110 THE NEW HORTICULTURE. 



large, badly blighting Bismarck apple tree, with buds from my 

 healthy sod Terry and Pearmain trees, with just the faintest 

 idea that shoots thus grown would not blight. To my aston- 

 ishment, the buds all grew right along among the blighting 

 Bismarck limbs the whole of last season, making shoots three 

 and four feet high, and not a blighted leaf or tip. Mr. 

 Kirkpatrick saw the tree and will testify to the facts, and yet 

 the scientists are now humbugging the California pear-grow- 

 ers with the vain hope of curing blight by cutting out the 

 infected limbs. Of course, for looks' sake, it is the proper 

 thing to do ; but if they rely solely upon that, it will inevita- 

 bly be but a few years before the Bartlett pear will be only a 

 recollection in California. 



The same danger threatens their English walnut trees, 

 many of which have been attacked by blight also. And yet, 

 with irrigation to keep up a continuous summer growth the 

 previous season, thus satisfying the tree's natural demands 

 and inducing them to remain entirely dormant during the 

 winter, and sod treatment to preserve the integrity of the 

 surface-roots, there would not in a few years be a blighted 

 fruit tree of any kind in California. Of course, all pruning 

 of bearing pear trees should cease, as that stimulates a move- 

 ment of the sap to restore the equilibrium between the roots 

 and tops, especially if the winter be mild and wet. It must 

 be especially borne in mind that blight results only from a 

 severe freezing in winter or very early spring under the 

 above conditions, followed by a complete stagnation of the 

 sap and subsequent fermentation, and never from the usual 

 late frosts or light freezes when growth has fully started. In 

 such cases there can be no fermentation, for growth is imme- 

 diately resumed and no harm done. The idea of a connec- 

 tion between a freeze and blight has always prevailed among 

 fruit-growers who have observed closely, but has been scouted 

 by our scientific horticultural solons, all of whom have failed 

 to discriminate between the two kinds of freeze, and thus 

 understand why all were not followed by blight. I omitted 

 saying that when pear trees are put to sod (preferably 

 Bermuda, or other shallow-rooted grass of short growing 



