THE INFLUENCE OF RAINFALL UPON FUNGI 105 



or blight of the pear, quince and apple, we can attribute 

 it to the large amount of moisture. During this year we 

 had spread over our state something I never saw before. 

 Every tree, in almost every orchard, was all blighted ; there 

 were apple trees with every flower blighted. On the Smith 

 Cider apple even the little twigs were blighted. On the 

 pear trees blight started at the tips and spread quite to 

 the ground. Now, 1895 was our driest year, and, if we 

 were going by the book, that year should have been free 

 from blight; but 1894 entailed upon 1895 a crop of spores 

 which it took years to outgrow and overcome. So does 

 one season lap over and influence another. 



We had a dry year following, but it rained just at the 

 right time to hit the orchardists in the eye with the fire 

 blight. In 1896 we had not very much moisture, and there 

 was really less blight until 1898, when it came again. 

 This year, just closing, we had a large amount of rain in 

 May (7 inches), and we had the blight coming again. 

 The early part of 1898, last spring, was a wet one, and it 

 was hard work to get things done. The rain and wet 

 everywhere developed the apple rust to an alarming extent ; 

 in New Jersey the hillsides became almost an orange 

 color. 



In 1894, we had apple rust, and more still in 1889, but 

 last spring was a rusting season with us ; rust and smut 

 were rampant for the early portion of the season. [From 

 here on the speaker was interrupted with questions. — Ed.] 



You must cut and burn for the fire blight in pears and 

 quinces ; but the apple will take care of itself. Excessive 

 pruning will be more harmful in the pear than in other 

 fruits. 



I think you can get a suggestion from our worthy friend 

 from Michigan in connection with his work in the peach 

 orchard ; I think you can feed up your plants to dis- 

 advantage with nitrogen, and encourage this fungous dis- 

 ease by too high feeding. Yet, high feeding is what they 

 ought to have for maturing wood in autumn and for leaf- 

 expansion in the growing season. 



This last spring, with 7 inches of rain in Ma}^ we had 

 the peach curl in New Jersey; we had it, also, in 1894, 



