CURLED LEAF ON THE PEACH TREE. 



timely weather, and admits of a ready and satisfactory explanation. Its history, in con- 

 nection with the state of the weather, during the last spring, will, I think, set this matter 

 in a clear light, and will show, moreover, that the peach suffers this liability to disease in 

 common with most tropical and semi-tropical trees and plants, and is closely allied to one, 

 (the most common) form of the potato disease. 



From March 22d to April 1st, inclusive, the weather was very unusually warm, the 

 thermometer standing on the 30th at 75'^. The gooseberry was rapidly coming into leaf, 

 and the cherry and the peach were almost bursting into flower. I said to my family at 

 this time, " these trees must suffer. They cannot flower safely now, nor yet be safely 

 retained in their swollen state until the ordinary time of flowering," which is here usual- 

 ly between the 10th and 15th of May. 



On the 2d of April commenced a season of cold and damp weather, (occasionally ex- 

 hibiting both frost and snow,) which continued exactly thirty-six days, i. e., until 8th of 

 May. On that day began a season of warm, impulsive weather, which brought the peach 

 into full bloom upon the 13th, i. e., in five days. Those buds that had been most excited 

 late in March, never opened. On examination they exhibited the elementary parts of the 

 flower in a dry and friable condition. The flowers which opened, exhibited various de- 

 grees of health. A few of them set fruit, but the most of them blasted. The same gene- 

 ral course was run by the leaf bads. A few whole trees, and many single branches on 

 others, never full}' expanded the leaf buds, but died in the effort. A few trees were scarce- 

 ly affected at all. Between these two extremes was every degree of suffering by the curled 

 leaf, the first exhibition of which began to appear on the 15th, three days after the trees 

 were in full flower. In one week after the first appearance of the curl, it was fully deve- 

 loped, as the season advanced with great rapidity.* What farther relates to this subject, 

 I will detail under the following particulars: 



1. The glandless varieties, as a class, weie far less affected than the glandcd. Indeed, 

 the most of those were affected either in a small degree, or not at all. Now this is just 

 what might have been expected. Theglandless varieties always suffer from mildew on the 

 extremity of the branches late in the summer, the effect of which is to dwarf the tiee 

 slightly, and so render the growth more firm, and insure the earlier maturity of the bud. 

 There will thus be less soft and sappy wood, and fewer feeble buds on such trees. My 

 glimdcd trees were nearly all affected, the most of them badly. 



2. Some glandcd trees that were very strong growers, whose fruit buds have stood the 

 severe cold oj lointer better than any others, suffered very severely. This may seem.strange 

 and contradictory, but admits, I think, of a ready explanation. These trees had well 

 matured their buds, and so stood the winter well while dormant; but the vigorous cha- 

 racter of the tree caused a proportionate early and vigorous start of the circulation in the 

 spring. This prepared them to feel a check in the circulation more fatally than trees of 

 less constitutional vigor, which started somewhat later, and less vigoiously. 



As an illustration of this second fact, I observe that I have five seedling glanded trees, 

 all very rank growers, one an early fruit, one somewhat late, and three veiy late, which, 



* Very similar was the we.ilher in J850. The winter had been unsteady and very mild. From April 24lh to STlh, 

 there were four very warm days, the thermometer rising to 76. Then it became cold and windy. By the first of May 

 the buds which l.ad been prematurely excited and then chilled, began to fall off. The flowers opened about the ]2lh, 

 and the leaf buds developing immediately after, showed signs of curled leaf From the 17th to the 21st, inclusive, the 

 weather was severe, exhibiting both frost and snow. Frost was subsequently reported as having occurred during 

 these severe days, in Canada, Boston, New-Haven and New-Jersey. Since IS 12 we have suffered no untimely 



in the spring, equal to 1850 and 1851. Tlie weather from the ^llh to the Sth of April, inclusive, in ISW, came 

 nearest to it. We have not, therefore, had the same causes o[ curled leaf, at loast for many years, as in 1850 



