DISEASES OF TREE AND FRUIT 



135 



and its termination is always fatal. It is communi- 

 cable from tree to tree. The means of communica- 

 tion is unknown, but it does not spread through the 

 soil, it probably does not originate in the roots, it is 

 evidently not conveyed from flower to flower, and 

 it is probably not transferred by means of pruning 

 tools. It may be disseminated by buds, even by 

 those from branches that do not yet show signs of 

 the disease. The one unmistakable symptom of yel- 

 lows is the red-spotted character of the fruit. The 

 flesh is commonly marked by red lines or splashes 

 beneath the spots. These peaches generally ripen 

 prematurely." 



Another striking symptom of the disease, one 

 which often first meets the grower's eye, is the tufty 

 growth of weak, young shoots which appear along 

 the sides of the old branches. These crowded shoots 

 are small and yellow with small, narrow leaves. 

 The appearance is wholly abnormal, is never seen 

 on healthy trees and is an unmistakable symptom 

 of yellows. 



As soon as the tree is attacked, it begins to show 

 a distinct loss of vigor, the leaves turn yellow and 

 fall prematurely, the fruit is small, poor, tasteless, 

 ripens early and is more fuzzy than the normal fruit. 

 The tree succumbs to the disease the second or third 

 year, depending somewhat on its general physical 

 condition. When the yellows strikes a neglected 

 orchard, it makes short work of it. 



There has been a great deal of discussion among 

 fruit growers as to the degree in which yellows is 

 contagious. Some have denied that the disease 

 spreads from tree to tree or from orchard to orchard, 

 others have felt convinced that it spreads seriously 

 throughout any peach-growing section when it is 

 once introduced. In many states there are now laws 



