CHESTNUT BARK DISEASE. 19 



SUMMARY. 



1. The chestnut blight is caused by the parasitic fungus Endothia 

 gyrosa var. parasitica and not by an insect. 



2. The chestnut bark disease is slowly and surely killing the chest- 

 nut in Connecticut, and will continue to do so unless stopped by natu- 

 ral causes or some effective remedy can be found. 



3. All methods of control that have been tried have proven only 

 partially successful and are not practical for use in woodland. 



4. It is believed that dry weather conditions have weakened the tree 

 and enabled a native fungus to become an active parasite and that the 

 disease has not been introduced from a foreign country. 



5. If individual infected trees are cut and the bark and brush burned 

 on the stumps, the spread of the disease may be checked, but experi- 

 ments show that in most cases the surrounding trees are already 

 infected, and the disease is only temporarily checked. 



6. The presence of the disease in the stand in itself is not sufficient 

 reason for cutting. Unless the trees are mature and the market con- 

 dition is good, it is better to give the uninfected trees a chance to 

 get all the growth possible, especially where the presence of the 

 blight has only just become apparent. 



For a more detailed report on this subject the reader is referred 

 to the Report of the Botanist, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment 

 Station, 1911-1912. 



