Inspection of Nurseries. 



In asserting that our scientists have fallen into error, the author of this work has no 

 intention of casting reflections upon gentlemen of such excellent ability as those who 

 have rendered so valuable service to our country by their tireless investigation and 

 research ; far from it. But the facts are herein set forth that pear blight, leaf blight, or 

 any other blight comes from the destruction of the feeding roots. 



In bulletin 72, page 199, issued by the agricultural experiment station, Wooster, 

 Ohio, in August, 1896, there is a photograph of peach trees affected by the " yellows," 

 but they are growing in a raspberry patch ! Now, what can you expect from a peach 

 tree with such environments ? How in the name of good sense could a tree stand a 

 chance to procure moisture when raspberries (and probably grass and weeds) were pump- 

 ing it from the soil ? Among the sure signs of yellows are the well-known facts that the 

 winter buds and adventitious buds often become excited into growth in August or the 

 fall months. To some this seems mysterious ; there is no mystery about it. Remember, 

 if you have cut off the moisture from the roots the leaves must suffer. When the leaves 

 drop, the tremendous effort of nature is then asserted to maintain life itself. Life can- 

 not be continued long without foliage. The tree, then, calls on all its " reserves " to 

 carry it through the ordeal. The latent buds Ihen spring to the rescue, form new lungs 

 for the tree, manufacture the cambium, etc. The mischief that has been done, however, 

 cannot be undone. Sooner or later the tree will perish. We have elsewhere set forth the 

 fact that the main battle is won over disease in the preparation of the soil. Before an 

 orchard is planted, tzvo years should be taken in making the soil ready. A plenty of 

 manure, lime, ashes and sub-soiling are essential. Individuals setting a few trees can 

 prepare in short order by digging holes (see pages 41 and 54). This one fact must be 

 kept constantly before the mind, namely : it matters not what kindoi manure you apply 

 to a plant, it derives no benefit from it, only as it is in a state of solution ; in plain 

 terms, only when the food is soaked out and mixed with water. Those wonderful, micro- 

 scopic workers that we have been pleading for so hard, absorb or literally drink up all 

 plant food in a liquid form, just like those marvelous little glands or ducts in the stom- 

 ach and intestines of the animal or human being, which absorb all nutriment in a juicy 

 or liquid state. If the tree is planted in poor soil, and has nothing but water, it neces- 

 sarily will be frail. 



Now, suppose you plant a small, young, healthy tree in the proper soil and, instead 

 of planting raspberries, or allowing grass and weeds to grow, every fall you apply a good 

 top dressing of manure and, in the spring, work in a little lime and ashes, and cultivate 

 to keep down weeds ; the result of such a course would be the maintenance of perfect 

 health, and I repeat the assertion, health defies disease. I do not pretend to know what 

 "peach-yellows" is and no one else seems to know. It is not necessary to know what 

 smallpox is; but this we do know, that a. perfectly healthy person will not take it. Med- 

 ical authorities tell us that a healthy stomach will digest the germs of any disease, actu- 

 ally convert them iniofoodf One man spends a lot of money in trying to exterminate 

 rats; another uses a little forethought and constructs his barn so that rats and mice can- 

 not get into it; every child knows which is the wiser man. 



The fact that peach-yellows has been proven to be contagious by budding deceased 

 wood into healthy trees does not disprove what I assert, i. e. : a healthy plant defies dis- 

 ease. You may inoculate a person with the virus of any malignant disease and, per- 

 haps, produce death. But you have not proven that such a person had not the vital 

 force to repel such a disease had it not "been forced info his system. 



Life, everywhere, is a great battle and the victories are won by first attacking the 

 weak points. When once an entrance is gained, then the "strongholds" may be reduced. 

 We know of such a thing as "body lice," but such disgusting creatures do not exist on 

 healthy bodies, but are found on those that are impoverished and covered with effete 



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