NOTES ON THE DISEASES OF FRUIT TREES IN THE WEST. 



of excessively Iwt days, the thermometer ranging from ninety to one hundred degrees in 

 ordinary exposures, and from one hunded and thirty to one hundred and forty degrees in 

 the simsJiine, through at least two days, when I noticed it. Still, in alternate daj^s, it fre- 

 quently and suddenly sunk several degrees. Did the excessive heat, or the sudden changes, 

 or both, or neither, do the mischief .' I cannot tell. At any rate, there was scarce a terminal 

 branch of an apple tree in this county that was not more or less affected, and some of them 

 several feet down below the last years growth. On my grounds, it affected young nurse- 

 ry trees from one to three j'ears old, worse than older trees. At first, the leaves near the 

 end turned black, and usually, by cutting the stem, a black and dead spot would be found 

 below the dying leaves, of greater or less extent. Sometimes these black patches of bark 

 and M'ood, would be found at some distance below any dead leaves, but the leaves were 

 sure at last, to die down to that point. But it passed away without any serious injury to 

 the trees, so far as can now be seen. 



People talk and write, as I have done, about " the blight," but I am couvinced that this 

 form of blight has never been in this part of the country before — whether caused by heat, 

 or cold, or insects, or what not. 



Pears. — On pears this blight was more injurious by far. The branches not only died 

 down to the lowest black spot, as was the case with the apple, but they continued to form 

 black spots of bark still farther and farther down, even to the ground, when not arrested 

 by amputation. It is worthy of remark here, that I had six pear trees, not grafted, upon 

 whole seedling roots, and only six; of these, five out of the six, some ten years old, were 

 almost entirely ruined, 



Tlie one not injured, in the spring I filled with sulphur, by putting it in ahalf inch hole, 

 as I did some of my plum trees, merely to see if it would correct the disease of the leaf, 

 of which I spoke in a former communication. Whether this did any good or not, I know 

 not; but the fact was, every tree around it was sadly injured, while it wholly escaped. 



Again, of several hundred plum trees in the same lot, known to be grafted on " entire 

 seedling" roots, not one was in the least degree affected with the blight through the sea- 

 son, though many of them stood in the midst of a young nursery of apples, all of which 

 were more or less dead in their terminal branches. It should be noted, however, that a 

 part of these trees vrere plentifully supplied with ashes, bones, &c.,\vhen they were trans- 

 planted several years ago — though not all of them. 



Toward the latter part of the season, I began to suspect that the disease in the pear tree 

 was analogous to the erj^sipelas in the animal system — and as I had got tired of amputa- 

 tion, I cut away all the dead corticle, or outer bark, as fast as it appeared, and left the in- 

 ner bark untouched. The inner bark in such cases lived, and I see is alive now. On one 

 tree, there was a blotch on the trunk two feet long, and some four to six inches wide, in 

 which the cuticle appeared entirely dead, while the inner bark was fresh. T proceeded on 

 the same principle as ph3^sicians do with erysipelas, and arrested the progress of the 

 blotch, and thus far saved the tree. How it will do in the spring, I cannot say. I am 

 sure this disease is unlike anything I ever saw before, and I am inclined to think it is of 

 atmospheric origin, or proceeds from the presence of animalcula), and that it progresses 

 by the same general law as erysipelas in the human system, and that peeling the dead 

 corticle off as soon as it appears, and applying a weak alkaline wash, will arrest its down- 

 ward and fatal progress; and also, that sulphur, as applied to plum trees for the curcu- 

 lio, may prevent it, if done early in the season. But I only make these suggestions in the 

 that they may stimulate others to a more extensive and satisfactory investigat 

 facts in the case. All theories which I can form, are as yet quite unsatisfastorj' 



