Ill liORTICULTURE. 63 



peach and apple-growing of the county to enable us to make a 

 preliminary report. This report is in the process of preparation. 

 V. Little peach disease. This obscure disease has obtained a serious 

 foothold in Niagara county, New York. In co-operation with the 

 Division of Plant Pathology of the Bureau of Plant Industry, 

 Department of Agriculture, Washington, an examination of 

 peach orchards in the river section of Niagara county was under- 

 taken last summer, first, for the purpose of discovering the ex- 

 tent of the disease, and second, of ascertaining whether it could 

 be stamped out by applying the extermination method. This 

 means the prompt destruction of all infested trees. A definite 

 area was covered twice by the agents of the Department, the 

 trees marked and the owners requested to destroy them as 

 promptly as possible. The success of the method will probably 

 be measured by the thoroughness with which the owners of the 

 infested trees root out and destroy these mdividuals. This work 

 will be continued next season. 



III. EXTENSION TEACHING. 



1. Lectures. — The members of the staff of the Department of 

 Horticttlture have been called upon frequently during the past year 

 to s])eak before such organizations as the following and liave in 

 each case responded whenever it was possible to leave Universit ' 

 duties : 



State Fruit Growers' Associations. 

 County Fruit Growers" Organizations. 

 Farmers' Chilis. 



State Farmers' Institiiles (to whicli each member of the staff gave ap- 

 proximately two weeks of his time). 

 Pomona and subordinate Granges. 



In addition to this, the head of the Department has spoken several 

 times before A'illage Improvement Societies and Civic Associations 

 on the general topic of civic im]jrovement. 



2. Jlsitatioiis. — From time to time, requests have come to the 

 Department for the services of an expert to study local orchard 

 troubles caused by soil, climate or parasites. Whenever such re- 

 quests affected a considerable area, and where the interests were 

 sufificiently large to warrant, a special visitation was made, the con- 

 ditions carefully studied and, when possible, a meeting of the farm- 

 ers called for tlie i^trpose of discussing the whole matter with them. 

 This is a personal and valuable type of extension effort. 



3. Correspondence. — The volume and scope of the correspond- 

 ence of the Department continues to grow each year ; and with the 



