
the real attraction. Bright-colored bios
SONS were covered with leaves and papers
mined closely about them yet the insect