growth of the tree, and therefore are undesirable except in cases where it is thought that the blight will eventually get beyond control in the orchard. Under the head of cultural methods which favor or hinder pear plight, as the case may be, the following are the most important:

Pruning.-Pruning in winter time, or when the tree is dormant, tends to make it grow and form a great deal of new wood, and on that account it favors pear blight. Withholding the pruning knife, therefore, may not otherwise be best for the tree, but it will reduce to some extent its tendency to blight.

Fertilizing. The better a tree is fed the worse it will fare when attacked by blight. Trees highly manured with barnyard manures and other nitrogenous fertilizers are especially liable to the disease. Overstimulation with fertilizers is to be avoided, especially if the soil is already well supplied.

Cultivation. The same remarks apply here as in the case of fertilizing. A well-cultivated tree is more inclined to blight than one growing on sod or untilled land, although the latter often do blight badly. Generally good tillage every year is necessary for the full development of the pear and quince trees, and is more or less so for the apple in many parts of the country, but the thrift that makes a tree bear good fruit also makes it susceptible to blight. Check the tree by withholding tillage, so that it makes a short growth and bears small fruit, and it will be in a better condition to withstand blight than it would were it cultivated. In cases where thrifty orchards are attacked by blight and threatened with destruction, it may often be desirable to plow them once in the spring and harrow soon after the plowing, to plow them only, or to entirely withhold cultivation for a year, mowing the weeds and grass or pasturing with sheep. A good way is to plow the middle of the space between the rows, leaving half the ground untouched.

Irrigation.-In irrigated orchards the grower has the advantage of having control of the water supply. When such orchards are attacked, the proper thing to do is to withhold the water supply or reduce it to the minimum. Only enough should be supplied to keep the leaves green and the wood from shriveling.

Extermination of the blight microbe.-We now come to the only really satisfactory method of controlling pear blight-that is, exterminating the microbe, which causes it, by cutting out and burning every particle of blight when the trees are dormant. Not a single case of active blight should be allowed to survive the winter in the orchard or within a half mile or so from it. Every tree of the pome family, including the apple, pear, quince, Siberian crab apple, wild crab apple, the mountain ash, service berry, and all the species of Cratægus, or hawthorns, should be examined for this purpose, the blight being the same in all. The orchardist should not stop short of

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absolute destruction of every case, for a few overlooked may go a long way toward undoing all his work. Cutting out the blight may be done at any time in the winter or spring up to the period when growth begins. The best time, however, is undoubtedly in the fall, when the foliage is still on the trees and the contrast between that on the blighted and that on the healthy limbs is so great that it is an easy matter to find all the blight. It is important to cut out blight whenever it is found, even in the growing season. At that time of year, however, it can not be hoped to make much headway against the disease, as new cases constantly occur which are not sufficiently developed to be seen when the cutting is done. In orchards where there are only a few trees, and the owner has sufficient time to go over them daily, he will be able to save some which would otherwise be lost. However, when the trees stop forming new wood, the campaign should begin in earnest.

Of course, the greater part of the blight can be taken out the first time the trees are gone over. If this be in midsummer, the trees should all be again carefully inspected in the autumn, just before the leaves Ished, so as to get every case that can be seen at that time. After this a careful watch should be kept on the trees, and at least one more careful inspection given in spring before the blossoms open. It would doubtless be well to look the trees over several times during the winter to be certain that the blight is completely exterminated. In order to do the inspecting thoroughly it is necessary to go from tree to tree down the row, or in the case of large trees to walk up one side of the row and down the other, as in simply walking through the orchard it is impossible to be certain that every case of blight has been cut out.

The above line of treatment will be even more efficacious in keeping unaffected orchards free from the blight. A careful inspection of all pomaceous trees should be made two or three times during the summer and a sharp lookout kept for the first appearance of the blight. It usually takes two or three years for the disease in an orchard to develop into a serious epidemic, but the early removal of the first cases will prevent this and save a great deal of labor later and many valuable trees.

In doing this work it must be remembered that success can be attained only by the most careful and rigid attention to details. Watch and study the trees, and there is no question that the time thus spent will be amply repaid.

GRASS GARDENS.

By F. LAMSON-SCRIBNER, B. Sc.,
Agrostologist, U. S. Department of Agriculture.

WHAT IS A GRASS GARDEN?

