Addresses — Blight. 167 



was followed by the cholera. We have the blight now upon us for 

 the third time; in its passage over Europe, it attacked pear or- 

 chards in France, Germany and Switzerland, that were as much as a 

 hundred and sixty years old, so much greater was its ruin than ever 

 before; and when it reached America, we find that the same exces- 

 sive ruin is attending it here. It is my opinion that it is nothing 

 more than a sign of a bad time for the cholera, and that that 

 disease will follow it. Cholera has started again in India, where it 

 started before, and it will probably march over the world the same 

 as it has previously done. 



Mr. Kello"-": — I want to call attention to the fact that our friend 

 Peffer has been down among the blighted countries east, and he 

 may have a word to say. I don't think it is worth while to spend 

 much time on this question, for the more we hear the less we seem 

 to know about it, and I think the time of this convention is not be- 

 ing well taken up to follow this subject much further. 



Mr. G. P. Peffer — I attended the convention at Baltimore a year 

 ago last fall, and most all of the discussion was on this subject of 

 fire blight. It was voted twice to discontinue it, but every once in 

 a while the same discussion would break out again, and finally it 

 got so far that the officers went to fighting about it, and they de- 

 cided to divide the house upon the question of the continuance of 

 the discussion; and so it was settled that Mr. Taylor, I think it is 

 (or some one who is in with Mr. Saunders), should make a final de- 

 cision, if he can decide, which is right. Some contended that its 

 source was insects; some that it was fungoid, and some that it was 

 atmospheric; and we could not come to any conclusion; so it was 

 finally left to him, but I have not seen anything of his report or de- 

 cision. The pear trees were affected down there as badly or worse 

 than they were with us, and in the botanical gardens I did not see 

 one but that was affected with fire blight. As to the remedy of 

 lime and sulphur which they use, I did not see that it did a par- 

 ticle of good. They were affected the same where it was applied 

 as where it was not. 



Mr. Plumb — The department chemist, William McMurtrie, I see 

 by the last report, accepts the proposition that mildew — fungoid 

 growths — can injuriously affect plants of the higher order on 

 which they exist, only when they are in a debilitated condition. 

 That is the latest authenticated theory we have from headquarters; 



