MILDEW ON GRAPES AND COLIN MOTH.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2112, 21 January 1886, Page 3

MILDEW ON GRAPES AND COLIN MOTH.

to thi: Enirou. SIX, — 111 answer to your To Awamutn correspondent, the following remarks will no doubt be of general interest :— Mildew ox Vines (Ordium Tuckeri) — This vegetable pest is caused l»\ Midden chills, cold, damp, and bidly ventilated atmospheres. Mildew nr*t made its ipjiiMiance in England in 1843 and 1817, n appeared on the Continent and laid ua*t( hundreds of acres of vineyaid-. In IS")] the disease appeared in Ttaly, and i: 1 I^Tl it appeared in the colony of Victoi 1,1. Tin til -*t notice of it appeared in fie Au-tnl.'-sian of the 10th December, 1871. At lit it was discovered that the fume-, of sulpinu had the effect of completely deploying tin pest if propei ly applied, and at the ligiil time. The action of sulphur in the cure of nrdium (mildew), is due to tho formation of sulphurous acid gas by the action of t!i< oxygen of tho atmosphere on the hnelv subdivided particles ; and ao dryne»n and heat are essential to the oxidation o! sulphur, it may be readily undei stood how it is that sulphur will not act curutively in wet, cold weather. After pruning, e\or\ bit of refuse should be collected and binned. The stems should then be washed with a solution of sulphur and lime ; this will stnj the development of any germs which maj be present. The addition of cow-dung and yellow clay will render the application uion efficacious. By painting the hotwatci pipes with this mixture an atnuxphcro w ll j be created which will destroy mildew or ret* spider. Dusting with Hour of sulphui. applied with a fu nigating bellow-:, is als efficacious. Wiien mildew attacks melon* cucumbers in frames, or elsewheie, a littl. flour of sulphur duxted over the plant* an« on thi soil under the leaves during the hot weathei Mill diive off noxious insects ant! destroy the mildew. This remedy will also answer for all kinds of plants attacked b,> red spider or mildew*. ConLlN Mom (Carpocapsa Pomonana) — This pest attacks the apple, pe.ir, am' quince ; its ravages are principally contineu to the apple, causing an annual loss of many thousands of pounds sterling to the fruit-growers of America and England The plan of attack is as follow* :— AVhen the young apples are formed, the mot!. deposits a single egg on each fruit, usiiallv on the upper end. puncturing the i hid ul the same time. Each moth deposits from 70 to 80 eggs. The larva* is hatched in from seven to ten days, and begins at one to eat its »vay into the apple. The following description is from Ormerod'-. " Inju rious Insects " :—": — " The caterpillar is about half-an-inch long and slightly hah v, w hitish, with a brown or black head and dark mnrk ings. As it grows, it continue* its gallery toward" the stem, or the lower bide «'f the apple, avoiding the core, when it makes an opening through the rind, and thus is able to throw out the pellets of dirt. After thi« opening is made, it turns back to the middle of the apple, and when nearly full grown pierces the core and feeds only on the pips, and as a result of this injury the apple falls." As soon as the apple falls, the caterpillar leaves the fruit and finds its way to the stem of the tree and secretes itself in the cracks and fissures of the bark, where it assumes the chrysalis form. The true larva of the codlin moth always destroys the pips of the apple- this will be a guide to those who sometimes have their apples injured by other grubs. Djuckutiox ok Moth.— Length of body, 7-16ths of an inch ; ppiead of wing*, I inch. Colour, body and legs rich bronze, light drab; fore wings, mottled gray and dtab, with dark copper bar across hinder maigin, in which is a golden ocellated patch near inner angle ; hind wings plain drab, a little darker than body. Remedies. — During winter, trees which have been infested should be thoroughly scraped, and all loose bark and piuning* burned. Then apply a dressing such a* recommended for winter dressing in the case of red spider, viz. :— The stem-, and branches should receive a dressing—composed ot soft soap containing nine per cent, of potash. This soap mixed with twentyfivo per cent, of its weight with fl-nn nf sulphur ; one pound of this mixture to the gallon of water will be strong enough. Apply with a stiff brush and rub well in. American fruit-growers resort to the following simple method of trapping the cater pillars as they cieep about looking for a resting-place. They tie bands of old sacking round the t-toms of the trees not far from the ground ; these bands should bo examined once a week, when large numbeis of caterpillars are usually found. A band of soft soap, or Gishnrst s compound, round the stem, laid thickly a few inches u ide, is also recommended. — I am, yours truly, OBCHABDISr.