STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. I43 



ors, to manage the affairs of the association. Each district could 

 be composed of local bodies made up of the growers of the dif- 

 ferent fruit sections. Thus a complete chain could be estab- 

 lished from producer to consumer, and much of the trouble of 

 the middlemen would be eliminated, and their profits be re- 

 turned to the grower where it rightfully belongs. 



The time is now right to act. Progress is the result of con- 

 certed action, and united action may save thousands of dollars 

 which at some distant future may be valueless. Prices are con- 

 stantly going up, living expenses are increasing, and there is no 

 moral reason why the producer should not have his share of 

 this increase. In union there is increased strength, and in 

 strength, increased efficiency. 



THE PEAR-LEAF BLISTER MITE. 



By E. H. SiEGLER, Washington, D. C. 



Your president, Mr. Keyser, has asked me to give an account 

 of the pear-leaf blister mite, Eriophyes pyri Pgst., which infests 

 the pear and the apple and a few other plants of lesser eco- 

 nomic importance. There are other species of mites which 

 attack the pear and the apple, but only this particular species 

 causes very much trouble. I shall therefore confine myself to 

 the discussion of this one species. In presenting this subject, I 

 shall endeavor to treat it in a simple way, avoiding all technical 

 terms, as far as possible. Also, since the apple is the fruit of 

 paramount importance in the state of Maine, I shall consider 

 the blister mite chiefly in its relation to this fruit, although what 

 I may say is in general applicable to the pear. 



The blister mite, as the name implies, is not a true insect, but 

 is more nearly related to the spiders, ticks and various other 

 well known mites. A true insect is divided into three distinct 

 parts — the head, the thorax and the abdomen. It also possesses 

 a pair of antennse and three pairs of legs. The blister mite 

 under discussion has its head and thorax united, has but two 

 pairs of legs and is devoid of antennae. 



