The Canadian Horticulturist.

This scourge of the plum tree is found in nearly all parts of Ontario, and is so common and destructive that in some districts one seldom sees a plum tree free from knot; and although a great deal has been written in agricultural and horticultural papers, and warnings given by vigilant members of both societies about the injury done to the fruit crop, and the sure death of the tree if not thoroughly cut off and burned, still the warning seems to be of little avail. The disease is spreading very fast, and unless some remedy, either Legislative or otherwise, is found to stop its further progress, the plum crop will dwindle down to very small dimensions. When it gets into a plum orchard it attacks all varieties, but most frequently upon trees standing in wet dark rich soil. If the trees are planted in a dry soil they have a better chance to escape the disease.

Much has been said and written about the origin of black knot. The insect theory has long been abandoned, and nearly all intelligent fruit growers now accept the knot as a vegetable excrescence of fungous origin. Scientific research by entomologists and botanists has given us the cause, nature, and means of propagation of the black knot; it is for us to profit by their instructions, and endeavor by every means in our power to put down and destroy this pest.

It spreads with great rapidity. I lately saw a blue plum tree affected with black knot, and large numbers of suckers growing up all around it; nearly every one of them from a foot high was affected with knot, evidently showing how contagious and hereditary it is; hence the necessity of strong measures being taken to keep it down; what these measures should be is for you to say. From my own observation and experience, I have not much faith in moral suasion in this matter. If you think the evil can be eradicated by act of parliament, and proper machinery put in motion to compel every one to keep their trees free of this ugly and injurious excrescence, it will be a benefit to the community, and put our people largely in possession of a most delicious and nourishing fruit, with millions of bushels surplus for export, which will be real wealth to the country.

There is a Bill now before the Ontario Legislature, in charge of the member for North Grey, which received a first reading about the end of last session. I think it will be well for this meeting of the Fruit Growers’ Association of Ontario to take the matter into consideration, and see if any improvement can be made on the Bill. It might include Choke Cherries and Wild Cherries, both very subject to black knot, and which have a tendency to spread this very contagious disease if growing near a plum orchard. The Curculio might also form part of the Bill.

“Mr. Roy having read a paper on the black knot on plum trees, and having submitted a Bill, now before the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, for the prevention of the spread of black knot, we hereby agree to endorse the sections of such Bill, and desire to strengthen Mr. Creighton’s hands by instructing our Secretary to correspond with the introducer of the Bill, and assure him that it is entirely in accordance with our views, and respectfully suggest that the provisions be extended to Wild Cherry and other trees subject to this disease.”

Before we can successfully interest ourselves about the measures to be adopted for preventing the spread of the yellows in our country, it is necessary to consider the extent of the interest affected, and also the nature of the disease itself as far as this is known.

The peach growing interest of Canada is yet in its infancy, but it is rapidly assuming large proportions in those districts favorable to its cultivation. Of course we cannot expect ever to see in Canada such orchards of peach trees as may be seen in Delaware, Maryland, and some other States, where the peach finds a more congenial climate, and where a single orchard sometimes extends over hundreds of acres; but during the last five years a great impetus has been given to this industry, and orchards may now be seen dotting the shores of lakes Huron, Erie, and Ontario, wherever the ameliorating influence of the water is united with a suitable soil, and a winter that is not too severe. The Niagara peninsula is peculiarly adapted to peach culture, and on it the largest orchards may be found; indeed it is no uncommon thing now to find an orchard there of two or three thousand peach trees, and near Niagara Falls there is one of about ten thousand. As a rough estimate, we may safely assert that the number of peach trees now standing in Canadian soil exceeds one hundred and fifty thousand. Of course a large number of these having been planted during the past three or four years, have not yet begun bearing; but already our people are beginning to appreciate home production in this article. It is found that the native grown peach reaches the consumer in a fresher condition; and that Canadian growers naturally send their best into market, while distant shippers, after selling their best in their own cities, send into Canada their inferior fruit. Furthermore we venture to affirm that no finer Crawfords are grown anywhere than are produced on the sandy loam skirting somewhat irregularly the south shore of Lake Ontario.

