BLIGHT. 215 



teria. Those professors whose theory is that bhght is caused by 

 bugs, insects or bacteria probably have never seen an apple tree, 

 and their discoveries are mostly "theory." 



Mr. E. A. Smith : I don't think the professors have had a proper 

 chance. (Laughter.) 



The Chairman: I cut Mr. Reed off yesterday. I am sorry he 

 and Philips are so hard on the professors. I am going to give 

 Prof. Sandsten a chance, and he is the last man I am going to al- 

 low to speak on this subject. 



Prof. E. P. Sandsten( v\is. ): After all that has been said here 

 and especially after the opinion the gentleman expressed about 

 professors my experience will probably not count for much. 

 (Laughter.) I want to explain that blight is due to bacteria, and 

 I think I can demonstrate it to your satisfaction. I can take the 

 germs, or the sticky substance that exudes from a diseased part of 

 a tree, and I can take that and inoculate another tree with it and 

 produce blight, and if that is not proof enough I do not know what 

 kind of proof you would ask. (Applause.) We have performed 

 these operations in our orchard, and we can inoculate any tree, no 

 matter whether it is hidebound, no matter what the conditions of 

 the tree may be, whether it is a rapid growing or a slow growing 

 tree, if it has sufficient root system we can produce blight. When 

 Mr. Smith spoke he suggested that the treatment must be internal, 

 and that is probably a step in the right direction. The difficulty is 

 that we cannot give a treatment that will be of a practical nature, 

 and that is what the practical man wants. The scientist finds the 

 nature of the trouble, but oftentimes the difficulty is in finding a 

 remedy. In this case it is conclusively proven that blight is caused 

 bv bacteria, and. like original sin, they are always with us. One gen- 

 tleman said there was great difficulty in cutting out the branches. 

 Why not cut them out when blight makes its appearance? We 

 should cut them out six or seven inches below the affected part and 

 then disinfect the knife. I don't know that I can add anything more 

 to what has already been said. 



The Chairman : I see Mr. Moore wants to say something, and 

 I am positively going to conclude this discussion with what Mr. 

 Moore may have to say. (Laughter.) 



Mr. O. W. Moore: We have blight in several different forms. 

 We have spur blight in the spring at blossoming time. We have 

 bud and fire blight during the summer. This has been stated and 

 practically proven by the class of men to which the gentleman 

 belongs who spoke previous to me. That it is a bacterial disease 

 there is no question in my mind. You will find the disease at the 

 junction of the live and dead w^ood in any blighted tree. It is a 

 sticky, mucilaginous substance just under the bark, at the junction 

 with the bark, which exudes and is carried from tree to tree. If 

 this is not true, how is it we get plum blight? That is carried over 

 the vnnter in some form. It is stated that it is carried about by 

 bees and insects that have access to it, and that is what causes plum 

 blight, with which every orchardist has more or less difficulty in 

 Minnesota — so it must winter over in some form. There is another 



