42 MISSOURI STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



county 18 good, with a fair prospect of not anything like a full crop. 

 We have twig blight more than ever before. I have also noticed that 

 it is wort on the highest and driest places, while I have noticed but 

 little of it in any low location. My orchard is on high ground and the 

 Willow Twig is worst in it. In my young orchard I have been troubled 

 with a kind of rust or mildew on the leaves which caused the apples 

 to become scabby and to fall off. I tind it in many orchards, but worse 

 in my own. It appeared from two to three weeks ago ; and I have 

 noticed no fresh blight in the last week. In one of the largest or- 

 chards in Bates county I noticed yesterday a strip through the orchard 

 where all the trees, old and young, of all varieties are blighted. 



Mr. Holman — I saw as I came to this meeting the first twig blight 

 on the high and hilly land near the Gasconade, where there had been 

 a gread deal of electricity, as was shown by the trees being struck.. 

 Some trees looked very bad and as if it had been all done at once. 



A visitor — Can anyone tell us what is the cause of scab ! 



Mr. Speer showed specimens of rust and scab. 



Mr. Goodman — It is a vegetable parasite or fungus growth. How 

 to prevent it scientists don't know. We are just beginning to learn 

 of these parasites. They require certain conditions of temperature 

 and moisture and spread very rapidly when the conditions are favor- 

 able. This on the apple is the scab, another variety of fungus growth. 

 It is attributed by most naturalists to bacteria. The sap becomes sour 

 and the conditions being favorable it will spread very rapidly. We do 

 not know what to do yet. Our scientists are lost. We sometimes 

 think we can stop the pear blight by cutting it off. We know that 

 trees which have become debilitated most are the worst affected. On 

 the high grounds the large crops had exhausted the trees. On low 

 grounds the hard winters had injured the trees. 



Mr. Speer — How to stop it would have been worth 8500 to $1,000 

 a year to me. Where the trees are rusted I find the apples are nearly 

 always scabby. I would like to know if there is any connection be- 

 tween the two. 



Mr. Goodman — There is no connection between the two. 



A visitor — Will apple not scabbj' now escape ! 



Mr. Goodman — They may. 



Mr. Durand — Did the secretary say that twig blight and pear 

 blight are of the same nature ? 



Mr. Goodman — I did not. 



Mr. Lionherget — Apple and pear trees standing side by side are 

 affected just alike. I believe a thrifty growing tree is not a subject to 



