CLIMATIC INFLUENCES ON THE PEACH TREE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2052, 1 September 1885, Page 4

CLIMATIC INFLUENCES ON THE PEACH TREE.

At a meeting of the Wnnganni Industrial anil Ii ogress Association on the 13th inst., Mr .1, T. Anderson read a paper on '•Climatic and Chemical effects on the Peach Tice" Ills attention li.ul been d taw 11 to the subject liy the rrm.iiks in ide some months ago as lo the failure of the peach tiDji. He had noticed two ptai.li tiees in the A\(iiue, one I etltiiy and the othei blae\ and batr. One was slu lleird fnrni the Southiil\ winds and had tlie 1» m fit of the sun, w liile the ottu i was not so sheltered, and was s-lnded '>> buildings from the afternoon sun. He held, alter brief examination, that the failuii! was not so much due to insects as to climatic anil consequent chemical changes. He belie\ed that the pcacli was injuied by two chemical agents. The first m,u salt,' hi ought by the wind ; it coated the bark, and the chlorideof sodium acted ab a st) ptic thus pt renting the natural exudation. The experience of two gardeners supported him in this theory, as one was able to sciape the ">alt off, while the other was, when digging up an appaiently dean* tree, obliged to lea\e off owing to the effluvium at the loot*, caused by the sap being drivm to them in some mjsterious manner. The second chemical ngent had, lie thought, something to do with the fruit ami leaves. He had learned, in liis endeavour to find the chemical action of chloride of ♦odium on the leaf, that the leaf and b'os«oin li\ed on its power to generate lijiliocyanic acid. If this acid was pre sent ii. large quantities, and the acid was sensitive to atmospheric cold, he conld not come to any conclusion but that the unusually severe * rather acting on the ,n ill wns one a^cnt in .inesting the gttnvtli of thetue. He did not bclie\e lint there wa-> anydmgeref thnr being unable to cultivate this farouiite fruit, as Iw thought the abnormal weather they had had was not likely to last He believed that tncs biought fiom Australia had suflfcd most ftom the change of climate, but he had no doubt tint tiecs tran^poittd fiom the South Island would ha\e had hetlc. chances. Aftei i (fen ing to th" unfavtrdde situations some orchauls were placed in, and com pa i lug them with others moie favourably, planted he said the result of having w ill 1 ii 1 out ganb ns, ptovedthatby ligi'i mate caie ami attention fie crop must le hrger Aftei rcfeuitif* bitefly to the jields of vanoHs fiuits, Mr Anderson conclu led his paper with a compilation fioni l)i H< ctoi on the .niiiiti 1 tetnpetatuie of the sea -on-, foi the last s'\ yiar-, runfall, &c —Mi Shaipcon id ted that the piiper wis deserving '-»f tredit He wa> not piepue'l to say that the effects wcienotdueto what Mi Anderson put them down to. Hi had been inclinul to tint themy. lint his views had hi en shaken on this point lately. He thought that want of attention «a« a srieat can it, }ct he vnahl »ay that, »uth ier.aid to his own peach tites, they had hail every attention paid them, and still last season Muy ''ied oil hefote his cyts, without his In ing aide to do an) thing to In lp them The r.ort« were assorted, anil all weie affectul, but tineirly soit* had lccovcicd aotuewlnt, and weie now in q tod condition. }{c had nlways lucn against the insect theory, as lie thougnt the presei.ee of insects on trees in their declining igc was the < fleet and not the cause of the diaea-c. A gentleman pu-scnt hid propounded a mildew theory, which, the mote he thought of it. scented to him to be a natural one It was worth testing and lie intended using lime and Mtlpbut with a vinw to testing the icviUs on mil It w. —Ml Dtevv rufemd to the climitic in fliii'iit'i's, ,iinl sud tint tip* liteneM of the spimg must have ha 1 -cune hing to do with it. As far as g ties wen*, the gales had not be<n -o heavy as they were -ome ten yeats a«o, when the tnci vvrte. I la< kened, but still they tecovried. Mi blew icfeind ne\t to the in-ect pc*t He l>!t' v\ of a small cttcipillat u hie-h .ifTc ted peach trees; and