The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-09-26

e. SS2s@ c CO.. ,'',,ms
W. L. h"SScE. venting the growth
$ Of the fungus that DESTROYS the leaves.
The one field l saw in my ride yestcr-
!. day that has been sprayed is now. the
middle OF September. in tho most
siiealthy and thriving condition, end the
: fruit is perfect, and the owner is get
%tlng an extra price for il because there
is no waste. And vet right alongside
"of him there are fields. red all over
.with tomatoes ana not n leaf on the
plants, and tho fruit is hardly worth
the picking. The fact that there is
such an abundance of fruit on some of
these leahess fields shows that so long
as the foliage remained the plants
were doing well. but when the foliage
was destroyed the piles of tomatoes
merely turned n sickly red with yellow
ends that have to be cut off. and what
IS really left IL OF the poorest quality
Now this is just what is the matter
with your tomatoes. The leaf blight
has destroyed the foliage, and it could
have been prevented by spraying be-
fore the disease appeared. But most
growers. seeing their plants growing
we'll and forming fruit we'll, are apt
TO imagine that all Is we'll till the
blight hits them, and then it is too
late to do anything. My tomatoes that
were started early and forwarded
under glass were early. but they are
EstiL making good fruit, and the foliage
is green and healthy. III these days
I'VE can only have good products of
anything by using means to prevent
tho fungus diseases and insects that
past experience has shown us are apt
TO attack our plants. and we must pre-
vent them rather than try to cure them
when they have gotten strong hold
ION tho plants.
1t is the poor. ncglcctful, average
=. farmer that down ho ,,f
~all of our crops. Professor w. w.
Tracy. of the Department of Aaricul-
ture once stated that he had grown
tomatoes at the rate of thirty-six tons
, an care. l never got near that amount
in acres. and ! doubt that any planta-
stion has made anywhere near that over
acres. 1t is easy to figure out a large
yield per acre from Il small plot of
great production, but to carry the work
actually over the acres is n very diff
Sferent matter. But with good soil
swell grown plants and good cultivn-
stion. any farmer should be ashamed
10 make less than ten tons an acre of
tomatoes There are some who do il
and more, but there are many others
who make so little that the general
average is less than four tons an acre.
have treated this at length, because
the tomato pack in Maryland and Wiz
elnin is getting to be an important
while the total pack is immense, the
majority of the growers are no;
making expenses on the crop becaus,
OF their own poor farming and ncglec
OF the health of thcr plants.
norers I'm Corn.
81 am sending YOU some cornstalks
which you viii see are affected by n
worm Of some sort. Nv corn has n fair
growth, but onc-half OF II has no ears
ON IT, and there are many OF these
worms in il. Can YOU give me any in
founation?' The stalks are attacked
by the larger corn borer, or what Is
called the sugarcane borer This is
usually worse on newly -cieared swamp
land, and gradually disappears as the
lana is drained and cultivated Thc
only thing that can be done is to
gather up the affected stalks ana butts
and burn them and 10 burn the villa
grass around the field. a rotation OF
crops Will do much to prevent the at
tack Of the borer, ana Iate-planted
corn !s less liable TO be attacked than
early planted. Your failure to make
ears shows that you need a better
strain OF corn for seed. Barren stalks,
borer or no borer, age hereditary, ana
come from badly. bed se4d 4 barren
stalk in the held- makes plenty OF pol
zen In tho tassel and sets the ears all
around Il and makes tho tendency TO
make more barren male plants You
should get better bred variety or
corn. and thcn 20 through tho field
Is the corn tassels and remove the
green tossel from every stalk that
shows no ear and in this WY YOU can
gradually breed out the tendency 20
BARONESS. But II YOU have a good
rotation % crops and do not plant corn
after corn, but always have a clover
SOD 10 turn FOR corn, YOU "ill have
little trouble from the borcre.
fonng Apple Trees the First senson
friend who is interested in larg.
apple orchards in Western Maryland
wrote 10 me some time ago asking
my opinion as to a practice he has
seen during the summer in orchards
recently planted Many Of the trees
had started surplus growth. ana the
owners had men in the orchards dur
ing the summer pruning off this Nv
correspondent thought that this was
wrong ana wanted my opinion in re.
gard 10 II. fully agreed with hin
mat summer pruning OF young tree.
or old is check to growth
When an apple tree is planted-ant
would never plant one more than on,
wear old-and the top cut bacI, an,
ti'e buds selected that are to form TIA,
mead IL is all right 10 rub Off all othei
!, tuds before they expand and max,
- leaves Eat f THIS has not been done
ana a number OF shoots have .tar,.d
] would let them alone There js -,
idea among many that the surplu!
growth is drawing on the roots. when
in fact II is making roots Roots ar,
NE product Of stem and leaves. am
The more leaves there arc in health,
condition. the greater the roo, dcvelon
ment VIII be. FOR all the material fo
growth. whether OF top or roots j
elaborated in the leaves and tn
formed sap, the true sap rs sen, do,y,
to make more root growth. and II IN
pruning is done during the surnrne,
there is q check made in the growth O
TOP and roots. But if all the growth s
allowed TO remain, there Will be
stronger root development, ana afto
the tree is dormant the surplus shoot
may be removed, and the stronger roo
development Will cause stronpc
growth OF tho remaining branches i
the spring. rs the more tho roots nj
Dairv Eorno Eor C,l