Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-04-02

| Pruning of the fruit trees should be
completed by this time, as the sap Is
ready to start up in the trees. If they
are pruned after the sap begins to rise
the wounds will bleed" badly and in
iury to the tree is certain. Do not
neglect to cover all cut places with
thick coat of paint of some kind
that will resist the weather. This will
serve to aid in healing the cut, and
will also exclude molds and various
fungi that would set up decay.
| Roses. excepting the climbing va
rieties, may be pruned and shaped at
| any timed uring the growing season
without injury to the plants Climbers.
however, should not be pruned until
after they have bloomed.
| Farmers and gardeners in recent
years have suffered heavy losses by
reason of various kinds of rots. fungous
! diseases and other ailments of pota-
toes, both sweets and white potatoes.
A recent publication of the Depart
ment of Agriculture gives remedies Tor
these destructive diseases of potatoes.
and agriculturists following the in
lstructions given by the department s
experts will be saved heavy losses. In
regard to sweet potato rots the bull
letin says:
|
| will enable sweet potato growers to
dispose of a greater portion of their
crop at the higher prices which pre-
vail in the winter. At present many
growers, especially the smaller ones.
sell their entire crop at digging time
when prices are low, while those who
store their potatoes lose heavily from
the various rots. Farmers Bulletin
No. ia, a new publication of the de-
partment. offers suggestions for the
i'm
tecting the stock from disease. Five
| field diseases-stem rot. black rot, foot
rot scurf and root rot-are described
and directions for their control given.
They are caused by fungi which in
wade the plants and their roots, and
infect not only the plants but the soil
itself, and may be carried to new
areas and plants by insects. farm ami
mails. infected implements. drainage
water, wind or diseased roots or tubers.
The fungi are also often spread in
manure used as fertilizer.
THE means of securing healthy crops,
therefore, must be the exclusion of the
germs from the fields and from the
seed and fertilizer used in the growing
of the potatoes. The methods used in
the prevention of these diseases in
hotbed and the field. The seed potatoes
must be carefully selected the year
before at digging time from hills
which are known to contain healthy
plants. This may De determined by
splitting the stem of the plants and
examining the interior for indications
of rot. The seed potatoes themselves
should be examined again before plant
ing for evidences of disease. Where
slip seeding is used. equal care must
be taken that the cuttings are made
from disease-free plants.
1.-The seed pota toes should be disinfected
just before bedding by immersing them
for five or ten minutes in a solution
made by dissolving one ounce of corro-
sive sublimate in eight gallops of water
This destroys any spores which may
adhere to the Seeds Following this
in warm water and dried in the sun. The
hotbed is often the source of infection
Thorough disinfection every year should
be practiced. The framework and the
ground around it must be thoroughly
soaked with a solution of formaldehyde
or copper sulphate. Where formaldehyde
is used 1t should be used in the proper
ton of one pint of formaln to thirty
gallons of water. With copper sulphate
one pound should be used with twenty
five gallons of water. The operation
should be repeated after twenty four
hours The soil for the hotbed. prefera-
bly, sand, must be taken from some place
where potatoes have never been grown
IL possible. from some nigh place in the
woods removing the upper six inches
of soil and using only the subsoil. Care
should be taken to see that infection is
not carried on the wagons. implements
and tools used. Where stable manure is
used on the hotbed II should not be
from animals that have had access to