546 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



couragement to individual research and experiment, 

 they are an impregnable l)ar against it. Let me here 

 and now emphasize the demonstrated fact that any 

 sort of a tree can be saved that is infected with any 

 blight, such as the chestnut blight, peach yellows, or 

 with any borers such as kill our hickories, birches, 

 poplars, etc., of whatever nature which infest them 

 either externally or internally in the wood, but that is 

 otherwise healthy and in a reasonable growing condi- 

 tion, the opinions, conclusions and failures of our ex- 

 perts to the contrary notwithstanding. The photo- 

 graphs show a che.stnut, a hickory and a birch, as they 

 appeared in 1910, six years after treatment, while all 

 the untreated trees of the same species, growing in 

 the same \'icinitv. dierl \cars ago. 



KrRol'F.A.X WKKIMXl 



IUR(!!. WHOLE TOP DEAD 1904. 

 r'lIOTO. 1910. 



.\s an example oi the illogical reasoning of the Unit- 

 ed States Department of Agriculture, two years ago 

 the above facts were brought to the attention of the 

 Hon. Secretary, wdiich was referred for respofise to 

 an acting chief of a bureau with a long name, who 

 condescended to say. "that much that has been written 

 about the chestnut tree blight is exaggerated. There 

 is no serious disease of the liirch." which is a ([ueer 

 response to make in view of all the government bul- 

 letins published on the suliject in which is described 

 the great havoc and destruction that have been done to 

 these trees in recent years. 



Tree doctoring is an old art in the older countries ; 

 although there are no expert foresters in China, they 

 are ])ast masters in the art of caring for trees, and suc- 

 cessfully practiced it for centuries before the white 

 race was civilized. It has nut advanced here as fast 

 as its importance demands, I'ccause of too much 



scientific and theoretic teaching practical work has 

 been abandoned, ridiculed and discouraged. We of 

 course need scientific research and experiment, but 

 we also need practical work, and some incentive to 

 individual effort. Then why will not all interests get 

 together and work harmoniously for better results? 



The gardeners in charge of many fine country seats 

 in Europe are practical trained men of experience, with 

 a thorough knowledge of all branches of the profes- 

 sion. These are the men who are the authorities and 

 writers in all matters horticultural and arboricultural, 

 because they do get results. There are many such 

 men scattered over this country, endowed with com- 

 mon sense, industry and intelligence, experienced in 

 the care and cultivation of trees and all sorts of choice 

 plants, natives of every clime, who are fighting some 

 blight, fungi or insects nearly all the year round, btit 

 these men have not been encouraged and appreciated 

 as they should. It is up to the owners of fine country 

 seats to give their gardeners-in-charge some induce- 

 ment to work in co-operation with our experts ; let 

 them all get together and work together, which no 

 doubt will ultimately result in a systematic- endeavor, 

 and the effectual check to further devastation. 



A REPLY TO MR. EDWARDS. 



In the present issue of this journal there is an article 

 on Tree Doctoring by ^Ir. W. M. O. Edwards, on which 

 the Editor has kindly invited me to comment. As a con- 

 siderable portion of the article has reference to the chest- 

 nut blight. I will take advantage of the opportunity to 

 reply briefly to a few statements in that line. I have al- 

 ready discussed these statements with the writer him- 

 self, and he knows that I have challenged their correct- 

 ness and that to date he has not been able to prove them. 

 As the institution with which the undersigned is con- 

 nected is working in close cooperation with the Bureau of 

 Plant Industry, of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, 

 it should be noted that this reply may suffice also for the 

 U. S. Department of Agriculture, in so far as that De- 

 partment agrees with the correctness of the following 

 statements. 



The contention made in the latter part of the article, 

 that investigators and ''experts" do not cooperate with 

 practical men. such as gardeners, is sufficiently answered 

 by the fact that Mr. Edwards is himself now working in 

 close cooperation with the Blight Commission, taking ad- 

 vantage of our offer for him to treat a number of selected 

 chestnut trees and prove out his theory. Not the least 

 thing to put in his way ; on the other hand, he is encour- 

 aged in every way possible. Moreover, in previous years, 

 he has been offered on two or three occasions the use of a 

 number of orchard trees on the experimental grounds of 

 the Commission at Emilie, Pa., for the same purpose, but 

 in each case he declined to take advantage of the offer. 

 The same offer made to him has been made to numerous 

 other private tree doctors and gardeners, who have treat- 

 ments too numerous to mention for diseased chestnut and 

 other trees. A dozen or more of these men have taken 

 advantage of our oft"er and after one year's trial, their 

 treatments have been decided by a careful Board of Re- 

 viewers to be of no use. On the other hand, in some 

 cases the blight disease appears to have progressed faster 

 where the treatments were tried. 



Mention is made by 'Sir. Edwards of photographs show- 

 ing a chestnut, a hickory, and a birch after six years of 

 his treatment, while all untreated trees of the same species 

 in the same vicinity had died. T have not seen the photo- 

 graphs, but pictures cannot accurately show the present 

 condition of a tree, and he has been challenged bv the 



