Tenth Annual Meeting 129 



Professor Waite: "I will give you what my experience 

 is, and why we accept as negative evidence only cases of this 

 sort where there are other symptoms than the premature spotted 

 fruits. In other words, you may have the sprout, and the 

 yellow -colored foliage, but all those symptoms are symptoms 

 which may be caused by other influences than the yellows, and 

 the premature spotted fruit is the only symptom that can be 

 absolutely relied upon. Therefore, we cannot accept any other 

 symptoms as absolutely conclusive." 



Mr. Hale: "You say that these systems are brought about 

 by some other cause. Did you ever see what we know as the 

 * pennyroyal sprout,' a sprout growth which is one of the 

 evidences of the yellows? Did you ever see that on a tree that 

 hadn't also colored its fruit prematurely?" 



Professor Waite: "Yes, sir; in a number of instances." 



Mr. Hale: "Where?" 



Professor Waite: "I suppose I have seen a thousand 

 cases of that sort in Michigan this last summer." 



Mr. Hale: "And it was not the yellows?" 



Professor Waite: "It was not the yellows. It was a 

 trouble which is often caused by lice. You must remember 

 that the peach yellows, unfortunately, is one of those diseases 

 that we know only by symptoms. We do not know its cause. 

 The only clue we have is indicated by a certain set of symptoms, 

 and of those symptoms I am perfectly sure there is one that is 

 absolutely reliable. Those symptoms that Mr. Hale mentions 

 are good symptoms, but they are not conclusive. Premature 

 fruit itself is not a conclusive proof. You can have premature 

 fruit without having the yellows, but the fruit is not spotted. 

 There are different kinds of premature fruit, and you have 

 to know the difference. A great many trees two years ago 

 were very premature, and although the fruit was from three 

 days to a week or ten days ahead of time it was not the 

 yellows." 



Mr. Hale: "Well, you can tell it, but I don't believe it." 



The President: "I was satisfied when the gentleman 

 spoke that it was not in Connecticut that he saw those trees or 

 those symptoms. I never saw those sprouts but that the tree 

 would develop the yellows. I never saw the pennyroyal sprouts, 



