60 CAUSE AND NATURE OP CROWN-GALL 



in this one orchard at at least ten thousand dollars. Probably 

 the losses to the deciduous fruit and grape growers of Arizona 

 from this disease amounts in the aggregate to from forty to 

 seventy-five thousand dollars annually ; possibly much more. 



In California, where the fruit industry is many times what 

 it is in Arizona, the losses must be correspondingly greater. 



The following letter, recently received, is indicative of the 

 loss to apples from crown-gall in the State of Washington : 



Office of Commissioner of Horticulture, 



Tacoma, Washington, December 22, 1899. 



Prof. J. W. ToUMEY, Tucson, Arizona. 



Dear Sir: Several nurseries in this State are affected with 

 crown-gall in their apple stock, which has led to some extremely 

 sensational statements on the part of interested parties. Au- 

 thorities differ greatly regarding this affection, some assuming 

 that if the gall is cut off the tree is unaffected, while others con- 

 sider the affection so severe as to urge the entire destruction of 

 the nursery stock grown upon the ground where it has devel- 

 oped. Some argue that the soil is so impregnated with the 

 germs of the disease as to make it out of the question to grow 

 nursery stock upon it again until after many years of culti- 

 vation in other crops. I would like an expression of your 

 opinion regarding the trouble. 

 Yours truly, 

 (Signed) J. K. Baker, 



Commissioner of Horticulture. 



The following, quoted from Selby, shows something of the 

 losses resulting from the disease in Ohio : 



' ' From observations made in Ohio there seems no reason to 

 believe that peach trees affected with crown-gall at transplant- 

 ing age will ever come to successful fruiting. " " Those which 

 actually survive will commonly be unprofitable. " " The writer 

 has made personal inspection of bundles of trees that contained 

 quite a proportion of diseased ones. One lot of four hundred 

 Smock had twenty-four diseased trees — that is, 6 per cent. 

 Other varieties from the same lot had about the same amount of 

 crown-gall." " One orchard in Lawrence county, containing 

 two hundred trees purchased in New Jersey, was grubbed out 

 at seven years of age without having borne a single profitable 

 crop, although other trees of like age situated near them had 

 yielded fruit. These trees were badly affected when delivered, 

 and were nearlv all of them diseased at the time of removal." 



