The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1900-05-04
Crumbs from Horticultural Dinner

Crumbs from Horticultural Dinner
(Read by B. F. Pancoast before the Allen
county Horticultural Society at LaHarpe, Kan
sas, April 9, l9OO.)
AS sat leisurely enjoying my pic
mic dinner (by the way we always do)
my neighbor to the left speaking to
his friend across the table remarked
(while listened to see if could learn
something:) "Whst is the reason you
have such good luck in getting your
trees all to grow while mine are half
dead and took a lot of pains to plant
them. 1 dug large holes, spread out
the roots nicely and trimmed them
with all that trouble l took / lost a
great many and those that did not
die don't look near as well as yours"
l didn't take much trouble with mine
81 had been reading in q horticultural
paper how to fix them. 1t says trim
the roots all about the same length,
dig holes and pour In water and make
soft mud. work the roots into the
mud then cover them with dry dirt
and tramp 1t down. and that's all.
don't trim any the first year and
they all grow =" 81 wonder why it is.
I've always been taught to trim Off
the tops as much as the roots have lost
in digging, but it seems they have
different methods now" and they
both appealed the case to me. to
know why the trees did so much
better when they were not pruned.
And suggested to my friend across
the table his method had proven to be
the best and gave my reason that the
roots of plants and trees were hollow
pipes by which water and chemical
leaves, there to be converted into
wood and all the necessary parts to
form trees, and fruits, by the action
of oxygen which the leaves furnish
from the air.
We always dig our trees after the
leaves have fallen in the autumn or
early spring. During the summer the
tree is stored full of starch and sugar
all OF which is converted into leaves
by the moisture and warmth offspring
Now If we cut off the top we destroy
the trees ability to make leaves be-
cause we have thrown away most of
the substance stored for that purpose
On the other hand we can remove the
roots and the process of growth is not
interrupted. l advised my neighbor to
the lett that the horticultural Jour-
mails were mostly written up by men
and women of practical experience
and he had better subscribe and read
up before he planted again. After
wards lady at my right, (whose
skill with house plants Is more than
ordinary wanted to know what was
wrong with geraniums and other
plants that develOpe black spots
which spread until the entire plant
8 dead and no amount OF care seems
to do any good. AS | had not in
tended to put myself up for professor
in botany, but 1t being a lady and q
friend and my duty as secretary OF q
popular horticultural Society prompt
ed me to answer, that the trouble
was very common disease of plants
and vines. 1t is common to grapes
melons, tomatoes, cabbage and many
others. Psychologists term it Anthrao
nose. With this answer the lady
seemed pleased but not entirely salts
fed so L explained farther that WI
, commonly called the disease "rot'
and that the remedies for 1t were no
very reliable, but there was no doub
that we might use preventives ant
: keep it entirely away. Florists re
Z commend q weak solution of sulphat
f of potassium for greenhouse plants
Z For grape. apple and peach "rot'
t probably nothing Is know to be bette
/ than bordean mixture. This can b.
t used in liquid form or dry powder an,
4 as the dry powder form is new
q thing l might say it is made as fol
a lows: Dissolve sulphate of scoppe
(blue vitriol) in boiling water, use tn
: water to slack fresh stone lime, thi
e will dry in a short time and become
fine powder which can be used to dus
q the plants, which should he don
Q early in the morning, while the plan
= is wet with dew.
These diseases seem almost to plant
o what small pox is to the human an
= for what we know similar remedit
might be the best. At any rate it
best to strictly remove and quaral
e tine all the sick and take all measure
d before our plants are infected to kee
10 disease away by using the best know
10 remedies
s As we have read of few loaves an