114 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



the face, you will not, I think, be likely to plant an orchard on this kind of 

 laud and on this elevation. On the other hand, there are strong inducements 

 to plant an orchard where everything is favorable, 



DISCUSSION". 



Mr. Loomis: Thirty-eight years ago I set the first peach tree where I live, 

 with the intention only to raise peaches for my own use. I set out a few to 

 commence with, then a few more next year, and so on, my neighbors doing 

 the same, and now all available places are covered with peach trees and the 

 peach trade has grown into a vast monopoly with us. One of the essentials 

 in setting out an orchard is to select proper varieties. Some of the varieties 

 are more liable to yellows than others, and should be discarded. 



Prof. Cook: What are the varieties? 



Mr. Loomis: The Barnard and Hill's Chili. In pruning and treating yel- 

 lows, I agree with Mr. Dumont. The fertilizer is what we must look to as a 

 preventive. I do not expect a remedy. 



Mr. Blackman : Is a tree more liable to yellows set in the place where one 

 having yellows has been removed ? 



Mr. Loomis: No; not with us. At Benton Harbor, I believe, they do not 

 set a tree where one having yellows has been removed. 



Mr. Blackman : Do you use a fertilizer in setting a new tree? 



Mr. Loomis: No; it is not necessary. 



Mr. Glidden; I rise to a point of order. Mr. Dumont should answer these 

 questions if he can. If he can not, then it would be in order for some one 

 else to answer them. 



A voice: Mr. Dumont lias taken the train for home and has been gone 

 some time. 



Mr. Gould : Is yellows contagious? 



Mr. Loomis : Yes. 



Mr. Corner: Have you ever detected anything that would lead you to 

 think the roots of a tree having yellows were diseased? 



Mr. Loomis : No. 



Mr. Gould : I believe yellows is contagious ; but I do not believe that one 

 variety is more liable to take the disease than another. I do not believe that 

 trees die of starvation. I have seen them in soil as rich as a barnyard and on 

 new land, and had yellows. 



Mr. Jewett: I have Barnards which have borne for years and are now per- 

 fectly healthy. 



N. W. Lewis: 1 believe that soil and variety have nothing to do with the 

 disease. I believe the root is diseased and ought to be removed ; I believe the 

 disease is contagious. I do not plant in the same place where a diseased tree 

 has been removed until the second vear. 



Prof. Cook: What is your opinion as to clay, as given by Mr. Dumont? 



Mr. Lewis: We must have drainage. The surface water must be taken off. 

 Some figures as to profit and loss, on one and one-half acres set to peach 

 trees: At three years old the fruit sold for $134; at four years old for $100; 

 at five years old for $200; at six years old for $400. A crop on six acres sold 

 for $3,000. 



Mr. Gould : I advise peach-growers not to try any experiments with yel- 

 lows. If they do, they will certainly suffer. In Lawton, where 1 live, the 

 yellows commissioners cut down all trees that the owners refuse to cut. 



