THE PEAR BLIGHT AT THE WEST. 



255 



and upon applying tHe knife, the inner bark 

 was found to be black from the root to the 

 top, while nothing of the kind appeared 

 elsewhere in the nursery. 



The important inquiry arises in reference 

 to the frozen sap theory, what is the reme- 

 dy ? You propose asa preventive, whitewash- 

 ing the stems and principal branches in au- 

 tumn, whereby the rays of the sun will be 

 reflected, and too rapid thawing prevented ; 

 but if the disease, as this theory- supposes, 

 is contracted at the extremities, and is con- 

 veyed through the system by the circulation 

 of its fluids, can the protection of the trunk 

 and branches avail anything? It would 

 seem not. 



There is no occasion to theorize upon this 

 subject for the mere sake of theory, and I 

 have none that I regard as certainly true ; 

 but I strongly incline to the belief that the 

 pear blight is an epidemic ; that it prevails 

 like other epidemics, and will pass off like 

 them. The atmosphere is, I believe, gene- 

 rally admitted to be the medium by which 

 they prevail, and are carried from place to 

 place. What that subtle principle may be, 

 which pervades our atmosphere, b}'- which 

 infection is retained and transmitted, so that, 

 like the Asiatic cholera, it makes the whole 

 circuit of our earth, human science has not 

 discovered, and perhaps never will ; but 

 that such a principle exists, is sufficiently 

 obvious from its effects. Vegetable aliment 

 consists in a much greater degree than ani- 

 mal of the constituents of atmospheric air. 

 The carbon, which forms so large a propor- 

 tion of woody plants, a familiar fact in ve- 

 getable physiology, is conclusive evidence 

 of this. If then the atmosphere is the agent 

 by which contagion is transmitted from ani- 

 mal to animal, there is, to say the least, as 

 good reason to believe that the vegetable 

 world maybe affected in like manner. That 

 the potato blight is thus transmitted, I have 



no doubt ; and that the parasitic fungi which 

 have been described, have been mistaken 

 for the cause, instead of the cojisequence of 

 this disease, I question as little. 



The question has been often proposed, are 

 we to give up our pears, and abandon their 

 cultivation ? I confess, that were I fully 

 impressed with the truth of the frozen-sap 

 theory, I should be inclined to give up in 

 despair, and abandon the hope of having 

 fine pears again. The vicissitudes of wea- 

 ther in our climate are so great and sudden, 

 that I see no reasonable prospect of counter- 

 acting their effects. But a kind Providence 

 has gratified the taste of man with this lus- 

 cious fruit, and I believe he will continue 

 the blessing. We hace enjoyed it, and I 

 do not believe there has occurred any such 

 revolution of nature and of the elements, 

 that we may not enjoy it still. Trees 

 brought forward now, will probably not be 

 affected by the epidemic, as it will have 

 passed away. In this belief, we may be 

 encouraged, " in the morning to plant, and in 

 the evening not to withhold our hand, 

 knowing not whether this or that shall pros- 

 per," but trusting that in due time " we 

 shall gather fruit if we faint not." Yours 

 respectfully. S. B. G. 



Terre Haute, la.. Oct. 17. 1S46. 



Remarks. — We gladly give place to the 

 observations of our correspondent on this 

 interesting subject ; because, though we 

 have strong faith in our views, now pretty 

 generally shared by the country au large, 

 regarding the /)o2e/i-sap blight, we consider 

 it one of the subjects on which a great deal 

 of practical light may yet be thrown. The 

 theory suggested above, that it is an epi- 

 demic conveyed by the atmosphere, is 

 too slightly supported by facts to weigh at 

 all against the observations made by culti- 

 vators of the pear in various parts of the 



