The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1905-08-07

l AT IFS business injecting oli Catoi ooy
| afternoon the Farmers Institute dis
| cussed the matter of the cooperative
| market but came to no definite con-
| clusion because the committee was not
| ready to report on the subject, further
| than to report progress. The commit
tee announced, however, that it would
be ready to report fully at the next
meeting, to be held in November.
The business meeting of the insti-
tute was held at the United States
Agricultural Experiment Station, and
was for members only. On Saturday
night a meeting for the public was
held at Y. M. c.. A. Hall, and was at
tended by an interested audience. Jared
Smith, Director of the United States
Experiment Station, presided, and was
the first speaker, his subject being
PLANT Diseases"
The lecture was illustrated by Sc
ries of lantern slides, which Mr.. Smith
diseases to which the potato was es-
pecially subject, but they were typical
pictures. and most interesting. Rev.
Mr.. Westervelt handled the lantern,
and did the work so well that a vote
of thanks was given him at the con-
clusion Of the meeting.
CAUSE OF PLANT DISEASES.
PLANT diseases said Mr.. Smith, in
opening his address, ARE caused by
parasitic fungus growths that feed
upon the substance of the plants. The
fungus itself is plant without green
coloring matter, and which is there
fore without the power to make stock
and sugar. Having no green coloring
matter, the fungi cannot elaborate
their own food from the air and the
sunshine, and So must draw life from
plants that can. These parasitic fun
gi, which we are to treat upon tonight.
are those that feed upon growing plant
Cells, anu lICIc1OIS CAUSE ptdAt dlS-
cases."
Mr.. Smith then showed an enlarged
diagram of a section of leaf, the
diagram being explanatory of the cells
in which the life functions of the plant
take place. 1.-THE parasitic fungi" he
said, "obtain their life matter from
the stock that is stored up by the plant
in the leaf cells. The leaf itself is
very complicated structure, as you can
see. Some classes Of parasitic fungi
bore right into the leaf, other kinds
find their way in by the pores in the
leaf, and still other kinds make their
homes between the walls of the leaf
cells and secrete a ferment that breaks
down the walls and enables them to
get at the contents of the cells"
NATURE OF FUNGI.
The speaker went into a most elab-
crate explanation of the nature of the
several kinds of parasitic fungi, of
"AitAA AC SdlQ tAClS NC1S ldl &c ItQill-
bers, and Showed them from the Ian
tern slides like lesser vegetable
grcwths upon and inside the surface of
the leaves of plants. Also, he illus
trated the revages of insects upon
plants, showing the difference between
the damage done by insect pests and
that worked by fungi, and spoke very
highly of the virtues of Bordeaux mix
ture for spraying. This is made by
dissolving six pounds of sulphate of
copper in twenty-five gallons Of water,
and six pounds of lime in like
amount of water, and then mixing the
two solutions, cool, in a careful man
ner. This seems to act as a tonic,
even where plants are not known to be
diseased said Mr.. Smith, land the
spray is also useful in case of insect
pests
For scab on potatoes, soaking the
seed in a mixture of one pint of for
malin with thirty gallons of water was
recommended. This would also kill
fungus in the soil, if poured upon the
ground.
When fungi are inside the leaf"
said Mr.. Smith, in conclusion. "they
cannot be treated successfully. al
though outside fungi can be- But If
farmers commence treatment before
the fungi appear, as a measure of pre-
caution, there is a strong probability
that the fungus can be kept from get
ting hold at ALL
NITROGEN PROBLEM.
The next speaker, Prof. ]. T. Craw-
ley, took the Nitrogen Problem" as
his topic, and said that it was a seri-
Gus problem indeed for the farmer to
consider. Nitrogen is plant food. and
the speaker said that, while the sup
ply OF nitrogen was very large the
available supply was not The Chilean
nitrate beds, from which the most of
| the nitrate of commerce comes. would
be exhausted. according to the authori-
ties, In thirty years. And, while not
less than four-fifths of the entire vol
! ume of the air was nitrogen no way
| had yet been found to recover this. It's