160 "Wisconsin State Horticultural Society. 



the peculiarity of soil and temperature that induce the favorable- 

 conditions for the development of this fungus vegetation. Two 

 years ago, in company with a New Jersey fruit grower, I visited 

 some pear orchards in central New York that were perishing from 

 blight. He remarked, as he viewed the dying trees, " an insect is 

 the prime cause of all this destruction." In response to my request 

 to show me how the work is performed, he took a sharp knife and 

 shaved off the bark from the discolored spots, and pointed out a 

 minute hole, well defined, extending through the bark and into the 

 wood, apparently made by a worm. We found this in most of the 

 spots examined, but the depredator we did not find. Our friend 

 observed, in conclusion: "notwithstanding what all our horticultural 

 writers and philosophers say on this subject to the contrary, it is 

 certainly the work of an insect that ravages in one place for a while, 

 destroying pear trees especially, and disappears, only to reappear 

 in other localities. Hence, the pest only comes at intervals, and 

 rather lengthy intervals, in some instances; but is much more de- 

 structive within a brief space of time than those that injure our 

 apple orchards." He declared that " Downing's Fruit and Fruit 

 Trees of America" contained all that had yet been discovered on 

 the subject of blight. The trees we examined were mostly Flem- 

 ish Beauty and Bartlett. One Seckel pear tree, loaded with fruit, 

 stood uninjured among one hundred trees of other varieties, all 

 alike growing in sod ground. I inquired of my friend why that 

 was left; he replied that the bark and wood were tougher than the 

 other kinds, but it was not certain that it would remain uninjured, 

 as no variety of pear trees was exempt from attack. 



In this connection let me quote a brief statement, taken from 

 The Germantown Telegraph of 1878: "S. F. Folsom states that 

 himself, a neighbor, and Prof. T. B. Lovett, of Attica Collegiate 

 Institute, with magnifying glasses have brought to light one unmis- 

 takable cause of deadly blight in pear trees. The tree is poisoned 

 by an insect that bores through the bark from one-fourth to one- 

 half inch into the wood, a hole about the size of a small pin hole; 

 as the sap arises and descends it poisons and discolors the wood. 

 Remedy: slitting the bark each side and through it with a knife. ' r 



In examining some forty or fifty articles on blight, in search of 

 information, I found this remarkable statement made by Mr. Engle, 

 of Van Buren county, Mich.: "I planted, fifteen years ago, one 



