OCR Text |
Show ! FARM AND HOl'SEIIOLI). I Cai-sf. of Grape Hot J. II. II., in the Rural World, states what be i has discovered in his efforts to discover , the cause of grape rot, as follows : t "I went to work with magnifiers, and j was not long in finding something that i attracted my attention; I discovered I spots almost invisible to the naked eye, which, with a magnifying glass, were seen to be circular and composed of white granules, fungus of course. The next morning the little round spots had enlarged, and were surrounded by a brown, thread-like halo, which was the beginning of the spot or circle seen on the grape, which we call rot. The original or-iginal little white spot becomes yellowish yellow-ish and does not spread, and the skin is so much broken that g'jm exudes from it, which I suppose gave rise to the idea of its having been slung. The brown part goes on until the grapes are entirely destroyed. ! The rot is confined to the parts immediately imme-diately under the skin, and if, with a sharp instrument, as a needle, the skin be scarified outside tbo limit of the fungus, it will lift oft", having no connexion con-nexion with the pulp of the grape, and it will heal and the grape get ripe, provided the wound is not too largo. Here, agoin, in the cutting out of parts affected the bug theory is exploded, ex-ploded, for it is the spreading of the fungus nnder the skin that is doini the mischief That which attacks the Concord with circular spots and the Catawba by causing the whole berry to become brown, I suspect is the same fungus, differing on account of the nidus, and I also suspect that the mildew mil-dew on the leaf i.s the same, and that fungi arc considerably uictamorphic." IIOARHOUNI) FOR Bf.E FORAOE. We sec that at a recent Kansas beekeepers' beekeep-ers' convention it was thought that hoai'hound would prove a very important import-ant honey producing plant tor this country, since it remaiu.s in bloom a Ion-.' time, and when there is scireely any oilier .source fur honey. It was also asserted that the plant is very hardy, never needs sowing but once, and seems to produce honey whether1 it is wet or dry. Many of our ivaders i are doubtless aware that this plant is a j native of JOurope and Middle Asia that it blossoms iu J uly and August, i and has been introduced and natural-, ized in some localities in lids couulry as a medicinal herb. The botanical! name is M-imtbiitm vulgarc. There arc several species of Marrubhun native na-tive to this country. If any of our Apiarians have had experience with this plant for bee f'-ragiwc shall be glad to know what they think ubout it. |