It is evident therefore that any disease that threatens to destroy this interest, in which many have now invested almost their whole capital, and in which their prospects of success in life are largely bound up, will not only result in terrible disappointment and misfortune to such persons, but will prove an incalculable loss to the general public of our country who are the consumers of this delicate luxury.

The Nature of the Yellows is about as mysterious as that of the famous pear blight, and it is useless to dogmatise upon the matter. T. A. Fulton, in his Peach Culture, suggests that it is a case of arbor consumption arising from a deficiency in the supply of tree nourishment; and he thinks that it first originated in bad cultivation. Of course it is a principle in agriculture that a rotation of crops should be observed, lest a degeneracy of the soil result from a constant extraction of one kind of plant food. It is also a matter of history, that the yellows first appeared to any considerable extent in the middle States, where peaches had been cultivated largely for a long period, where new orchards had replaced old ones, and where grain crops had exhausted the already too impoverished soil.

The disease once abroad in the land, plenty of means were at hand for spreading and propagating it. That it is contagious seems proved by the experience of planters, who observe that when it once breaks out in an orchard, and the affected trees are left standing, it is sure to spread. Nor will it confine its ravages to the one orchard, but may extend in a few seasons throughout a whole district.

The theory that it is also hereditary is confirmed by an observation of facts. It has been found that trees grown from the pits of diseased fruit will produce sickly trees, which condition the best care and cultivation will not wholly overcome. And this explains the strange instances quoted by Downing, of orchards in which the yellows has broken out in spots, affecting trees not contiguous to each other. We make the following extract under this head from that author’s Fruits and Fruit Trees of America: “It is established beyond question, that the yellows can always be propagated by budding or grafting from a diseased tree; that the stock, whether peach or almond, also takes the disease, and finally perishes; and that the seeds of the diseased trees produce young trees in which the yellows sooner or later breaks out.”

There are two or three infallible indications of the existence of the yellows in a peach tree, and among these may be mentioned,

(1) The premature ripening of the fruit. This will be the first observable symptom, and should the tree survive for two or three years, each recurring season will witness a still earlier time of maturity. This symptom may be to a certain extent counterfeited by the work of the larva of Ægeria exitiosa, which girdles the tree just below the surface of the ground, and which also may prove the death of it. But to the experienced cultivator the next symptom will be unmistakable, viz:

(2) The spotted fruit. Whether naturally yellow or purple, the fruit of such trees as are affected with the yellows is invariably dotted with purplish red spots; while the flesh is highly colored about the pit. Such fruit is sometimes shipped into our country in large quantities to be sold to the uninitiated, and the people of our towns and cities should be on their guard against it, for it is insipid and worthless. There is one more symptom which may be depended upon as unfailing, and that is

(3) The appearance along the branches of long slender shoots, bearing small narrow leaves. These leaves are usually of a yellowish color, from which characteristic we have the name of the disease.

Among the measures to be adopted by peach growers to prevent the spread of the yellows, we may mention, (1) the use of the greatest caution in the purchase of both pits and trees. Not only should the pits of natural trees be chosen for propagating, as possessing most health and vitality, but they should be gathered from trees that are themselves vigorous and healthy, lest a deterioration be setting in which may prove to be the beginning of troubles. By all means should pits be avoided by the planter that have been grown in districts where the yellows are known to prevail; and surely the ominous words sometimes seen in advertisements of pits for sale, viz, “Warranted free from the yellows,” should be warning enough to lead the buyer to make sure in this matter.

As for the trees themselves, since they do not exhibit any indication of disease until sometime planted, the buyer needs to enquire carefully into their nativity, and he must not buy from those sections where the yellows is known to exist, or he may be assured that he is bringing pestilence into his orchard.