Gardens devoted exclusively to grass culture and experiment are called grass gardens. Usually their object is to exhibit and test the qualities of grasses useful or possibly useful for forage, and other plants used for this purpose, the clovers, vetches, etc., have generally been given a place in the gardens with them. These gardens are museums of living plants, and as such they are particularly interesting, as they contain the plants which form the basis of agricultural pursuits, and are of the greatest importance, directly or indirectly, to man. One of the first and most celebrated grass gardens was that conducted by Mr. George Sinclair, under the patronage of the Duke of Bedford, early in the present century. Within the last few years grass gardens have multiplied, both in Europe and in this country; here particularly, because of the establishment of the State experiment stations, many of which make the subject of grass culture an important feature of their work.

Grasses and forage plants exist in great variety, and possess great diversity of character. Some are coarse in growth and harsh in texture, while the growth of others is fine and tender.

Some possess the

qualities required for making hay; others have characteristics which adapt them for grazing. Some possess good turf-forming habits; others will make no turf. Some thrive best under the heat of midsummer; others flourish only in the cooler seasons of the year. Some present a scanty vegetation at best; others a vigorous and abundant growth. All these points and much besides may be observed and studied in the grass garden.

RECOGNITION AND COMPARISON OF SPECIES.

An opportunity is afforded for the comparison of one kind with another, and for noting their relative merits for special purposes. We may also learn to know all plants advertised by seedsmen, and to judge whether the varieties advertised are those we would wish to propagate. Again, we may learn to know the native grasses, for these should not be omitted from the garden. They should always have a place, not only for the reason here suggested that of becoming

familiar with their appearance and learning to know them-but because they may exhibit under cultivation qualities of usefulness little suspected from what they may exhibit in their native stations. In a grass garden, however limited in extent, one will soon come to recognize by their leaves alone the several species which he may have growing in it. He will not have to wait, as does the botanist, for the plant to come into flower and mature before he can analyze it. The leaves of the several species have their peculiarities-slight differences in shape or size, or in the pointing of the tips, but more markedly in the variety of their colors-which the close observer will soon learn to detect and associate with the several forms (fig. 68).

The gardener will, if his heart is in the work, soon discover individual peculiarities in the plants he cultivates, and detect variations which may be found to be as fixed or permanent as those which limit species. He may even become attached to individual plants which he has thus discovered, and which present to him qualities of special excellence, either for the formation of turf, which is what we most need, or for production of a superior hay. There are certain grasses which exhibit more markedly than others these small yet important differences. This is true of Kentucky blue grass, redtop, and some of the species of fescue. These are grasses which have a wide

geographical range, grow on a great variety of soils, and in their habitats present marked variations in size and general habit of growth, in the length, breadth, and color of their leaves, and to some extent also in their flowers. The variations appear, however, chiefly in the vegetative parts-roots, stems, and leaves-and it is these which give the plants their value in agriculture. By special selection of seed or, better still, rooted plants, these individual peculiarities may become fixed and extended by propagation, and "improved varieties" obtained, as in the case of Indian corn, wheat, and other plants. These are some of the things which may be studied and learned in a grass garden of the simplest form.

THE BOTANIST'S INTEREST IN THE GARDEN.

To the botanist a grass garden may serve many a useful purpose. In it the grasses of all countries may be grown and so arranged in their natural tribes and subdivisions, giving to each a space propor tionate to the number of species which it contains, that relationships may be studied to the best advantage. In no other way can one more readily acquire a knowledge of the grass family as a whole, taking it in at a glance, so to speak, than in a garden thus systematically arranged. He is presented with an opportunity to study individual characters of special interest to him, to test the permanency of these peculiarities, as well as the validity of species or varieties. It is unfortunate that botanists who make a study of grasses can not visit the countries where each and every species grows, but this is impossible; one is forced to depend upon the collections of many collectors who are not always botanists, and who do not always gather material in the best shape for study. Not quite so good as seeing the grasses in their native habitat, but far better than viewing dried material alone, is the possession of a grass garden, where one may at least see and study the living plants themselves, although they may be in artificial surroundings. There is much to learn from the living plant, which never appears in the dead herbarium specimens, and it is very likely that the study of living material in the garden will lead to many changes or modifications of opinions and conclusions drawn from dried and mounted specimens. The grass garden affords its possessor an opportunity to make herbarium specimens which can be sent to those less fortunate in this possession, and which may also be used in making exchanges with other botanists. Likewise seeds may be obtained from the grasses grown in the garden, and these may be distributed to other gardens or botanical institutions for the purpose of diffusing a knowledge of these plants through their multiplication at different points.

SELECTION OF GRASSES FOR PARTICULAR LATITUDES.

The behavior of the grasses during the various seasons of the year will determine in some degree the latitude to which they are best