﻿41 
  

  

  in 
  Pennsylvania. 
  As 
  perhaps 
  all 
  of 
  you 
  know, 
  the 
  legislature 
  of 
  Penn- 
  

   sylvania 
  has 
  passed 
  a 
  law 
  relating 
  to 
  this 
  particular 
  disease, 
  and 
  has 
  

   appropriated 
  $275,000 
  to 
  see 
  if 
  the 
  disease 
  can 
  be 
  controlled. 
  Their 
  

   idea 
  is 
  that 
  they 
  have 
  perhaps 
  fifty 
  million 
  dollars' 
  worth 
  of 
  chestnuts, 
  

   and 
  if 
  $275,000 
  can 
  show 
  whether 
  or 
  not 
  this 
  disease 
  can 
  be 
  controlled, 
  

   it 
  is 
  economy 
  to 
  try 
  it. 
  

  

  So 
  far 
  as 
  Pennsylvania 
  is 
  concerned, 
  it 
  means 
  possibly 
  the 
  saving 
  

   of 
  the 
  chestnuts 
  in 
  the 
  middle 
  and 
  western 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  state; 
  but 
  it 
  

   also 
  means 
  that 
  if 
  they 
  can 
  check 
  it 
  there, 
  it 
  is 
  likely 
  to 
  save 
  the 
  great 
  

   area 
  of 
  chestnut 
  growth 
  along 
  the 
  southern 
  Appalachians. 
  I 
  don't 
  

   want 
  to 
  make 
  any 
  prophecy 
  as 
  to 
  how 
  that 
  experiment 
  is 
  likely 
  to 
  come 
  

   out, 
  but, 
  however 
  it 
  comes 
  out, 
  it 
  will 
  be 
  a 
  very 
  great 
  object 
  lesson 
  as 
  

   to 
  what 
  can 
  be 
  done 
  on 
  a 
  large 
  scale 
  with 
  a 
  disease 
  of 
  this 
  sort. 
  

  

  One 
  of 
  the 
  first 
  things 
  which 
  had 
  to 
  be 
  considered 
  in 
  Pennsylvania 
  

   was 
  to 
  train 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  men 
  to 
  recognize 
  the 
  disease, 
  so 
  as 
  to 
  go 
  over 
  

   the 
  coimtry 
  and 
  locate 
  the 
  diseased 
  spots. 
  The 
  method 
  of 
  recognizing 
  

   the 
  disease 
  I 
  wull 
  briefly 
  outline. 
  Of 
  course, 
  over 
  a 
  large 
  country, 
  many 
  

   hundreds 
  of 
  sc^uare 
  miles, 
  it 
  is 
  a 
  long, 
  and 
  laborious 
  operation 
  to 
  look 
  

   over 
  every 
  tree. 
  It 
  is 
  perhaps 
  impossible 
  without 
  a 
  very 
  much 
  larger 
  

   force 
  than 
  $275,000 
  could 
  put 
  into 
  the 
  field. 
  But 
  there 
  are 
  certain 
  

   clues 
  to 
  the 
  location 
  of 
  the 
  disease 
  which 
  can 
  be 
  seen 
  a 
  long 
  distance, 
  a 
  

   quarter 
  of 
  a 
  mile, 
  at 
  any 
  rate. 
  The 
  means 
  of 
  recognition 
  is 
  by 
  what 
  I 
  

   commonly 
  call 
  danger 
  signals. 
  This 
  fungus, 
  when 
  growing 
  through 
  the 
  

   bark, 
  starts 
  from 
  the 
  common 
  point 
  of 
  infection 
  and 
  grows 
  in 
  all 
  direc- 
  

   tions, 
  up 
  the 
  stem, 
  down 
  the 
  stem, 
  and 
  around 
  the 
  stem. 
  Wherever 
  this 
  

   vegetative 
  stage, 
  technically 
  known 
  as 
  mycelium, 
  penetrates, 
  the 
  bark 
  

   is 
  killed 
  ; 
  and 
  of 
  course, 
  you 
  all 
  know 
  what 
  that 
  means. 
  When 
  this 
  has 
  

   succeeded 
  in 
  reaching 
  around 
  a 
  twig, 
  branch, 
  or 
  trunk, 
  everything 
  be- 
  

   yond 
  that 
  girdled 
  area 
  dies, 
  not 
  immediately, 
  perhaps, 
  but 
  sooner 
  or 
  

   later 
  it 
  dies; 
  and 
  it 
  dies 
  in 
  such 
  a 
  way 
  that 
  the 
  leaves 
  change 
  color 
  dur- 
  

   ing 
  the 
  summer. 
  The 
  first 
  obvious 
  change 
  which 
  can 
  be 
  noted 
  is 
  a 
  

   slight 
  wilting 
  of 
  the 
  leaf 
  ; 
  then 
  the 
  leaf 
  assumes 
  a 
  pale 
  green 
  color, 
  and 
  

   from 
  the 
  pale 
  green 
  it 
  takes 
  on 
  a 
  yellow 
  stage 
  ; 
  from 
  this 
  a 
  reddish 
  yel- 
  

   low 
  stage, 
  and 
  then 
  a 
  brown, 
  till 
  the 
  leaf 
  is 
  the 
  ordinary 
  dark 
  dull 
  

   browTi 
  of 
  the 
  dead 
  leaves. 
  This 
  coloration 
  which 
  takes 
  place 
  is 
  con- 
  

   spicuous. 
  There 
  is 
  your 
  guide, 
  your 
  danger 
  signal. 
  If 
  the 
  disease 
  has 
  

   worked 
  very 
  long, 
  half 
  a 
  season, 
  in 
  one 
  locality, 
  you 
  are 
  almost 
  sure 
  

   of 
  getting 
  some 
  of 
  these 
  danger 
  signals. 
  Where 
  one 
  is 
  present, 
  you 
  can 
  

   go 
  and 
  look 
  up 
  the 
  cause 
  of 
  that 
  danger 
  signal. 
  It 
  may 
  be 
  a 
  broken 
  

   twig, 
  but 
  the 
  point 
  is 
  to 
  find 
  out 
  if 
  it 
  is 
  this 
  disease 
  which 
  has 
  caused 
  the 
  

   danger 
  signal. 
  We 
  start 
  by 
  looking 
  at 
  the 
  danger 
  signal, 
  then 
  at 
  the 
  

   base 
  of 
  the 
  dead 
  area. 
  If 
  we 
  find 
  here 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  reddish 
  pustules 
  

   which 
  have 
  been 
  shown 
  on 
  this 
  bark 
  we 
  are 
  quite 
  sure 
  that 
  the 
  disease 
  

  

  