82 



sturdy old seedling trees. How many times we can renew our 

 chestnut woods by sprout growth is a question, but that such 

 trees in time are weakened foresters generally acknowledge. Most 

 of our Connecticut chestnut timber has already been cut over at 

 least two or three times. 



(4). The unusual spread of the disease in very dry years is 

 contrary to the general experience of fungous troubles, which 

 are favored by moist years; and yet here is a case where the 

 severer the drought, the worse the fungus became. If I am 

 wrong about its relation to weather conditions, what a 

 deluge of trouble we may expect with the return of a few moist 

 years ! 



As to my statement that chestnut blight cannot be eradicated 

 in this country by the cutting out and burning method perhaps 

 no one now thoroughly conversant with the trouble will deny, 

 though there are those that evidently believe it can be controlled 

 in this way. Man never yet has eradicated a fungus so widely 

 distributed as this, unaided by nature, and is never likely to un- 

 less he eliminates the host. Professors Stewart and Murrill have 

 given reasons why they believe it is impractical even to try to 

 control the disease. I agree in the main with their contentions. 

 The method that is advocated in the present case aims at the com- 

 plete destruction of the infected trees and in some regions, if I 

 am informed correctly, of the healthy as well. This is a decidedly 

 unusual procedure in the control of plant diseases, since usually 

 we aim to save not only the healthy plants but the infected ones 

 as well. I know of no similar practice, outside of nursery in- 

 spections, except that applied in a few regions for the control 

 of peach yellows. There the infected trees only are destroyed, 

 but the yellows would kill those any way in a short time. There 

 is, however, no National effort to control peach yellows even in 

 this way and at least one State, Connecticut, that started under 

 authority o"f law to inspect orchards and to destroy all infected 

 trees, repealed that law after a few vp?irs' trial. 



Now as to my last contention : that the disease of itself will 

 gradually decline with the return of a series of years favorable 

 to the chestnut trees. If unfavorable weather conditions for the 

 trees have been the chief cause of the rise of the fungus as an 

 aggressive parasite, favorable weather conditions for the chest- 