Another source of danger may be overlooked, and that is the importation of diseased fruit. Such fruit would be cheap, and therefore the very kind naturally purchased for canning by those unacquainted with its condition; and from these the pits would in many instances find their way into the hands of some planter. Is there any way to prevent such fruit from being brought into our country? Indeed, it is an open question whether government aid ought not to be petitioned in this matter. A rigorous quarantine is observed by our country against diseases of man; England has an Act prohibiting the importation of diseased cattle, and if the diseases of man and beast may thus be guarded against, why may not something similar be done to save our country from this terrible disease of the peach orchards?

The next preventive measure in the hands of the peach grower, after a careful selection of his trees, is (2) the vigilant outlook for the first appearance of the disease in his orchard. As soon as he is assured of the first certain indication of its presence, the orchardist must take immediate action. He must cut out the affected tree, root and branch, and destroy it with fire.

The best means of overcoming any tendency to this disease in an orchard is probably (3) good cultivation. As in the case of the human system, consumption is warded off by attention to the rules of health, so will any means that will stimulate the healthy and vigorous growth of the peach tree aid in warding off this disease. No planter should set more trees than he can cultivate well, for no tree sooner shows a stunted growth from lack of attention of this kind than the peach tree. Indeed, we believe that except on very light soils twice each year would not be too often for the soil to be thoroughly worked up by the use of the plough and harrow; and for this work the months of May and October may be pointed out as most appropriate.

We also believe that (4) the shortening in system of pruning is very useful. We have observed that in our own orchard trees so treated live longer, and seem more healthy and vigorous than those allowed to make long and slender growth; and it is also a subject of remark that this is the method largely practiced on the peach trees in England, and there the yellows has never yet been known to occur. It is a great deal of trouble it is true, especially in large orchards, but “Whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well,” and this should be a very important motto to the fruit grower. And indeed the work is not so laborious as might be supposed, if only the proper tools are brought into use: a good pair of pruning-shears for young trees, and a Water’s tree-pruner for larger ones, will do a great deal of execution in a day, and amply repay the trouble in the increased thrift and vigor of the trees so treated.

(5) Wet land should be underdrained. Nothing will sooner impair the vigor of the peach tree than water standing about its roots; and a low state of health will predispose the tree to an attack of the yellows. A complete system of tile drains will therefore not merely pay in the increased yield of fruit, but may help largely in warding off the great enemy that threatens such wholesale slaughter of the orchards themselves.

(6) Use plenty of fertilizers. Ashes, lime, and manure may all be used with success in the work of increasing the vitality of the peach tree, and so enabling it the better to repel disease. It is even thought that in cases where a tendency only to disease has manifested itself, an entire renovation and cure of the tree may be hoped for through the use of judicious fertilizers, united with careful cultivation and pruning.

(7) Grain crops must not be grown about peach trees. This unwise course has been pointed out by Mr. Downing as among the probable causes of the devastation caused by the yellows in the middle States, about the year 1814. And certainly we shall be on the safe side if we avoid totally what is acknowledged to be an evil in any orchard.

We would also suggest that in every peach growing section (8) a committee be appointed, of men acquainted with the nature and symptoms of the yellows, whose duty it shall be to make annual visits to any orchards supposed to be infested, and to point out to the respective owners any cases of yellows they may find, advising the immediate eradication of them; nor would we stop there, but would advocate the enacting of a law by the Legislature, by which the said committee, or an inspector appointed for the purpose, might have the power to enforce the cutting out of all such trees. This may seem to some a superfluous course, but so would it seem in the case of the Canada Thistle, yet we all know how often these are neglected, to the disgrace of many an otherwise fine farm; so that, plainly it is sometimes found necessary to compel a man by law to take those steps for his own welfare, which either his lack of common sense or his indolence lead him to neglect for himself.

