The Lancaster Farmer. 



Prof. S. S. RATHVON, Editor. 



LANCASTER, PA., SEPTEMBER, 1876. 



Vol. VnL No. 9. 



WHAT IS BLIGHT? 



A a;ooddfaI issnid by llic a;;i-iciiUiinil iia|nTS 

 at this tiino — and also l)y aJ;^R•llllu^i^ls and 

 hortk-ultuii.sts, wlii'ii in nii'i'tinj^s assfiidilud — 

 about llliijlit, its laiisos and its clU'ils, but 

 mainly its (fferts; I'of, as to its i-anxts, all si^eni 

 to be at sea witliout a compass, and tlu'iofon^ 

 all that is advanced is merely conjectural and 

 unsalislai'toiy. And here at, the outset we 

 conttss that wi^ feel unable to cheer the ag- 

 grieved parties with any information of ac- 

 knowledgeil vaUu^ In them, in reference to the 

 most af;j;ravated form of the bli^dit about 

 which they most com|ilain. First, however, 

 it is essential that wcshould exactly know what 

 is meant by 6//(//it,- and particidarly the kin<l 

 of blight that may have come luider our ob- 

 servation ; for, it is very evident, from tlie 

 manner in which it is described by various 

 persons, that there uuist be dillerent cans<'s 

 for its manifestation. The dictionary in- 

 terpretation, or rather delinition, of Ji'liijlit, 

 is a "mildew; decay; anything nijiping 

 or blasting ; ai)plied as a general name to 

 various injuries or diseases of jilants, caus- 

 ing the whole or a part to wither, whether 

 occasioned l)y insects, fungi, or atmospheric 

 inlkiences.'" Also, "a downy species of 

 aphi.t, or plant louse, destructive to trees." "To 

 frustrate ; to prevent the growth and fertility 

 of vegetation, as bliijlikd corn." And, as the 

 term is now used, it is made to cover a variety 

 of effects, proceeding from a variety of causes ; 

 in fact, when a plant or tree becomes ener- 

 vated, wilted, or withered from any cause, it 

 is said to be btiyhkd; mainly becau.se no otlier 

 name seems to so conveniently cover the case 

 as this term. 



In short, without a qualifying adjective or 

 prehx, the term b!i(jht is about! as iudelinite 

 as the terms "pinch-liug, " or "worm." When 

 tlic base of a young peach tree becomes seri- 

 ously infested by the " reai-h-tree borer," 

 (..*,'(/('/■;(( ccilosu], causing the It^aves to wilt or 

 turn yellow, anil giving it a weak and sickly 

 apiiearanee, it is said to be hUijIiUd, and so it 

 is, but this isof a s[iecilic characti-r, and is the 

 eli'ect of a cause that nuiy be readily discovered 

 if we will but make an intelligent effort ; and, 

 knowing the cause, we may apply the remedy. 

 This, perhaps, might appropriately be called 

 the "Borer-blight." 



When the leaves of peach trees become 

 gnarled, curled, and yellowish in color, and 

 the cavities an<l iueciualities caused by tlieir 

 distorted condition, contain the "peach- 

 aphis," [Aplds pcrsiai), then the tree may be 

 said to be alUicted with the "aphid-blight ;" 

 and, knowing the cause, the cm-e would be in 

 lindiug something to kill the aphids. But the 

 leaves of peacli trees sometimes turn yellow, 

 become curled, crisped, wilted and dry, when 

 no borers are in the trunk or at the roots, and 

 when no aphids are on tlu^ leaves. In some 

 instances a very uunute fungus is present, 

 ami then we nnghl properly term it the 

 "Fungus-blight," ami when no fiouji can 

 possibly be detected, if it has been caused by 

 the previous winter's freeziuir, it might be 

 called the " Frost-blight ;" but wOicn it has not 

 been caused by frost, it is conveniently called 

 "Fire-blight," about the caiixe of which doc- 

 tors by no means agree. F'ire-blight is vari- 

 ously attributed to climatit' causes, electrical 

 inlluences, or the chemical character of the 

 soil ; but just which, what or how, there seems 

 to bo a diversity of opinion on, even among 

 the most experienced in these matters. 



All the foregoing causes and their effects arc 

 sometimes visible on the apples, the pears, the 

 oaks, and other kinds of trees ; and this is 

 conspicuously the case in regard to the jiear 

 trees the present season. In addition to the 

 foregoing, however, there is a small beetle, 

 which, in both its lan:<i and imuyo slates, per- 



forates the smaller branches and makes an ex- 

 cavation in the heart, causing all the leaves to 

 become withered, wilted or blacked, above the 

 p<'rtoration, and this might, by way of dis- 



lineti be called the " Heetle-blight." This 



ln'clle is the 'Juuiicii.-: iiijri, and to destniy it 

 would be toeut ciirthe blighted branchesa few 

 inches below the blighted portion, and burn 

 them. .*>omelimes the leaves of thi' pear 

 trees are infested by a " sing " which skeleton- 

 ize them, and gives them a crisp and burnt 

 api)earanee, and this we might pro|ierly name 

 the " Slug-blighl. These slugs arc^ the larvic 

 of a "Saw-lly," (.S'(/(m(?;-/(t y;//;-i,) and an a])- 

 ]ilicatiou of a poisoned powder or solution, at 

 the ])roper lijue, might efleel tlieir destruction 

 and cure. Hut the " Fiie-blight " of the pear 

 sometimes occurs so suddenly, so mvsterious- 

 ly, and so generally — epidemically as it were^ 

 that the eau.se, thus far, has been (last finding 

 out, and the qnestiim still is, "What are we 

 going to do about it V" This kind of blight 

 sometimes is conliiied to one or more small 

 branches ; at other times to a large branch, or 

 the (piarter, or the half, or the greater part of 

 the tree. At c)ther times again (as in the pres- 

 ent sea.-^on,) it conunences at the lop, and 

 taking one branch aftei' another works down- 

 ward, until it linally compasses the whole tree. 

