94 THE CONNECTICUT POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



Whetzel if it is a danger to New England orchards; the root 

 and crown gall? Perhaps he may have heard of the case 

 where a nursery company was sued for something like $600 

 for a supposed infection of the root and crown gall on some 

 stock that they sold. I would like to ask you what you think 

 of it? 



Prof. Whetzel : I was asked if I would testify in that 

 case, but I didn't feel competent at that time, and I don't 

 feel competent to testify now. In the first place, I have never 

 done any work on that root and crown gall myself. In the 

 second place, a great deal of work has been done, but I have 

 never taken the time to go over all of the evidence to try to 

 come to any conclusion, so I haven't got anything to offer 

 about that. I may say that we are considering now extensive 

 experiments on crown gall to determine whether it is destruc- 

 tive or how serious in the state of New York, and I would 

 like to enter the proposition with an open mind. Therefore, 

 I could not answer the question. I can only say that much 

 progress has been made toward the solution of the problem 

 by the discovery of Dr. Smith at Washington, who is now 

 satisfied beyond a question of doubt that crown gall, and 

 several types of gall up in the tree, are all caused by bacteria, 

 it is a bacteriological disease. He has also shown pretty clear- 

 ly that some kinds of organisms may pass from one kind of 

 tree to another. And with that evidence in hand, we are now 

 ready to make progress whether it is destructive in the case 

 of apples. So far as my knowledge of the case goes, I do 

 not believe that the thing has been settled. 



A Member : Did you ever hear of a tree or orchard in 

 New England or New York dying from that cause? 



Prof. Whetzel: Well, I have heard men say they had 

 trees in their orchard which died from crown gall. On the 

 other hand, I have heard men say that they had trees set out 

 with that gall which were still growing and bearing good crops, 

 and they couldn't tell them from those that were not galled, 

 and I have heard the variations between the two, but person- 

 allv I don't know anvthins: about it. 



