MY SUCCESS IN CHECKING BLIGHT. 3I3 



natural consequence blight ensued. An apple tree set on a north 

 slope is less apt to blight than those set' on a south slope because 

 they grow slower and become hardier. The Transcendent is noted 

 and condemned by many for its disposition to blight. My Tran- 

 scendent trees blighted no worse this year than my Hibernals, 

 Wealthys, Patten's Greenings, Peerless and other varieties. 



Mr. Rolla Stubbs: As far as I have noticed it is worse on the 

 Transcendent and the Wealthy, and, as a general thing, it occurs 

 in two or three hours. I have noticed nearly every season that it 

 comes during a hot, sultry spell of weather, in cloudy weather, when 

 the conditions seem to be favorable to the production of blight. 

 After a rain in warm weather, when the sun comes out hot, after 

 the clouds have passed away, this blight comes on within two or 

 three hours' time. It is so every season, and I have noticed it for 

 more than twenty years. It almost always comes in one day's time on 

 my place. I have noticed where there is plenty of circulation of air 

 around the lake and on high elevations it will blight perhaps as 

 badly as it will on low g round ; so it is hard to say what causes it, 

 but it seems to be in some way caused by sunshine. Back as far 

 as 1850 and i860 we never noticed anything of the blight, but 

 since the trees have been cleared away, since the forests have been 

 cut off, it seems to have grown much worse than it was in former 

 years. I think that is the most important thing we have to look after 

 in the apple business. 



Capt. Reed : My trees commenced to blight in June and blighted 

 until August. 



The Chairman : The last man I am going to call on to discuss 

 this subject of blight is Prof. Sandsten, the professor of horti- 

 culture at the Wisconsin University. He has had a great deal of 

 experience, and no doubt he can tell us something interesting re- 

 garding the Wight question. 



Prof. E. P. Sandsten (Wis.) : This subject is a very 

 perplexing one. Doctors disagree, although I believe among 

 scientific men the agreement as to the cause is quite complete. 

 We all agree that it is due to a bacterial 'disease of 

 which mention has been made, but so far we have found 

 no remedy that is effective except cutting out the diseased 

 part. The question of treatment is at best only a secondary one, 

 and, as some one has said, the conditions under which the orchard 

 is taken care of may induce blight, but I do not agree with the 

 gentleman who said that high culture and rapid growth are con- 

 ducive to blight, for I have seen apple trees growing in a pasture 

 and making no more than a two-inch growth that were badly blight- 

 ed. It is undoubtedly due to a bacterial disease that enters as de- 

 scribed by the first gentleman, and the only way to combat it is 

 to cut out the diseased portion, but in cutting it the knife must be 

 disinfected, and it must be cut at least six inches below the affected 

 portion. If you do not disinfect your knife you are apt to carry 

 the disease to the next tree you cut. Cut six inches below the affect- 

 ed part and disinfect the knife in a weak solution of carbolic acid 

 before you use it again. 



