Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-08-29
HOSPITALS FOB SICK PLANTS.
Special Corner In Nurseries for Sick
Vegetation.

From the New York Press.
Leading nurserymen Of New York have q
curious department in their business. 1t
may be called the plant hospital. In every
large nursery there Is a special corner set
aside for ailing plants that patrons have
sent in to be treated. for plants get out of
sorts through being under artificial condi-
tons. Just as humans do. and must either
be doctored and get a change Of air or die.
Plants are subject to all sorts Of maladies.
The commonest are worms. improper pot
ting. want of washing and too much wa
tering. The lack excess Of water Is the
as the palm and the fern. when kept in
doors. become as sensitive to changes OF
temperature as delicate woman. A cold
draught will set them sneezing, as 1t were.
inside Of an hour At best 1t is difficult for
most plants to thrive in living rooms The
air Is too dry and the light insufficient.
This is true in general. yet plants vary
and more than people do-in the conditions
that agree with them. For instance. cacti
do best in an environment like that OF the
arid desert. while other tropical things re-
Quire warm. moist climate.
The enect OF sudden changes of tempera-
ture on the plant Is the loss of some of the
root hairs which are on the smaller root
let's and are an important part of the feed
ing apparatus. They rot. and the plant is
then unable to take enough nourishment.
When plant gets of its feed general de-
btltty and nervous exhaustion set in. With
vigor gone. the plant falls an easy prey to
all diseases prowiing round. Fungi and
animal parasites complete it's ruin.
Professor Earle Of the New York botani-
cal garden says: an the thrifty plant
there is q constant balance between the ac-
tivity going on in the leaves that draw sus-
tenance from the air and the root hairs that
absorb moisture and soluble food from the
soil. Anything that interferes with either
soon throws the plant out of health. The
most unusual causes are lack of light.
smoke and sudden changes of temperature.
The leaves are first affected and react upon
the root hairs. When the plants begin to
drop their leaves. it may be taken as an
evidence of Illness All florists have trou-
bic with the begonia in this way.
The causes OF diseases in plants. besides
being numerous. are often obscure They
are grouped for convenience as environ
mental functional and parasitic. Unconge-
NAL surroundings. such as improper soil
conditions. too much or too little water. the
absence or Overabundanoe of some of the
food elements. the pollution of the air with
smoke or gases. or unfavorable position as
to sunlight. often cause a slow and feeble
growth that is not disease. Instead of sick
ness 1t Is starvation semi-starvation.
The 'scalding' of plants after heavy and
long-continued rains. and the tip burn Of
lettuce and potatoes. due to a burning sun
after wet. cloudy weather. illustrate this
condition.
Functional diseases spring from derange-
mentS WITHIN the plant itself. 1t may Sc
crete too much or too little acid, and It's
organs of nutrition get deranged. The
mosaic disease Of tobacco and the yellow
disease Of the China aster are examples
of too little acid or ferment. When a plant
gets this way 1t may be said to have a bad
attack of indigestion. The acid Is INSULT
cient to convert the starch of the green
leaves into soluble sugars that can be taken
up by the sap and used in forming new It's
sues.
Vast numbers Of parasites infest plants.
Scarcely any plant is wholly free from
them. They invade every part Of the plant,
roots. stems. leaves. flowers and fruits.
They attack the surface and burrow into
the tissues. They produce smut on the
wheat or oats. gals and knots upon plum
trees and gum punches on the cherry tree.
They cause the death of pear and apple
tree branches and timber rots in forest
trees. The annual loss from plant diseases
reaches millions of dollars in New York
state every year. Hence the question of
how to prevent plant diseases is one of
great practical Importance. The science of
vegetable pathology Is one Of the newest.
1t had its beginning only thirty years ago.
with diseases of environment the obvi-
GUS remedy Is to correct the unfavorable
conditions. Individual plants. like individual
men, vary in their ability to resist disease.
Even in plants Of the same cultural variety
this difference in resisting power Is often
quite marked"