210 TRANSACTIONS OF THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE. [YOL. II. 



ment of Agriculture at Washington, who has written an exhaustive 

 history on this subject. 



The disease first made its appearance in Pennsylvania in 1791 or 

 nearly about that period, whence it has spread in all directions. The 

 next place it was noticed was in New Jersej^ in 1806, and a second 

 epidemic affected the orchards of that State in 1846, doing most 

 extensive damage to the trees. It is remarked in New York State 

 in 1 8 14, and in 1833 " yellows " is given out as one of the chief causes of 

 the decay of the peach cultivation in that State. 



Following north, Connecticut was visited in 18 14- 15, and one cultivator 

 in that State fully recognizes the infectious nature of the disease, for in 

 1845 he writes : " When one tree is infected other trees standing near 

 would be unless the infected tree was immediately removed, in which 

 case the healthy trees would generally be preserved." 



Massachusetts seems to have escaped until much later, and in 1882 it 

 was said that yellows was not in existence in that Sta'.e. 



Again starting from Pennsylvania, its spread in a north-west direction 

 has been carefully traced. It appeared in Ohio in 1849, and in July 

 of 1878 it is described as being in the Niagara County of N. Y. State^ 

 It is but a short distance from there to our own Niagara peninsula, and 

 in Ontario in 1878 a Mr. A. M. Smith, of Drummondville, writes an 

 article in the Canadian Horticulturist under the title of " A W^ord of 

 Warning to Peach-Growers in Ontario," in which he remarks that " Per- 

 haps it is not generally known, but it is, nevertheless, a fact, that the 

 disease so destructive to peach orchards, called the yellows, has made its 

 appearance in our midst. Quite a number of orchards on the frontier, 

 particularly in the neighborhood of Drummondville and Stamford, have 

 had affected trees in them the last season, and some in the great peach- 

 growing section of Grimsby." In the autumn of the same year Mr. 

 Smith's report was confirmed by Mr. L. Wolverton, and he draws up a 

 resolution to the effect that " when anyone noticed the first indications of 

 the disease, the trees so affected should at once be removed from the 

 orchard and destroyed." 



By the year 1880 the disease had become prevalent throughout the 

 whole of the Niagara district, and thus we have it fairly established in 

 our midst. 



In 1 88 1 the Legislative Assembly passed an Act to prevent its further 

 spread, which was amended in 1884 and the American work to which I 

 referred in the beginning of this paper, comments on it as follows : — 



