The record-union., 1897-11-20

| there Will be dissolved enough
Of this poison to kill the delicate new
fungus growing out of the spore.. 1t will
| therefore be possible to prevent great
deal of this kind of injury by using a
fungicide as Bordeaux mixture.
The loss to the plant due to the ex-
traction of water is more important in
the case of the leaf inhabitinG forms
and is only serious under certain cir
cumstances. Generally it may be said
that the actual amount withdrawn is
not very large, but during the dry part
Of the day the evaporation from the
| leaves is SO rapid that the roots can
scarcely supply it fast enough, and if
there is a further demand through the
| pumping of scale insects the leaves viii
rot De able to retain their normal con-
dition, but will rather become some
what wilted.
The effect of this whiting will be a
great shortening of thelifeof the leaves.
and trees often lose their leaves long
before the time, and the quantity of food
| manufactured viii be correspondingly
reduced.
Not only is there an effect on the
| leaves, but a more serious on the buds,
fruit and new growth generally. Growth
as has been pointed out, only can occur
with excessive water. that is with
strong pressure on the cell walls. Scale
insects may so reduce the water pres
sure that though it may not cause the
whiting of the leaf all growth may be
made to cease. This would be. much
more serious than the injury to the leaves
were it not true that when the dry part
a slt !, ,in1, 1.a
| effects of the scale insects is the most
severe, the greater part of the growth
has already ceased. The injury of this
nature is chiefly the reduction of the
period of growth and therefore quantity.
Loss from this source may be avoided
to a great extent by irrigation or such
cultivation as will increase or conserve
! the moisture available to the plant The
most serious class of injury is that
| which is the result of the mechanical
| effects of the proboscis upon the tissue
CT the plant. The puncturing of the cells
of the living tissue just beneath the
bark and the removal of their substance
result in their more rapid death and
their conversion into bark. The bark
thus becomes thicker and therefore
harder than is normal and the cells be-
meath 1t less vigorous and the twig be-
comes bark bound. and unless the tree
IS placed in such a Favorable condition
that 1t will make a special effort and
break I'D this hardened bark the life
| Of the twig or branch is doomed. 1t is
not so much the danger to the particular
| twig or branch that makes this kind of
injury serious. but there is besides this
| a arrangement of the relation of the
top and roots The flow of sap and es-
pecially the downward flow of the food
material is rapid only in vigorous,
| healthy cells, and if the layer of cells
are reduced in quantity and vigor the
! flow becomes very much impeded: in
| consequence the annual root growth will
| be im3eded and decreased in amount so
that the water gathering power will be
| greatly diminished and the growth of
the tree and the ability of the tree to
withstand the drought of summer.
Furthermore this impeded flow concen-
/ trates the food in the tops at the time
of the fornlat ton of the winter buds
favors the production of an excessive
formation of fruit buds A tree there
fore which is weakened by scales is
still further menaced by the further
drain of the overproduction of fruit
When this condition is present some
thing should be done to weaken the
bark. This is crudely done by the use of
the knife, but much better by the use
of caustic winter sprays. There is but
little doubt that the most valuable re-
suit from the use of winter SPRAYS is
rather due to the effect on the bark than
| by the destruction Of the insects.
Besides this the proper pruning is es-
sential after serious injury attack Of
| scale insects, to reduce the to3 till the
roots viii be able to support it.
In conclusion, it may be said that the
means at hand to control the health of
the plant from hygienic standpoint are
the use Of Bordeaux mixture, to prevent
the growth of fungi in the excretions of
the insects, the use of cultivation and
| irrigation to conserve or supply the
water withdrawn or the use Of sprays to
soften the bark and a proper pruning TO
produce again the proper balance be-
| tween the top and roots.
| ORANGE TYPES AND VARIETIES.
| Then followed an essay by William c.
Fuller of Cotton, on Orange Types and
Varieties"
| He pictured the planting of the orange
Il
izations and the beauty added thereby
to their surroundings. But later came
the necessity of studying types and con-
| d1tionS. The survival Of the strongest
and most thrifty being clearly natural
the best way SO TO do was to change the
seed in each generation. In the wild or
sour orange nature has protected the
tree in all its parts and contributed to
the stamina that has preserved It
through all the unfavorable conditions
it has passed through In comparing
the bitter orange with the sweet, it is
seen that the prominent properties Of
the former are absent in the latter
which has passed from the staminate
to the pistillate form and losing in
some degree IT'S virility, while taking
compensation in the form of sweetness
and delicacy. He described a number
of types of the sweet orange and came
to the Washington navel, saying we
see in it how far the qualities of type
can be wrested from the original and
group Of negative qualities evolved from
the strong ones.
He advocated as the most profitable
varieties for continuous series for
market, the Navel and Homosassa for
early ones and for late varieties the
St Michael and the Tardive These,
with a medium early, sweet orange,
with few seeds. would, he thought,
meet all market demands.
USE OF ALKALINE WATERS
Professor Hilgard's essay on "The
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