YELLOWS IN THE PEACH. 



Late, has not been in bearing for so long a time, but I have seen no indications of disease in 

 tliis any more than in the former, as a variety; in fact, we have considered it a peculiarly 

 hardy sort. 



"The Yellotvs, as I understand it, is a disease whose symptoms are, a very slender, 

 feeble growth of young wood, with small yellow sickly looking foliage, a feeble starved 

 appearance of the tree, and gencrall^^ a crop of slendry yellow shoots appearing along 

 the large branches; which symptoms increase for two or more years before death ensues. 

 I have seen this, in some orchards brought fi-om New-Jersej^, and observed the premature 

 ripening of the fruit, and spread of the disease until the orchard nearly or quite disap- 

 peared, and as I thought took with them some heretofore sound trees, which grew in 

 their vicinity. I confidently looked for the spread of the evil, and was prepared to blame 

 the man who had brought us trees from the infected district. But I am not satisfied that 

 it does not spread here, nor that there is no oyie diseased ti'ee (having the yellows,) within 

 my knowledge in Rochester. 



" These facts, have quite staggered my faith in the "diseased stock " theory, and lead 

 me rather to believe, that the poor shallow soil, from which the peach tree rapidly ex- 

 hausts the elements of growth and fruitfulness, under a system of heavy cropping without 

 much manure, rather than the presence of any poison or virus in the system, has been the 

 cause of so much complaint of premature death of the peach tree in the eastern and 

 southern States. I am not clear that the apple trees of New-Jersey, in the peach dis- 

 tricts are not similarly affected, and should judge that a removal of them to Western 

 New-York, would increase their size and prolong their days, in the same proportion that 

 the health and duration of peach trees grown in New- Jersey nurseries is prolonged, by 

 removing them to our deeper and richer soil. 



"It would be an interesting experiment, if some one in the east would try peach trees 

 in Western New-York, along side of some fi'om New-Jersey, and let the public know the 

 results. Here trees from both sections usually do equally well, so far as my observation 

 extends; a few exceptions, as I have said, have come under my notice." 



Our chief object in furnishing these statements, is to invite investigation. There is 

 no question, but that much of the soil in Western New-York, is one of the best that the 

 peach can grow in — where we have seen those that measured a foot in diameter, and which 

 were probably more than forty years old, bearing fruit. Nevertheless, we have witnessed 

 there the prevalence of the yellows in a virulent form, and decidedlj^ contagious in its 

 character, among the most vigorous trees. All the usual symptoms of premature ripening, 

 and discolored and insipid flesh, followed by sickly leaves, and wiry shoots from the large 

 branches, first made their appearance on trees introduced from New-Jersey; the next year 

 after the first appearance of these symptoms, all the trees standing nearest to them were 

 observed to be similarly affected, but at first on the branches nearest the diseased tree. 

 By a prompt removal of those affected, the malady was checked, and it is now many years 

 since the last vestige has departed from this region. A further proof of its contagious 

 character, is the fact that a knife used in cutting a diseased tree, communicated the poison 

 to another; and a bud from one that had scarcely showed an appearance of decline, proved 

 fatal to the tree in which it was inserted. That this malady may prove more contngious 

 at certain times or under certain circumstances, is by no means improbable. That the 

 soil has a large influence in its prevention, was confirmed by the fact, that in the neighbor- 

 hood of Burlington, as Thomas Hancock informed us, there are flourishing trees some 

 thirty years old, on a favorable locality, Avhile in other places they never survive 

 comparatively short period. But the soil cannot be all, for an intelligent cultivat 



