164 TEANSACTIONS OF THE HORTICULTURAL 



is again carried to every cell, it being poisoned, of course the whole, 

 or most of the tree, dies. You all know, from experience, that this 

 is the way our trees are going, first, a braach or so, and the follow- 

 ing season, most of the tree. The Janets were the first to die; they 

 had borne very heavily the previous year, so as to weaken their vital- 

 ity, making them an easy prey to bacteria. Next, the little Roman- 

 ite, which was one of our hardiest varieties, then Wine Sap, Green- 

 ing, etc. Those varieties, like Roman Stem, which heretofore had 

 borne lightly, or not all, being strong and vigorous, have resisted 

 disease the best. Then I conclude, first, it is a disease; secondly, it 

 is a sap poison. It is a sap disease similar to blood poison in the 

 animal organism, caused by bacteria, or micro-organisms. These 

 bacteria are now known, by investigation with powerful micro- 

 scopes, to be the cause of malaria, typhoid fever, consumptiou, dip- 

 theria, croup, scarlet fever, measles, smallpox, hog and chicken 

 cholera, etc., by attaching themselves to the weakened inflamed mu- 

 cous membrane of the throat or sensitive surfaces by contact. 



We believe we shall be able to show to every reasonable and 

 unprejudiced mind, that our apple trees are dying by a terrible dis- 

 ease, exactly like blood-poison in the animal and human being. And 

 as we see the body attacked when weakened, or in its weakest part, 

 with micro-organisms, as in the white and yellow patches and coat- 

 ing of the membrane of the throat in diptheria, which, if left alone 

 and not arrested, soon eats into the circulation — the blood — pro- 

 ducing blood-poison and usually death. 



In like manner the bacteria, from the air, fastens upon the 

 weakest part of the vegetable organism, such as an abraded surface 

 or place where the bark is injured, perhaps by freezing, or some 

 other cause, and eats its way "as doth a canker," until it reaches 

 the circulation — blood, or sap of the tree — and poisons it all. 



Now, in diptheria, if we would save life, we must at once pro- 

 ceed to remove these micro-orj?anisms. How shall we do this? We 

 reply that at the first appearance of this disease, before scientists 

 learned the cause, it was almost sure death, but the science and skill 

 of recent years has found several very effective remedies. By the 

 help of the microscope and the investigations of scientists we now 

 know the cause, and can remove it, saving the greater per cent, of 

 life, and probably nearly every case, if taken in time. Common 

 coal oil has proved very effective when applied to the surface. Car- 

 bolic acid, in weak solution, and the same combined with golden 

 seal and used as a gargle, or applied with a swab to the inner surface, 

 — the white or yellow patches of the throat; also the inhaling of 

 steam or vapor from water, or fresh slacked lime, or breathing the 

 smoke from burning tar and venus turpentine ; each and all are 

 effective in killing the bacteria, or disease germs we may call them. 



Now, as we think we have found the cause of the disease of our 



