Part 32 (1/2)

BEWARE BLIGHT CURES.--Almost every year orchardists are persuaded to try some new, so-called ”blight cure” or preventative, only to find later that they have wasted time and money in the experiment.

Government regulations regarding fake remedies of this character are more strict than formerly, but there are still some agents trying to dupe the public into buying their wares.

Blight, which is often referred to as apple blight, fire blight, or pear blight, is caused by bacteria which live in the sap of the tree, and the principle followed by the blight-doctor is to introduce something into the sap which will prevent the working of the bacteria. The remedies are applied in various ways. Sometimes the trunk is painted with a mixture of some kind, or holes are bored into the trunk and these filled with a powder. The orchardist is sometimes furnished with a box of nails as the first ”course” and instructed to drive these into the roots of the trees.

It is evident that anything introduced into the sap that is strong enough to kill the bacteria living there will likewise damage the cell tissue of the tree, and result in more harm than benefit. One powder that has been brought to the attention of the Experiment Station, sells for $3.00 per pound, and is administered in teaspoonful ”doses.” Such a preparation as this is probably harmless, but is a waste of time and money. It would have no effect on the tree or the blight.

Some of the agents not only claim that their remedies will cure blight, but, due to ignorance or other causes, they also claim that trees treated will be immune from attacks of certain insects.

Orchardists may rest a.s.sured that up to the present time, no real preventative or cure has been found for blight, and that the only way it can be controlled is by cutting it out.--Colorado Agricultural College.

IN MEMORIAM--MRS. E. CROSS.

Mrs. Erasmus Cross, of Sauk Rapids, and a member of the Minnesota State Horticultural Society since 1888 (27 years), pa.s.sed away at that place on Tuesday, December 28th. On December 16th Mrs. Cross sustained a painful injury by falling on the floor and breaking her hip. Owing to her advanced age, eighty-two years, the limb could not be set without the use of chloroform, which could not be given on account of weakness of the heart. Death finally released her from her suffering.

[Ill.u.s.tration: The late Mrs. E. Cross, daughter and grandaughters.]

Mrs. Jane Cross was always very enthusiastic about the Horticultural Society and the good it was doing, not only for this but other states.

The ills of her age had prevented her from attending the meetings these late years, though she often did so in earlier years, but she always sent her fee through the writer, and eagerly awaited her return from the meeting to hear of its stimulating success. Mr. Cross died about six years ago. Two sons, James, of St. Paul, and Robert, of Sauk Rapids, and two daughters, Mrs. Annie Nicholson, of Hamline, and Mrs. Emma Sovereign, of Sauk Rapids, mourn her loss. Our society has lost a most loyal friend.--Mrs. Jennie Stager, Sauk Rapids.

GARDEN HELPS

Conducted by Minnesota Garden Flower Society

Edited by MRS. E. W. GOULD, 2644 Humboldt Avenue So.

Minneapolis.

Notes from Prof. Alway's interesting and instructive talk on ”Maintaining the fertility of our gardens.”

Requisites for proper plant growth are warmth, ventilation, root room, the absence of harmful alkalies or animals that destroy the beneficial bacteria in the soil, water and plant food.

By far the most important requisite for growth is water. More plants and crops fail because of the lack of a proper amount of it than from any other cause.

Plenty of fresh air is needed by the plants, as they derive a portion of their food from it.

They adapt themselves largely to conditions as to root-room, a plant thriving in a pot, but spreading to much greater root s.p.a.ce when grown in the open with plenty of room. The more restricted the root s.p.a.ce, the more food and water it will require.

The fourth requisite for growth does not concern us as there are no alkali lands in the counties near the Twin Cities, and the harmful minute animals that destroy the beneficial bacteria in the soil are as a rule found only in greenhouses.

The best fertilizer for the garden is the thorough use of the hose.

Each year stable manures become harder to obtain, but the fertility of the garden can be maintained by the use of commercial fertilizers, which are more concentrated foods and are much easier to work with.

The perfect plant food consists of nitrogen, phosphorus and potash. We can obtain these in separate form and use as we need them.