CHESTNUT BARK DISEASE. 383 



Mr. W. M. Shepardson, of Middlebury, who has had con- 

 siderable experience in cutting out diseased trees on the Whitte- 

 more estate, says: "The blight was much worse in 1912 here 

 than in any other year, and, as near as I can estimate, spread 

 as much last year as in all previous years put together, so that 

 in badly infested areas few or no trees are left without disease. 

 In the home woods, round the fireplace and on the hill, where 

 all trees were taken out last winter that we could discern, we 

 found in September 845 trees over one foot in diameter that 

 were much diseased and a great many smaller ones." 



Mr. G. H. Bartlett of North Guilf ord writes : "In the vicinity 

 of North Guilford and North Madison the chestnut blight 

 increased very rapidly in 1912. Young trees seemed to be less 

 able to resist the attack than old and large ones. Present 

 indications are that all chestnut sprouts will soon die. Some 

 old trees seem likely to survive for a time." 



Mr. E. C. Warner, of North Haven, says, however: "In 

 regard to the chestnut blight I would say it was very much 

 more prominent in 1911 than in 1912. I think it spread very 

 fast in 1910 and 1911, and not very much in 1912. In some 

 places where we cut the diseased trees, blight did not increase 

 very much, and one piece of sprouts I was through the other 

 day did not seem any worse than last year." 



Mr. C. A. Metzger, of Mount Carmel, also writes: "As a 

 whole, the blight seems about the same as last year. It does 

 not seem to have advanced as fast as it has hitherto. On our 

 Mount Carmel farm the number of trees infected this year 

 seems less than the number last year." 



Litchfield County. Our first knowledge of the occurrence of 

 the disease in this county was due to specimens sent by W. E. 

 Frost from Bridgewater in January, 1909. The next August 

 Mr. F. V. Stevens, Jr., sent specimens from Harwinton and 

 also reported the disease from near Winsted; and Spaulding 

 (69) found specimens at Bantam in September. In January, 

 1910, E. M. Stoddard collected specimens at Litchfield, and in 

 March W. O. Corning sent others from Marbledale. So by 

 the beginning of 1910 the disease was certainly well established 

 throughout this county. So far the blight has not caused so 

 much damage as in New Haven County, though in some places 

 it has been very severe. Several of the best observers here seem 



