Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1902-04-03

10 SAFE THE CRANE ERRE.


The Department of Agriculture is
planning to build cranberry bog
about half an acre in extent, on a
portion of the Arlington farm, recently
turned over to it for an experimental
station. On this investigations will be
pursued into cranberry scald," a
disease which is threatening with ex-
termination the cranberry industry of
New Jersey, New York and New Eng
land, and which is slowly spreading
into still other parts of the country.
AS the regions already seriously affected
produce seven-eights of the entire yield
of the country, which d few years ago
was valued at 1000, 600, the import
ance of any measures that will check the
disease are apparent, not only to the
growers, but also to every one who
likes the berries in pies or with his
turkey.
Acres upon acres of ripe berries have
recently been abandoned as not being
worth the picking, while nearly every
quart bought in market, though sorted
over beforehand, is likely to have in it
a few berries with rotten spots on their
sides or in their interiors. Investi-
cations by the department have now
proceeded far enough to permit the
statement to be made that this is due
to fungus, which. probably conveyed
by the waters Of the boys, almost Ger
tainly enters the plant through it's
roots and penetrates to the berries,
which decay inside before any external
signs appear. This fact makes useless
the use of washes, sprays, &C., SO
effective against most fungi, as these
cannot reach the interior of the fruit
Possibly some chemical may be found
which, placed upon the soil, may kill
the fungi before they enter the plant.
Strange TO say, however, this mode of
treating plant diseases has been little
investigated, and there is, therefore,
little knowledge on which to base hope
for its success. Probably the only sue
cessful way Of combating the disease
and the way which the Department
is following as best it may without d
special appropriation for the purpose
is by studying the fungus, learning
its life history and finding where and
when it 10 most vulnerable
This is not SO easy as it may seem.
Fungi are lowly Plants, consisting of
more or less complex masses of very
fine thread like chain of cells, which
are usually too small to be seen by the
naked eye. The reproduce themselves
by means of very minute bodies, known
as Spores, which correspond to the
seeds of Towering plants and which
are positively innumerable, and very
easily disseminated. When they find
proper conditions awaiting them they
multiply with amazing rapidly.
Now, SO far, it has been impossible
to find the cranberry scald fungus at
all in its fruiting season, so that even
its spores is unknown. Possibly these
mature only in the winter, when the
boys are flooded, and cannot do so at
any other time. In any case the first
duty of DIR. G. L. Shear, who has
charge of the investigation, will be to
find some of these spores. He already
has some of the fungus growing in
culture media, and hopes they will
bear fruit sooner or later, although
they have not yet done so.
Once the spores are obtained long
step in advance will have been taken.
Next they must be fed" to I'M
infected plants, either at the Arlington
farm or elsewhere, in various ways and
under various circumstances. Some
plants will be approached through the
soil; others through the water: others
through the air; some will be exposed
when leaf1ess, others when in foliage
others when in bloom. The factors
that promote or retard the develop
ment of the disease will also be
studied. 1t will be ascertained whether
young plants or old plants are most
susceptible, and what variety, il any,
shows the best resisting powers to the
destroyer. When these things are
known, and not until then, can
scientific combative measures be
adopted.
For the present, however, certain
palliatives may be suggested. If the
spores are disseminated through the
flood waters, as is supposed, it is GER
tainiy unwise to start now Dogs on q
stream below infected ones, unless some
sort of sand or other filter is interposed
between the two. When an old bog is
to be reset all the old vines should be
burned with all other vegetable matter
present with them. The land should
be plowed several times, and all the
roots taken up and burned.
1t may be that recourse must finally
be had, after all, to the use of what
are known as resistant strains, to save
the cranberry from total destruction.
1t often occurs that one or more plants
appear immune to a disease that de-
stroys all their neighbors. BY select
ing these and propagating from them,
hardy varieties are often obtained that
can resist the disease. This method
may finally prove the only one that is
effective,