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TIk^ (liii'd [)(>iii(, ill iii,v llicoi-y is llial, wcallicr iiiid ol licr uii- 

 rjivorabUi coiidilioiis have wcakciKMl the vitality of tlic clK'stnut 

 ill the casteni United States, and that: tlie fnni;iis has developed 

 into prominence beeans.e of this. The reasons 1 Iiave for advocat- 

 iiii;- this tlieory are as follows : 



(1). The ehestnut blii^ht caiiie into prominence suddenly in 

 11)04, jnst after the severe winter of 11)03-4. From my own ob- 

 servation at that lime and since, 1 know that this winter was im- 

 nsnally severe on frnit, and to a less extent on shade and forest 

 trees in Connecticut. I am corroborated in my views by the ob- 

 servations of Professor Stone, liotanist of the Massachusetts Ex- 

 periment Station, who has made a specialty of the diseases and 

 injuries of shade and forest trees. Various experiment stations 

 and other publications show that the fruit trees in New York, 

 Michigan and Ohio suffered from this, and possibly from subse- 

 (juent cold winters. 



(2). Since 1007, speaking particularly for Connecticut, we 

 have had five summers Avith unusual periods of drought, ciilmi- 

 uating with that of last season, which lasted from June until 

 about the first of August. I know that these droughts have been 

 hard on forest and shade trees from their weakened condition 

 and from the unusual number that have died. Except in the 

 case of chestnuts, the death of these trees has been laid directly 

 to the drought, by many observers. I have given someAvhat more 

 detailed accounts of these weather conditions in my previous re- 

 ports, and will not dwell further on them here. We have found 

 that chestnut trees on the south and soutliAvest exposures, (and 

 on that side of the trees) Avhere they have suffered most from 

 drought and winter injury, haA^e sometimes dcA^eloped severe out- 

 breaks of the blight, while the trees on the more protected north- 

 ern exposures in the same vicinity did not. 



(3). We have found cases of chestnut blight developing more 

 severely in woods suffering from fire injury than in surroundirig 

 Avoods not so injured. It has been our almost uniA'ersal experi- 

 ence that l)light develops first and most severely in the easily in- 

 jured chestnut sprouts from one to ten years old^ whose new 

 roots liaA^e not yet become thoroughly established, and last on the 



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