THE ANNUAL MEETING. 133 



Mr. SliefEer, South Haven : I am satisfied the bees ate a good many of my 

 peaches, but feel just as confident that the first break in the skin of the peach 

 was made by a green tree hopper. 



Mr. Sailor : It occurs to me that peaches should be gathered for market 

 before they are in condition to be enjoyed by bees. 



Mr. Linderman : In my case the past year the hail storm broke the skin of 

 the peaches, and the bees made their way inside from these openings. 



Prof. Cook : The best argument outside my own observation has come from 

 the fact that Prof. Riley, who is always ready to sustain his position when taken, 

 by statements of experience and observation, has neglected to do so in this 

 case. A number of years ago he took the same position against the bees that 

 many of you do here, and although opposed by all the most observing bee- 

 keepers in the land, he has not renewed his argument nor combatted them in 

 the least. 



Mr. Lannin : What shall we do for the ants which are such a troublesome 

 pest in tlie house and iu the orchard? 



Prof. Cook : Molasses and Paris green, and bisulphide of carbon are both 

 good remedies. 



Mr. Edgell: Are the "snap bugs" that we find when hunting curculio lia- 

 ble to, do any harm? 



Prof. Cook : No, they are not bad except as one species produces our wire 

 worms. 



Prof. Beal suggested that a good way to catch ants was to place a sponge 

 moistened in sweetened water in their haunts as a trap. 



Mr. Lawton recalled the question of bees and grapes, and said that wasps, 

 yellow jackets, and black hornets had damaged his grapes to a considerable 

 extent, but thus far he had no direct testimony against the bees. 



The chairman announced that the time for tJiis subject had been fully 

 taken, and called upon the secretary to read a paper sent by Prof. Bnrrill of 

 Illinois Industrial University, at the request of the society, upon the question 



HAVE WE ANY NEW LIGHT ON PEAR BLIGHT OR YELLOWS? 



Upon the yellows of the peach, I have nothing further of practical investi- 

 gation to report. No attempt at further examination of the affected trees has 

 been made because it seemed to me the only satisfactory study of the disease 

 which could be made must be on the grounds, among the infected trees, with 

 abundant material collected by the investigator, or, if not, by some one equally 

 as competent to select and to judge of conditions, influences, and effects. 

 While tlierefore no confirmation of the published accounts can be offered based 

 on new observations of diseased peach trees, it is not the case with other appar- 

 ently siinihir, at least in some respects, plant diseases, and it may be appropri- 

 ate to say that I am still very confident that the immediate cause of the disease 

 called yellows is a living organism, so small that its presence has been over- 

 looked by those who have studied the diseased tissues with the aid of the com- 

 pound microscope. I am aware that some have reported the finding of the 

 mycelial threads of large fungi, and that a very common idea prevails that 

 the roots of the tree are first — at least in many cases — attacked. Dr. B. D. 

 Halstead failed after very careful, and, I may add, very skillful microscopical 

 examinations to find any such disease producing mycelia. In my own too lim- 

 ited examinations nothing of the kind was observed. Having long studied 

 plant diseases like the rusts, smuts, mildews, etc., and thus gained something 



