232 



rect the sourness of the sap, and cause a normal, healthy sap 

 to flow or start this spring before the leaves come out. Lime 

 scattered on the ground under the trees would do the same thing 

 in time, but it would take months for occassional rains to soak 

 the lime down to the roots. 



What we are particularly interested in at this time is to get 

 positive evidence into the hands of the convention officers as 

 soon as possible ; hence I recommend the lime water test in order 

 to get quicker and more positive results, rather than the plan 

 of scattering lime under the trees which is less costly than 

 the lime water plan. Water takes up only one seven-hundredth 

 part of its weight of lime; 80 pounds of lime, costing about 10 

 to 12 cents wholesale, will therefore make 56,000 pounds of 

 lime water, or 28 tons. The lime would cost less than the labor 

 of getting the water, but for the purpose of getting positive evi- 

 dence soon it is here recommended. 



If the tree grows a longer set of sprouts this coming summer 

 than it did last sununer, or if the leaves are a more healthy 

 color, then the whole case will luive been fully proved that we 

 have a specific for the blight disease, and it will no longer have 

 any terrors for us. We a\ ill be able to preserve the trees we 

 now have, as well as cultivate them to advantage wherever we 

 like, if we choose to go to the expense of applying the lime arti- 

 ficially. 



Prom the extract makers point of view, I would like to see 

 the general law proved by experiment that all trees having a 

 high percentage of tannin in their bark or wood, or both, require 

 lime for their vigorous growth. For instance, the bark of the 

 pear tree is known to contain a fair ])ercentage of tannin. If 

 the tree blights, is it due to a lack of lime in the soil? or is it 

 from some other cause? \M11 the bark of the pear tree show 

 a high percentage of lime on analysis? If this should prove to 

 be the case then the Horticultural Department of the State will 

 be in possession of a valuable fact, and the extract maker will 

 know to a certainty just what localities are the best in which 

 to locate an extract factory, by studying a geological map show- 

 ing the limestone and lime shale outcrops, and locating all sorts 

 of tannin producing trees that he may wish to utilize in the 

 future. We already know that the bark of the rock oak which 



