MR. breck's address. 59 



that the poor, as -well as the rich, might enjoy an abundance of the luxuries of 

 the orchard and cjarden. The crop of currants was so profuse, that in many- 

 instances it would not pay the expense of gathering, and in some places could 

 not even be given away. Consequently large quantities of the fruit decayed 

 on the bushes. 



Early apples and pears were also a drug. We have the statement, that a 

 farmer brought into the city, a quantity of Bartlett pears, and not being able to 

 sell except at very low prices, took his load into State street, and notified the 

 newsboys that tiiey were free, and invited them to help themselves. The load 

 was soon disposed of, and no doubt the farmer felt himself abundantly rewarded 

 in the happiness he had thus dispensed. Early apples hardly paid for the ex- 

 pense of barrelling and transportation to market. One reason for the extreme 

 dulness of the sale of early fruit, was that the markets in Maine and the 

 Provinces were cut off, in consequence of the withdrawal, for Government pur- 

 poses, of most of the steamers which had in previous years taken large quanti- 

 ties to those markets. Another reason, may be the absence of so many con- 

 sumers at the seat of war. And in addition to these reasons, the Southern 

 market was entirely cut olf. 



1 regret to state that the plague of the Western pear blight has made its 

 appearance in this State in several places. I have lost a number of valuable 

 trees in my own garden ; some of them six inches in diameter. The varieties 

 most affected were the Glout Morceau, Napoleon, Belle Lucrativo, Marie 

 Louise, MacLaughlin, and Flemish beauty. Of these I have lost one or more 

 of each, all large trees. Some of the same varieties have not been injured in 

 the same kind of soil and fame locality. Others have been slightly diseased 

 in one or more of the branches. My garden is well sheltered ; the soil rather 

 heavy and moist, a portion of it not well drained. I cannot perceive that it 

 made any difference wliether the trees were on quince or pear stocks, or 

 whether they were in soil perfectly or imperfectly drained. 



The disease first appeared about the middle of June, after a number of warm 

 rainy days. As soon as I saw the black foliage, I cut off the diseased branches 

 down to sound, healthy wood. There would be no further appearance of the 

 disease, until another spell of warm rain or foggy weather occurred. Then 

 another edition of the disease would appear, and again I had recourse to the 

 knife. Thus it continued until September, breaking out afresh after the recur- 

 rence of warm, wet, dog-day weather. On some trees I used the knife until 

 but little of the tree remained. 



The disease is a mystery, and I know of no remedy better than to cut off 

 and burn the branches as fast as the symptoms appear; but I am not sure that 

 this course has any effect in checking it. The disease commences on the ex- 

 tremity of the fruit spurs in the rupture of the sap vessels, and begins in the 

 middle of a branch extending to the wood in the branch, which in a few days 

 turns black, shrivelled, and dry; then extending upwards and downwards until 

 the whole branch is dry and dead, the foliage becoming black as ink. 



