SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 59 



Question : In regard to the remark previously made 

 respecting- warm soil, light or dark, would not the drainage 

 have a good deal to do with it ? 



Prof. Hedrick: It certainly would have a great deal 

 to do with the soil warmth. A well drained soil is the warm- 

 er of the two. 



The President; We will now take up another and very 

 important question in relation to peach culture, viz. : "Peach 

 Diseases." and we are very fortunate in having with us to 

 discuss this subject a man who probably knows more about 

 peach diseases than any one else in America to-day. I take 

 pleasure in introducing Prof. M. B. Waite of the Department 

 of Agriculture at Washington. 



Some New Points on Peach Diseases. 



By Prof. M. B. Waite, Washington. D. C, Pathologist in 



Charge, Investigations of Diseases of Fruits, U. S. 



Dept. of Agriculture. 



[This address was to have been illustrated, but Prof. 

 Waite explained that the lantern slides had been lost en route 

 to the meeting. The lecture was given without the pictures, 

 and was as follows.] 



Peach YELunvs with Reference to the Present Prob- 

 lem IN Connecticut. 



Cause of the Disease Unknoti'ii. The cause of the 

 peach yellows is unknown, but it behaves precisely like a par- 

 asitic disease. It is contagious, spreads through the orchard 

 from colonies or from individual trees, which become centers 

 of infection, and is distributed from tree to tree and orchard 

 to orchard by natural methods unknown to investigators. In 

 all respects, therefore, it acts like a parasitic contagious dis- 

 ease. Up to the present time all microscopic and bacteriolog- 

 ical methods of investigation have failed to reveal any para- 



