No. 6. 



Blis:ht in Pear Trees. 



87 



connecting rods H H are parallel with each 

 other, as represented by the dotted lines 3 3; 

 this brings the slide I, moving in the grooves 

 K K, to the dotted line 4, with an increased 

 force in proportion as the rods H H approach 



Fi". K. 



m 



a position parallel with each other. Or in- 

 stead of the slide I moving as described 

 .above, it may be composed of two parts, as 

 represented in the following cut, each part 

 moving on a fulcrum at 5 5, until they are 

 brought to the position as represented by 

 the dotted lines G G 6 G, when acted on by 

 the connecting rods H H, as before described, 

 a section of each being represented, which 

 is considered sufficient to show or explain 

 the principle. 



Fig. 17. 



....■6- 



..&■ 



m 



September 30, 1837 



From the r,ev. Pr. Reed, Rector of the Episcopal 



Church, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. 



Blight ill Pear Trees. 



The blight was destroying many of the 

 pear trees in Dutchess county. Some ten or 

 twelve years since, I lost one or two fine 

 ones, and others began to be affected. In a 

 ride into the interior of the county I observed 

 in one neighborhood, the trees very flourish- 

 ing, healthy and productive, when a few 

 miles distant they were decaying. This 

 neighborhood abounds in iron ore, which sug- 

 gested to me the idea, that the mineral was 

 necessary for the health of the pear. On 

 returning home, 1 procured from a blacksmith 

 shop, the cinders, and put a bushel of them 

 around the root of each tree. I also hung some 

 old iron hoops on the limbs. The trees have 

 since grown luxuriantly and borne bounti- 

 fully. Three years since I took possession 

 of a house and lot where were three trees in 

 a rough, seruby state ; the same means have 

 produced the same effect on them. A friend 

 from the state of Rhode Island, while on a 

 visit, remarked the flourishing state of my 

 trees and said he had lost most of his. I re- 

 lated to him my experiment. He remarked 

 ih^t his own case corroborated the theory I 



had adopted, for, said he, "I have but one 

 healthy tree left, and that stands near where 

 an old blacksmith shop stood." I have, there- 

 fore, no doubt but that iron is a complete pre- 

 ventive for blight in pear trees. I tried the 

 effect of the same on a plumb and a peach 

 tree, and they both died in two years. 



Another fact may be acceptable to your 

 useful society. 



In our county, gooseberries, after a few 

 year's growth, have their fruit mouldy, small 

 and useless. A gentleman in our neighbor- 

 hood observing this and knowing that this 

 fruit grows finely on the islands of the sea, 

 tried the experiment of brine at the root, and 

 found his fruit restored to its original size 

 and entirely freed from mould. He puts a 

 pint of strong brine at the root of each plant 

 early in the spring. The brine should be 

 put on without stirring the earth, so as to 

 wet the roots, as in that case it kills the 

 plant, but there is no danger, if poured on the 

 earth undisturbed. 



Two years since, finding my Madeira 

 grapes mildew and blast, and knowing that 

 they flourished on the sea-coast, I used brine 

 around them, but have not made the expe- 

 riment long enough to be positive as to the 

 effect. They did remarkably well the last 

 yearj produced bountifully and were free 

 from insects and mould. 

 Yours, with respect, 



John Reed. 



Shady Grove, Franklin Co. Va., April 24, 1837. 



This is a subject to which I have paid 

 particular attention, and my first conviction, 

 and in which I am more and more confirmed, 

 was, that in striking at the root of the dis- 

 ease, you must not strike at the root of the 

 tret, for the most superficial observer must 

 have noticed that a branch will wither and 

 die whilst the trunk and the other branches 

 will remain in full health and vigor. Whe- 

 ther it is in a peculiarity of the air, or the 

 effect of insects, I have never been able to 

 determine. 



My preventive is this. Take of cop- 

 peras, two parts, and of brimstone, (flour of 

 sulphur would be still better,) one part, well 

 powdered and mixed ; take a rag or piece of 

 cloth, no matter what kind, about three or 

 four inches wide, and as long as will reach 

 three or four times around the branch to 

 which it is to be applied. Wet the cloth 

 and sprinkle on as much of the above com- 

 position as will stick, and wrap it moderately 

 tight around a branch as high as convenient 

 and confine it with a thread or twine, and 

 so on with the other branches on the tree; 

 there seldom being more than from three to 

 five. In this way two hands can attend to 

 from thirty to forty trees in a day ; having 