In conclusion, we believe that the most effective measure we can take, as an organized association, to prevent the spread of the yellows, is to distribute as widely as possible reliable information upon the subject; for unless one knows how terrible is his enemy, weapons of defence will lie unused. It requires a mind determined by powerful motives, to cut down a beautiful peach tree that has just reached an age of maturity, and is only beginning to repay several years of careful cultivation. But it is evident, for example, that a knowledge of the contagious nature of the disease, by which not one, but many fine trees may soon be affected, will lead any sensible man to choose the lesser of two evils and exterminate the sick tree, root and branch.

And we trust that, as an association, we are giving no uncertain sound in thus warning the people against a threatening danger that has already in parts of Michigan totally ruined the prospects of peach growers, and cleared the land of a once flourishing and profitable industry. And further, we hope that no measure suggested will be left untried to prevent the spread of that much dreaded disease of the peach, commonly known as the yellows.

“Whereas, there is now an ad-valorem duty upon fruit, and whereas this form of duty admits of great frauds being perpetrated, not only upon the revenue, but also upon the fruit growers of Ontario, therefore resolved, that this Association recommends to Government that the duty upon fruit be changed to a specific duty.”

Editor “Canadian Horticulturist.”

Dear Sir:

    The February number of your magazine has just come under my notice. I observe you have devoted several of your pages to a consideration of the merits of the grape vine which we have named and copyrighted “Beaconsfield.”

In the first place you say we have claimed the “Beaconsfield” as grown from seed at Rochester. Well, we repeat it, and challenge you to disprove it. Next you say that several nurserymen at Rochester have never heard of it, and are confident “no grape of that name could have been extensively cultivated at Rochester without their knowledge.” That is the case exactly, and just what we have claimed. The “Beaconsfield” has not been extensively cultivated at Rochester, and consequently it is not at all surprising that several nurserymen there should have not seen it; in fact it would be very strange if they had, especially under that name, as it was only lately given the distinctive name of “Beaconsfield” by our firm, from want of a better one to call it. Again, these nurserymen are made to say the description given in our circular was closely that of the “Champion” grape. Allow me to remark that the “Champion” and the “Beaconsfield” differ very materially in their leading characteristics.

“Mr. Gallagher,” you say, “introduced the ‘Beaconsfield’ to Mr. Menzies as the ‘Champion.’ ” I don’t deny this, or that this particular vine went by the name of Champion, for want of a better and more defined one, for I presume you are aware there are Champions and Champions. Then you say I have been a tree dealer and agent since I was seventeen years of age, and the slur intended is quite apparent. For your information I will say that I have been in business for myself ever since the age of seventeen, and my business record either at Rochester or elsewhere will stand investigation.

When you were informed that I bought in the spring of 1877 a quantity of Champion grape vines at Rochester you were correctly informed, and if you had been informed that I had at the same time obtained the vine which we have since named the “Beaconsfield,” your informant would not have been half so untruthful as are your unwarrantable conclusions. You are further informed that we have not raised young vines enough to supply the 4,000 which Mr. Menzies says he intends to plant during the coming spring, and that all the vines we sell of it for planting in the spring of 1879 must come from Rochester. This, Mr. Editor, is a cheeky assertion on the part of your informant, and is devoid of truth.

The vine which for the protection of ourselves and our customers we have copyrighted the “Beaconsfield,” bears no more resemblance to the Champion than it does to the Hartford Prolific. I have made large claims for the success of the “Beaconsfield” vine, and believe I am not going to be disappointed. I claim it is a superior vine to any known for this part of Canada, and I am going to be here to take the consequences of any promises I make in regard to it. If, believing as we do, that it is the best vine, we wish to charge more for it than is charged for other varieties, the public can very well be left to take care of itself in the matter, as we are making no inducements which are not going to hold out. Our price is $500 per thousand, but if the public desire to buy other varieties from Rochester or elsewhere, at higher or lower prices, they are quite at liberty to do so, but if they are willing to pay more for what we claim is a better article than is asked for a poorer one, surely they have an undoubted right to do so.

Yours truly,

Geo. F. Gallagher.