154 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



had not succeeded in getting that sap downward the tree would not 

 have been girdled and would have died. 



Mr. Murray — I stated that I did not beleive that there was an in- 

 visible fungus disease. There is of course a fungus growth on every- 

 thing. The position that I take is that that is not the primal cause of 

 the death of the tree, but that there are other things that go before. 

 It is just like this : two persons may drink of a pail of water in which 

 there are poisonous germs, one of them may be in a condition to resist 

 these germs of disease and the other may not, and I think that where 

 the Secretary and Mr. Gardner have struck the key-note is where they 

 say it is poor orcharding, and a great remedy I think is cultivation and 

 better care to resist this fungus disease. Of course I do not pretend 

 to stand against our scientific men, but I think that when they are 

 damaged by aphis, too deep planting and by water stored there, these 

 things all i>repare the way for this fungus growth. Give them a chance 

 for their lives and T think they will live here as well as anywhere. 



Mr. Davidson — Some of our men of large experience contend that 

 woolly aphis never killed an apple tree, while others say that it does, 

 and there we are standing today. We cannot arrive at any conclusion. 

 I am very glad that it is called up today and I hope that the question 

 will be continued and that we will some day arrive at a solution of the 

 difificulty. 



Prof. Whitten — I would like to ask one question regarding root 

 fungus: Has anyone ever found it prevalent in orchards where there 

 did not exist any great deal jof decaying matter? Does it ever occur 

 on old land where the roots are thoroughly decayed out and where 

 there is no rotten vegetation ? 



Mr. Evans — We have had some experience with woolly aphis at 

 our farm at Olden. One orchard was planted, 60 or 75 acres, and right 

 in the midst of that was a spot of old land and we planted right through 

 that the same varieties that we planted in the other part of the field, 

 and in the old field we did lose a good many trees by the woolly aphis. 

 We had to dig them clear out, and nothing ailed them except that the 

 woolly aphis had destroyed the roots. Where the lacd was new and 

 strong and was well cultivated, we did not lose a tree by the woolly 

 aphis. When we found out that was what killed them, we went to 

 work with bone meal and ashes. After that we planted trees in there 

 and no more of them have died. 



Prof. Whitten— I referred to the root fungus, the white thread- 

 like fungus growth that occurs in the roots of the trees. So far as I 

 have heard it has always occurred on new land where there is a great 

 deal of decaying vegetation. So far as I have been able to trace the 