there was also an aphis omew hit akin to the tose a, his, Yihich also atlected peich tices. Thete was also scnle very piewilcnt in some of the otchaids, and a be< tie «jiub vi hieli att.icked ptMeh tires. He was glad that the. discussion had been biought up, and ho had no doubt but Hi.it when I'iofnsor Kiik came up here, h would given pnpet on the topic \\ lnch would lausc discus sion. — Mt Babhige in moving t \ote of thanks stated th.it he was inclined to support the theotv of Mr Anderson, and he refetied to the ptaotict? of pent h trees o:i almond "tocki in Austiaha —Mr Murray said that the inildrw theoiy had been iit«<f<"«ttd to him and \ir had looked up tli<* m.ittet The nnhb w was nkin to oidium, the «poies of the fnnyus got into the irronml, ami then afiectcd the trees He knew that thp ptach blijit had bern here for somr !0 years, and he thought that thu lnildi r\ tlu'Oij explainrd all llir c\ il"« —Mr A\vdi\ of M.irton «taffil that he ftl«o held the mildi W tluoty, .itid cxplritncd that he liad sexeial trees of w hit Ii all but one v\ue .iflntrd, and that one wa -, to the Ww.ud of the other-*, ami it scenud to him that the wind ha 1 emiud the disease to the otheis. — Mi Willi ini-1 m mle xome ten iiks with leference to pench tiers, in the Sounds, szrow mg <plftnli<l fruit althotigli placed in the bush and away fiom the sun. — Mi Nettlelefened to the peach tites At Astro labf , Nelson, w 'nch had nev t r been attaeUid. They weie not open to the wind. — Mi bre.v stated that the oidium was tiavclhng south giadiully fiom Auckland —Mi J Land s.inl he had had a good deal of cxpeitencc with peaches. In l.S(i!) he fit st noticed the effects ot a heavy gale on the peaches. Somr tre' s did not leeover nttrr it, and the crop gencially had never been so good since. At 1 1 tti unm, New I'l> month, hr lirst«aw the disensr ; the tiers had been h^ilthy, but on c\amimn<; them he found th.it the gum nas fMidtni; fiom the tttinks as though minc'tiif's had l« ( n made in them He brlicvcd that the diva»«* was a ftu thei extrusion of the curl of the leaf, due ptobabl) to climatii lnlluenets. Hr had lost all his young trees List sea'on, and he intended this year to try rubbing oft the balk with a haul bru-h, soas toretnove all chance of influence fiom the old h.nk. He Mould tiy also othei methods and watch the results. He bibeved that the insect pects had HOtnethiug to do w ith thr lo»s of trees, and there was no doubt that want of attention added to the di'e.»«e. As for the mildew, lir s.iid tint the oidium was not the fungus that attaiked the peach, though he believed it wa< a fungus akin to it. Jfe had noticed that the apricots weie going in a Mmil/ir way to thu pc.ichcfc. As foi grafting on almond stocks in Au.itmlia, he could .say that he had impoited peaches ftom Australia, but they weie alKcted in the same way as the rest: he believed that the diseases non pievalent weie gradually increasing, and it would br necessary to i xpeiinient if they wanted to aseet tain w hat could brst be done to keep thrir flint. —Mt Hharpe remaikdl that two yeais ago he had thought that if it was a blight that vkir attacking tho tiees it would be neee^«aty lo have blight proof treci. After making seveial ini|uitieß he ascei tamed that their were oichaids in Tilrnhciin nnd Man.iwatu which had crojiped well He got cut titles ftom both id ices, and while the Blenheim trees leaked healthy those from Manawatu wpie not so favour d)le in ap pearauce. lie had, howevet, planted both, and would watch the m. He did not think the almond storks would be haidy ( iiotigh foi tin-, colony, but pei haps plum .stocks would do hettei. —Mr l)ie\v seconded the vote of thanks, and it was oat i ied unanimously. -Mi Andeison biiefly icplied, and Mi Wilson then gave his papei.

How 10 (5i i Sii k—l\| (i c vntrsflf ,1 an( ] night, «it too murh without r\erriM\ work Inn lianl withoiit irit, doctor .ill tin lnnc, t ike all tlir \ilrnristmmi and innt.itinns ad\i rtisuc' and then jnu will want to know . How 10 Gl-r Wi'it — W Inr lt is anvwerpd in Ihrio wordi— T.ike Ami rican Co's Hop Hitters Read.