STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 51 



Mr. Weston. It is the best market pear we have. You can ship 

 it wherever you can ship the Ben Davis apple. But with me it has 

 been a shy bearer. 



Question. What do you do to prevent the blighting of the leaves ? 



Mr. Weston. That is a subject that I want to hear something 

 more about. I find that the trees must be cut back until they begin 

 to bear. When the leaves and ends of the limbs begin to die I cut 

 them off and burn them. 



Question. At what distance do you set the trees apart? 



Mr. Weston. Some of mine are fourteen feet apart, and some 

 f fteen feet. 



Question. I would like to hear from some one who is able to tell 

 us how to prevent the pear blight. We all understand what it is 

 and how it works, and now can any one give us a remedy? 



Prof. Harvey. I do not know that I shall be able to give much 

 upon the point, but will give all that is known regarding it. Until 

 recentlj', I had no idea that it was so widespread. It is doing a 

 great deal of damage in the Northwest. The disease is a fungous 

 parasite. It is a little organism that works in the tree. It is inter- 

 esting to know a little of the history of this parasite. The little 

 spores that pioduce this disease are well known. They live in 

 •organic matter, and perpetuate themselves from year to year, so 

 that it is very difficult to destroy the source of these organisms. 

 The ground beneath the trees should be kept clear of organic mat- 

 ter. In such matter multitudes of little spores are produced, and 

 float in the air, alighting on the twigs of the trees. The organisms 

 are made up of little, slender threads. They work in the cells or 

 fiber of the wood. In removing a limb it is necessary to cut back 

 far enough to remove the whole of the organism. The branches 

 removed should be burned. If left under the tree the}' furnish the 

 most favorable conditions for propagating the spores. As the 

 spores are liable to enter the tiee at the points where the limbs are 

 cut, it is better to do the pruning in autumn than in spring. These 

 are all the remedies that have, as yet, been suggi s*ed, and we can 

 only make the best of the situation by preventing the disease as 

 much as possible. 



