178 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[June, 



when my attention was called to a row of Seckel 

 Pear trees, some twenty-five of which had been 

 much injured and a number of them killed un- 

 der circumstances different, I think, from any 

 I ever met with before. I should like to have 

 your views as to the cause. Just a year ago the 

 own6r of these trees discovered patches of bark 

 on their trunks turning black. These were 

 nearly always on the north side of the trees, and 

 were from a few inches in extent up to a lenglli 

 of two or three feet, and extending entirely 

 around the trees. In the course of the season, 

 these patches dried up and peeled off, leaving 

 the wood beneath perfectly sound and white, 

 not discolored in the least. The trees are some 

 three or more inches in diameter, and fifteen or 

 sixteen feet high. The soil is light sandy loam, 

 has been well manured and planted with hoed 

 crops, and kept well worked. There were no 

 pear trees injured but Seckel, with the excep 

 tion of one ' Howel,' which was affected in the 

 same way. I will remark here, that sandy soil 

 in this vicinity does not seem to suit the 

 Lawrence Pear. A row of these in this same 

 orchard, did so very poorly, that they had to be 

 taken up and replanted in heavier soil, where 

 they have since done well. I could suggest no 

 other treatment for the injured trees than paint- 

 ing over the bare places and discontinuing the 

 manure. The trees are of remarkably vigorous 

 growth, and where they are not entirely girdled, 

 nature is making a strenuous effort to cover the 

 wounds with new bark. 



"A fine young apple orchard near this first, 

 and containing j ,500 trees, is also badly diseased, 

 but in a different way. The trees are old enough 

 to bear a bushel each, but will have no fruit on 

 them this season. Last August the branches 

 began to die, commencing at the extremities and 

 turning black as the disease extended down. 

 There were no insects noticed on the trees, 

 but on examining the bark of the affected 

 branches, it appeared to be covered with minute 

 punctures, invisible to the naked eye. The soil 

 here also has been heavily manured, planted 

 with corn and tobacco and kept well worked. 

 The refuse stems of the tobacco have been 

 heaped up around the butts of the trees to keep 

 off the borer. The owner is just beginning to 

 head in his trees, which is all the treatment they 

 have received as yet. I suppose high feeding is 

 at the bottom of the trouble." 



[The bark disease referred to is not uncom- 

 mon in the pear, though not referred to in any 



of our fruit books. It is of fungus origin. It is 

 rarely troublesome in those orchards vvhich 

 have the trunks regularly lime-washed once a 

 year. 



There are two kinds of apple disease, which 

 have effects such as you describe, one done by a 

 small insect (Tomicus pyri), the other from a 

 fungus attack. In either case cutting and burn- 

 ing the diseased parts, before there has been 

 time to mature eggs or spores for another crop, 

 is the only remedy we have ever known sug- 

 gested. 



As to high feeding, injury from this cause 

 among fruit trees, is purely mythical. A tree 

 already half sick from bad treatment, though 

 this may pass under the name of good culture, 

 may become past all recovery by plenty of good 

 food ; but for an Apple, Pear, Cherry, Peach, 

 Plum, or similar tree, you may pile on the 

 manure six inches thick under a healthy tree 

 without disgusting it. Of course, if you use salt, 

 or some of the chemical combinations so often 

 recommended in the place of good, old fashioned 

 manUre, and natural plant food, you may ex- 

 pect trouble; but this is no more to be called 

 the results of high feeding than if a man expires 

 from an overdose of laudanum. — Ed. G. M.] 



A Native Apple. — An Ohio correspondent says: 

 " In Hooper's Western Fruit Book, page 337 

 (No. 27), it says, ' Probably a native fruit.' Is 

 there a Crab Apple under cultivation of native 

 origin (variety of Pyrus coronaria) ?" 



[It is generally believed that Hewes' Virginia 

 Crab is a variety of Pyrus coronaria, the only in- 

 digenous species of apple that we have. But 

 this is doubtful. We should be inclined to de- 

 cide that there is no variety of the true Ameri- 

 can apple under culture. — Ed. G. M.] 



Strong's Method of Grafting. — A Bucks Co., 

 Pa., correspondent says : " The ' Strong ' method 

 of grafting is at hand just in time for trial this 

 season. I think with the editor that it is a very 

 strong method indeed. That it has never been 

 used before is very problematical, but should it 

 have been discovered fifty times, none the less 

 »;redit is due the present inventor. Such things 

 sometimes remain dormant for a long time be- 

 fore they come to the surface. Here is a case 

 in point. I have some screws in my possession, 

 common wood screws, that I can trace back to 

 about forty-three or forty-four years. They are 

 of Chinese make and are gimlet-pointed. It is 

 not at all unlikely that the pattern has been in 



