Fungous Disizasfs of Plants, Pi-ach Yellows 163 



beyond the possibility of a doubt." At some occasion between the 

 years 18SS and 1890, presumably in the state of Delaware, he 

 spoke his belief that the malady is contagious because, said he," 



// does not appear to be due to poverty of soil. Chemical analyses are 

 contradictory. They do not agree in showint^ a deficiency of lime, potash, 

 or phosphoric acid. Copious applications of these and other chemicals 

 have not cured or arrested the spread of the disease. Trees set in place 

 of those dug out on account of yellows are not more likely to contract 

 disease than others in tlie same orchard. // does appear to be a contagious 

 disease. My inoculations show that it can be conveyed from tree to tree 

 by budding, and it is therefore a foregone conclusion that part of it must 

 come from the nursery. The disease also appears to spread in the orchard 

 from tree to tree but in what way I do not know. Not all of it comes 

 from the nurseries, because old trees are not exempt from its ravages. 



His effortsto establish the nature of the communicability of the 

 ravage were interrupted for a time. On February 20, 1888, Com- 

 missioner Colman wrote: "your services will be dispensed with 

 after February 29th instant." He asked that his report be com- 

 pleted immediately that he might " present to Congress additional 

 evidence of the importance of continuing the investigation." 



Four days later there followed a letter from Scribner: 



The circumstances which have necessitated my discontinuing the work 

 on peach yellows I deem most unfortunate for the Section, and I think I 

 can appreciate your personal feelings in being obliged to give up now a 

 w^ork which has so completely occupied your mind for the past 8 months. 

 You must certainly understand that this work would not be interrupted at 

 this stage in its progress were it possible to prevent it. When I proposed to 

 the Commissioner that this work be taken up, I recommended you as being 

 the man whom I thought best qualified to carry it on, and I look to your 

 preliminary report to convince him that I was correct in my choice. // is 

 imperative that this report be sent in on the first of March. The Commis- 

 sioner will doubtless continue the work with the beginning of another year, 

 when I trust we may be able to secure your services. 



Charles W. Dabney Junior, President of the State Agricultural 

 and Mechanical College of the University of Tennessee and 

 Director of the state agricultural experiment station located at 

 Knoxville, had written Scribner on February 3 and asked him to 

 recommend "a worker in the botanical field for our Experiment 

 Station," who could also do some teaching in botany or horticul- 



''"' Memorandum undated entitled " Synopsis of Address by Erwin F. Smith on 

 Peach Yellows " and found among his collected papers. 



