• 





180 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Greene's, but a larger portion of each was cut away. In fact, the excisions were very 

 severe and wasted a great many baskets of good fruit. Roughly stated, I removed from 

 one third to two thirds of the whole top of each tree, only a small portion of which in 

 most cases showed any indications of disease. The limbs were cut close to the body of 

 the tree, and their stumps were carefully coated with paint. These were three to four 

 inches in diameter. 



This orchard was believed to be well adapted to the experiment because of the 

 healthful appearance of the trees, and because of the very gradual manner in which 

 many of them had succumbed to the disease in 1887 and 1888. The cases of 1887 were 

 dug out and removed that fall or the following spring; the cases of 1888, exclusive of 

 the trees under consideration, were cut back to the stem that autumn, but were not 

 removed until the end of the next growing season. 



(1) August 10, 1888. Variety, Christiana. One limb was removed; two limbs were 

 left. The excised limb bore premature fruit on a small portion only, i. e. two small 

 branches. The remainder of its fruit was green and healthy. The limb was sound and 

 there were no diseased sprouts. The fruit upon the remaining limbs was green and 

 healthy and the foliage was excellent. 



Result. — May 13, 1889. Apparently healthy. 



September 17, 1889. Still diseased; slight symptoms upon two limbs. No fruit this 

 year. 



October 11, 1890 Tree decidedly inferior-looking. Foliage, red, yellow, dwarfed, and 

 rolled. In marked contrast to neighboring healthy trees. Tree, very twiggy; many of 

 the small, unbranched, sickly shoots which grew early in the season have dried up. A 

 few winter buds are now pushing, and the terminal buds on a number of shoots 

 germinated about six weeks ago. No fruit this year. 



(2) August 10, 1888. Variety, Oldmixon. One limb was removed; two limbs were 

 left. The excised limb bore sound, green peaches on nearly all parts; but there were 

 premature peaches on one small branch. Foliage, excellent; no diseased sprout; stump, 

 sound. The limbs which were left bore green peaches and beautiful foliage. 



Result. — May 13, 1889. Apparently healthy. 



September 18, 1889. Still diseased, but the symptoms are slight. No fruit this year. 



October 10, 1890. Plainly diseased in all parts. The spring foliage is reddish. Some 

 weeks ago many terminal buds pushed on branches in the top of the tree, and each now 

 bears a whorl of pale green, spindling leaves, two to three inches long. On many of 

 these branches the lower buds have also germinated, but more recently. The same 

 symptoms occur on a dozen shoots which have grown from the base of the main limbs. 

 No fruit this year. 



(3) August 11, 1888. Variety, Oldmixon. One limb was removed; one was left. The 

 excised limb branched into two equal forks 16 inches above the cut. The stump was 

 sound and the foliage on both forks was full-growm, green, and healthy. All of the fruit 

 on one fork was green and healthy. Most of that on the other was also green and 

 healthy, but two small branches bore ripe, red-spotted fruit, and also two diseased 

 shoots each only about one fourth inch long. The remaining limb bore green peaches 

 and perfectly healthy foliage. There was not the least sign of yellows. 



May 13, 1889. Doubtful. Vegetation is not far enough advanced to tell positively. 



September 18, 1889. Excision apparently entirely sucessful. No symptoms of 

 yellows. There are no diseased sprouts or germinating buds. The foliage also is 

 thrifty and of the proper form and color. Half a dozen vigorous' shoots have grown 

 from the base of the remaining limb. These are two to three feet long and bear 

 excellant foliage. No fruit this year. 



October 10, 1890. The tree is now diseased, but the symptoms are confined to one 

 shoot. This grew in the summer of 1890 upon the base of the main limb. It is robust, 

 unbranched, and two feet long. The terminal bud developed some time ago, has grown 

 two and a half inches, and now bears a whorl of immature leaves. Below, on the same 

 shoot, a dozen buds have germinated recently and sent out leaves which are one fourth 

 to three fourths inch long. 



Otherwise the tree looks as well as its healthy fellows, and but for this one shoot I 

 should certainly think it sound. 



Apparently the disease was not removed by the excision, but has hung about the 

 tree or been dormant in it, ever since 1888.* 



* On September 29, 1889, Mr. J. Frank Wilson, of Still Pond, Maryland, took me to a tree in one of his 

 older orchards, No. i of my first report, which then appeared to be perfectly healthy, but which he said had 

 shown unmistakable symptoms of yellows in the fall of 18S8, at which time he had cnt away all but one 

 small limb. At the date of my visit this limb seemed likely to grow into a new and healthy top. This 

 tree was reexamined October 15, 1S90, and found to be so badly diseased in all parts that I was compelled 

 to believe that it had not been free from disease at any time since 1888, although it developed no sypmtoms 

 in the season of 1889. 



Several cases similar to this one have come under my observation, but usually the period of immunity 

 has been shorter. 



