The Savannah morning news., 1902-12-29

the yellows which are important TO
the orchardist, says NJ. b. Waite in
American Garden. The disease is
commupi BILE one, spreading rapidly
from tree to tree and from orchard to
orchard. The method of communica-
! ton is not known to scientific men.
but IT may be artifcially commune
Gated by budding from diseased trees.
AS no such process takes place in the
orchard, there must be some other
way be- which the disease is transmit
ted. The disease behaves like a con-
tagious parasitic disease, but no germ
or micrObe has ever been found.
Strange to say, the disease can be pre-
vented as thoroughly and satisfactO-
rily as any known plant disease. al
though the common opinion of horti-
culturistS is to the contrary. By
promptly removing diseased trees at
the very first symptoms of the disease,
it is possible to keep it entirely in con-
troll in an orchard or in a region
The rosette is a very similar dis
ease to the yeIlows but is restricted
to the South, so far as is known, it
being limited mainly to the state of
Georgia. This disease is very much
quicker in it's action than the yellows.
The first symptoms appear on the
tree in the spring. and frequently they
are dead by August and never survive
the year.
THE little peach disease is a COM
paratively local disease in Michigan
and New York state, but is very severe
in a few localities. The main symp
toms of little peach are the reduced
size of the fruit, the belating of the
fruit, the yellow color of the foliage
without apparent cause, and the
diminution Of twig growth and final
ly the gradual death of the tree, limb
by limb. Careful inves igation of this
disease has shown it to be distinct
from the yellows and rosette, and to
be G-le to root parasite, a minute
fungus growing on the feeding roots.
THE Monilia fungus, causing rot of
peaches, plums and other fruits, is one
of the worst pests of the stone fruits.
This fungus is greatly favored by wet
weather and does an enormous amount
of damage in the Atlantic coast states
from New England to Florida. The
past season it was particularly de-
structive from Maryland southwark to
Georgia. BY far the larger part of the
early peach crop of Georgia was de-
stroyed by it, and in some orchards in
Virginia the entire crop was taken,
both early and late 1t is a disease that
is greatly favored by wet seasons and
largely disappears when long periods
of drought occur at the ripening time.
Persistent efforts have been made
by large number of Investigators for
the past five or six years to treat this
| disease by spraying. Various fungi
cides have been employed, and differ
ent times and numbers of treatments
have been used. The results have not
been satisfactory.
There seems to be bat little trouble
| in preventing the Monilia, at least
greatly reducing it in an average sea-
son, although in very wet season
this part of the programme cannot al
ways be fully carried out The main
difficulty comes from the injury to the
peach trees by spraying.
Bordeaux mixture sprayed on APP
pies, pears, ounces, and also on pota-
toes and many other plants, has a dis
tinctly beneficial effect on the plant
aside from it's fungicidal value. 1t in
| creases, the amount of chlorophyll,
| making the leaves darker green, and
enables them to stand more drought
and heat. They persist longer on the
plant and do more work. In case of
the potato, at least, they assimilate
| more starch. There are probably min
ute amounts of copper salts absorbed
into the leaves, producing this bene-
fetal tonic effect.
ION the other hand, the peach and
the japanese plum, as well as some
other plants, are injured by the cop
per spray.
THE peach leaf curl is .one of the
few fungus diseases of. the peach that
is easily preventable by spraying, FOR
the reason that the spraying in this
case is done just as the buds are
swelling. Ordinary STANDARD bordeaux
mixture Should be used for the pur-
pose"