﻿29 
  

  

  is 
  now 
  known 
  to 
  occur 
  in 
  Maine, 
  New 
  Hampshire, 
  Vermont, 
  New 
  

   York 
  east 
  of 
  the 
  Catskills 
  and 
  as 
  far 
  north 
  as 
  Lake 
  George, 
  and 
  

   generally 
  as 
  far 
  south 
  as 
  northern 
  Virginia. 
  Farther 
  south 
  there 
  

   are 
  some 
  scattered 
  infections, 
  one 
  nursery 
  having 
  been 
  found 
  in 
  

   North 
  Carolina 
  which 
  had 
  the 
  disease. 
  The 
  western 
  distribution 
  of 
  

   the 
  disease, 
  if 
  you 
  take 
  isolated 
  cases, 
  is 
  now 
  carried 
  to 
  the 
  Pacific 
  

   coast. 
  We 
  know 
  of 
  an 
  orchard 
  in 
  Agassiz, 
  British 
  Columbia, 
  in 
  

   which 
  the 
  disease 
  has 
  been 
  found. 
  Nobody 
  knows 
  how 
  this 
  was 
  

   transmitted, 
  but 
  the 
  chestnut 
  trees 
  upon 
  which 
  the 
  disease 
  occurs 
  

   were 
  supposed 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  sent 
  to 
  the 
  owner 
  from 
  the 
  Orient. 
  

   They 
  apparently 
  are 
  not 
  of 
  the 
  usual 
  Japanese 
  type, 
  however 
  ; 
  that 
  

   is 
  all 
  I 
  can 
  say 
  about 
  them 
  now. 
  

  

  The 
  chestnut 
  blight 
  has 
  been 
  found 
  on 
  all 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  branches, 
  

   twigs, 
  trunk 
  and 
  the 
  exposed 
  roots. 
  Last 
  year 
  we 
  found 
  the 
  disease 
  

   on 
  the 
  nuts 
  themselves 
  and 
  on 
  their 
  burs 
  and 
  we 
  were 
  able 
  to 
  isolate 
  

   the 
  disease 
  from 
  the 
  shell 
  of 
  the 
  nut 
  and 
  we 
  were 
  also 
  able 
  to 
  pro- 
  

   duce 
  the 
  disease 
  on 
  the 
  bark 
  of 
  a 
  chestnut 
  tree 
  through 
  inoculation 
  

   from 
  the 
  nut 
  itself. 
  So 
  that 
  the 
  disease 
  can 
  occur 
  on 
  almost 
  any 
  

   part 
  of 
  the 
  chestnut 
  tree. 
  

  

  A 
  Member 
  : 
  I 
  saw 
  quite 
  recently 
  that 
  there 
  were 
  two 
  cases 
  of 
  

   fatal 
  poisoning 
  in 
  Connecticut 
  from 
  the 
  result 
  of 
  using 
  nuts 
  said 
  to 
  

   have 
  been 
  blighted. 
  I 
  would 
  like 
  to 
  know 
  if 
  that 
  has 
  been 
  verified. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Collins: 
  There 
  have 
  been, 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  I 
  know, 
  about 
  fifteen 
  

   cases 
  of 
  supposed 
  chestnut 
  poisoning 
  in 
  the 
  vicinity 
  of 
  Hartford 
  

   with 
  five 
  deaths. 
  We 
  have 
  reports 
  of 
  disease 
  and 
  possible 
  death 
  in 
  

   other 
  portions 
  of 
  the 
  country, 
  particularly 
  in 
  the 
  northeast. 
  These 
  

   reports 
  come 
  in 
  such 
  a 
  way 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  impossible 
  to 
  say 
  definitely 
  that 
  

   chestnuts 
  caused 
  the 
  trouble, 
  but 
  this 
  much 
  can 
  be 
  said 
  : 
  our 
  office 
  

   here 
  in 
  Washington 
  has 
  a 
  physician 
  working 
  upon 
  this 
  very 
  point. 
  

   At 
  the 
  present 
  time 
  all 
  that 
  I 
  can 
  say 
  is 
  that 
  there 
  is 
  no 
  doubt 
  about 
  

   the 
  cases 
  of 
  illness 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  impossible 
  to 
  dissociate 
  the 
  eating 
  of 
  

   chestnuts 
  from 
  the 
  possibilities. 
  At 
  the 
  same 
  time 
  it 
  is 
  not 
  possible 
  

   to 
  show 
  that 
  chestnuts 
  were 
  the 
  cause 
  of 
  the 
  trouble 
  rather 
  than 
  

   something 
  else 
  which 
  was 
  taken 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  time. 
  

  

  The 
  Secretary 
  : 
  I 
  wrote 
  to 
  the 
  physician 
  near 
  Hartford 
  whose 
  

   wife 
  is 
  reported 
  to 
  have 
  died, 
  but 
  I 
  have 
  had 
  no 
  answer. 
  

  

  Dr. 
  Metcalf 
  : 
  After 
  following 
  those 
  cases 
  up 
  and 
  finding 
  that 
  

   chestnuts 
  could 
  not 
  be 
  excluded 
  as 
  a 
  possible 
  cause, 
  we 
  have 
  started 
  

   experiments 
  with 
  various 
  animals, 
  also 
  some 
  chemical, 
  to 
  determine 
  

   if 
  there 
  is 
  any 
  possibility 
  of 
  any 
  definite 
  toxic 
  substance 
  in 
  the 
  nuts 
  • 
  

  

  