Addresses — Blight. 163 



less, and in spite of our best efforts we expect these periodical vis- 

 itations will come and destroy more or less of our trees. We may- 

 theorize, conjecture and experiment, but do not feel absolutely 

 certain that we shall save them from blight, unless we make some 

 wonderful discovery of preventive means, equal in magnitude to 

 that which a Dane county farmer hoped might result from an 

 examination by Prof. Daniells of the track of the great tornado of 

 the 23d of May last. The farmer was viewing the fallen timber, 

 twisted, broken, splintered, piled pell-mell, and scattered promis- 

 cuously about the farm, and while this examination was progress- 

 ing, remarked to a neighbor that " it was a big job to stop the 

 disturbance after a tornado once got fairly under way, and he 

 hoped that the scientific men of the country would club together, 

 investigate the whole subject thoroughly, and devise some means 

 to prevent tornadoes from starting.'''' 



J. C. Plumb, of Milton — I am glad that our friend Adams has 

 had the courage independently to take up this question and venti- 

 late it. I think it is well to keep it before the people. Some of 

 you will remember that several years ago I read a paper here on 

 this subject, which you will find in the volume of transactions for 

 1872. It was the result of many years' careful reading and cor- 

 respondence on this subject, corresponding with nearly all the 

 leading horticulturists in relation to it. I found at that time such 

 an utter want of harmony of opinion in relation to this question, 

 that I was utterly at a loss how to compile those opinions, as our 

 friend Adams has been. He has compiled the best thoughts he 

 could get, perhaps. Well, I did not let up on that subject. If 

 you remember my position, I took the ground then, after examina- 

 tion, that it was a disease of the circulation purely. 



The prevailing theories were: first, insects; second, fungoid dis- 

 ease, the result of the development of myriads of cryptogamia. I 

 made up my mind that neither of these theories were tenable. The 

 advocates themselves acknowledged that they were not well 

 founded. I saw a letter from Doctor Taylor, our national crypto- 

 gamist, which he wrote sometime last summer, bearing directly on 

 this subject. His opinion was asked if he could trace blight to a 

 cryptogamous or a fungoid origin, and his reply was, that he had 

 hoped to reach that point or something that was definite in 



