124 ANNUAL REPORT. 



Mr. Harris moved that the Society express its appreciation to Mr. 

 Gaylord by a vote of thanks for the paper, and that he be made an 

 honorary member for the term of five years. 



The motion was adopted. 



Mr. Gaylord. Gentlemen, I rise to thank you for this mark of 

 your appreciation; and I can only say that I v/ill be very happy in 

 returning the compliment by doing what I can to see that you are 

 well treated by our society should any. of you visit us. In Iowa we 

 are interested in helping you along as far as we can, for we are 

 working under similar conditions, and your labors have been help- 

 ful to us. 



THE BLIGHT QUESTION". 



Mr, Whipple. I would like to ask you in regard to blight, whether 

 it is still existing in Iowa. 



Mr. Gaylord. The blight is not in my orchard although it used 

 to be. It is in others. I think I have got one of the worst places 

 for blight in the world; I have never seen any place that I thought 

 could beat it. If you want to produce blight I will tell you the 

 most certain way to do it. I would select a warm place, lying to 

 the southwest, shut in by timber; plow and cultivate well, manure 

 thoroughly and set out your trees; and then with a long, warm, 

 dry spell in June, followed by rain, about two showers a day, and 

 I would be sure the trees would blight. Now, if these are the 

 worst conditions for producing blight the opposite is the best. I 

 want a northeast slope for my trees. I believe it is a miasmatic 

 poison, something similar to that which rusts our wheat, rising 

 like an exhalation from low ground; it will come up similar to a 

 fog; not moist like a fog, but dry. I don't know how I can better 

 explain what I mean. I have studied this subject a good deal. It 

 seems to be a dry substance which rises from low ground and is 

 carried along in currents by the air. When I say a current I don't 

 mean a wind, but if there is a little air moving, there it will attack 

 your trees. There are certain trees that are more subject to blight 

 than others. In Minnesota you are troubled with blight more than 

 we are, I think, from the fact probably that you have very short, 

 warm summers; your trees grow fast; you take care of them and 

 give them protection to keep them from these cold chilling blasts 

 of winter. Everything grows here much more rapidly than further 

 south. And as you shut your trees in more, you furnish the most 

 inviting conditions for blight to work in. 



