THE PEACHES OF NEW YORK 



119 



with very little attention. The trees began nearly at once to sicken, and 

 finally perished. Whether by the wasp then undiscovered, or by some 

 change in our climate, I know not. For forty years past I have observed 

 the peach trees in my neighborhood to be short-lived. Farther south, 

 in the western country, and, it seems, in some parts of New Jersey they 

 are durable and productive as they had been formerly here. * * * 'pj-^g 

 worm or grub, produced by the wasp depositing its progeny in the soft 

 bark near the surface of the ground, is the most common destroyer. 

 * * * When trees become sickly I grub them up. I find that sickly 

 trees often infect those in vigor near them by some morbid effluvia. 

 Although I have had trees twenty years old, and knew some of double 

 that age (owing probably to the induration of the bark rendering it 

 impervious to the wasp, and the strength acquired when they had siorvived 

 early misfortunes), yet in general they do not live in tolerable health after 

 bearing four or five crops. * * * Fifteen or sixteen years ago I lost 

 one hundred and fifty peach trees in full bearing in the course of two 

 summers by a disease engendered in the first season. I attribute its origin 

 to some morbid infection in the air. * * * f^g disorder being gen- 

 erally prevalent would, among animals, have been called an epidemic. 

 From perfect verdure the leaves turned yellow in a few days, and the 

 bodies blackened in spots. Those distant from the point of infection 

 gradually caught the disease. I procured young trees from a distance in 

 high health and planted them among the least diseased. In a few weeks 

 they became sickly, and never recovered. * * * After my general defeat 

 and most complete overthrow, in which the worm had no agency, I recruited 

 my peaches from distant nurseries, not venturing to take any out of those 

 in my vicinity. I have since experienced a few instances of this malady, 

 and have promptly, on the first symptoms appearing, removed the subjects 

 of it, deeming their cases desperate in themselves and tending to the other- 

 wise inevitable destruction of others." 



In the last few lines of this account. Judge Peters gives the only means 

 so far discovered to check the spread of the disease — the prompt destruc- 

 tion of affected trees — a striking commentary on the baffling nature of 

 yellows when we consider what science has done, since Judge Peters wrote, 

 toward the control of other plant-diseases. In a note of later date, page 

 23 of the same article. Judge Peters speaks of " the disease I call the 

 yellows," thus giving name to a trouble that until then had been known as 

 " decay " or " degeneracy " in the peach. 



Later Judge Peters writes: ' "I am pursuing my old plan of re-in- 

 stating my peach trees lost last season (1806 or 1807) by my unconquer- 



Smith, Erwin F. U. S. D. A. Div. of Bot. Bui. No. 9:18, 19. ifi 