 In the evening the tree may be fair to look 

 upon and on the following morning it may l)e 

 blighted. This form of blight may be con- 

 lined to a single tree in an orchard ; or others, 

 or nearly the whole orchard, may be more or 

 less infected, but the causes may be the same, 

 and as ditlicult to determine, as in the case of 

 the peach tree. 



There is at this writing (Sept. 1st,) two 

 " Ilorse-ehestnut trees," (jEAndua Itqipnraa- 

 tiinuiii,) on the south side of Chc^stnut street, 

 near Duke, in Lancaster city, all the leaves of 

 which, dnriiig part of .Inly and .\ugust, be- 

 came ois)), discolored and fell olT, witliout the 

 presence of insects or any other visible cause; 

 and one of these trees, near the ends of the 

 branches, has put Ibrtli new leaves, shoots and 

 llower-buds, so that now it pre.seids the singu- 

 lar spectacle of leaves, (lowers and fruit atone 

 period. The blight in these trees is analogous 

 to lire-blight, and i)rol>ably proceeds from the 

 .same cau.se, whatever that may be. The Kim 

 trees of Lancaster and vicinity, and also el.s(v 

 where in the county, the present .season, have 

 been infested l)y nadtitudes of a species of 

 GUdirwd, which is .said to have been intro- 

 duced into this country from Europe many 

 years ago, and the larva' as well as the mature 

 insects puncture and skeletonize the leaves, 

 giving such leaves a burnt and blighted ap- 

 pearand'. 



(Jn the lOtli of August we examined some 

 young locust trees on t'hestuut Ilill, in this 

 county, and we found all the tender growth <if 

 the present season infested by large nundiers 

 of small "Tree-hojipers, " (Smiliti,) which 

 were engaged in sucking out the sap, accom- 

 panied by a host of ants, which benefited by 

 the punctures made by the h<jppers, or lapped 

 up their excretions. Sv'e n(^ver before saw the 

 hopiiers so abundant ; from fifteen to twenty- 

 live Were often seen in a group, of various 

 sizes, some of them .so very small that they 

 could n<it be detected without a magnilier, but 

 all were engaged in the work of exhausting 

 tlie sap of the trees. There is also a small 

 "curculio" (Aijion mhinKt,) which ])uiictnres 

 th(! leaves of the locust ; but the woi-st ene- 

 mies to them are the " Leaf-miners." These 

 l)enetrate the leavi'S, eating the iinrcndnjma, 

 and leaving nothing but the upper au<l lower 

 skin remaining. They are both the larva; of 

 a minute species of LepidnjAeni and of Culiop- 

 Icra. The latter is the llhiKi sutitrtdis, and is 

 far the worst. Spme yeare ago we noticed a 

 row of locust trees, about au eighth of a mile 



in length, nearly every leaf on which was 

 moreorle.ssnunedby tht'se little insects, which 

 were present in myriads, producing a lirown- 

 ish and yellowish" blight, and this prevailed 

 that sea.son in many parts of the county. 



When all these coidingiMicies occur at the 

 .same lime, and the "Locust-lree-borer"(<^7i/(t« 

 r«/(i»i(((,) penetrates the trunks and branciu'M, 

 the trees have a fearful ordeal to pass tlirough, 

 and it would not b(' very surprising; if Ihey 

 should become blighted anil die. Ihit these 

 trees sometimes become blighted without the 

 I)resence of any of the afore-nami'd e::ternal 

 enemies, and no positive evidence of the in- 

 ternal ones, just as is the ciise with the peach 

 and the pear. 



Apple trees are not so subject to fire-bllKlit 

 as the pear trees; but when tiic "Knot aphis," 

 the base, the trimk, and the branch borers at- 

 tack young apple trees, they produce a blight 

 that is more certainly destructive than any 

 other form of tin; disea.se. Some years ago, 

 from the "Tower" in Mount Auburn Cemetery, 

 near Boston, we noticed that many isolated 

 api)le trees, as well as whole orchards, were 

 more or less browned and blighted, and when 

 we inquired the cause we were infornn-d that 

 it was caused by multitudes of "C'aid<er 

 wmnis," [Ani/soiitiri/x nirnata). I!ut ai>ple 

 trees may also be blight<'d from other ;us vet 

 unknown causes, and it is tlii' function of those 

 who are always about and among them to 

 make intelligent observations and to record 

 them. "Thai's what's the matter." Those 

 most interested in these things pay the least 

 attention to them. 



Branches of oak and hickory trees often be- 

 come blightid, and when, suh.sequenlly, a 

 storm of wind comes, these braneliesare broken 

 off and fall to Un: ground. In the oak tree 

 these blighted branches are can.sed by a brown- 

 ish cylindrical beetle — or rather by its larva — 

 calleil the "Oak-tree pruner," (EUiiihidinn 

 ;;i((i!('<r and other si)ecies.) This larva mines 

 through the heart of the branches, and when 

 it has nearly comideted its larval period, it 

 gnaws away all the wood at ,a certain jilace, 

 leaving notliing but the bark n-maining, and 

 then it does not require phkIi of a wind to 

 break them oil', the larva usually being found 

 in tfie fallen branch. From these branches we 

 have bred the above-named specie.s. The 

 " llickory-tree pruners '' deposite their eggs in 

 the branches and then girdle them; the winds 

 after a time breaking olT the br.inches, and the 

 young )iruner is afterwards devi-loped therein. 

 We. have never bred tlu' last named beetle 

 from these pruned braiK lies, but we have de- 

 tected them girdling them. It is scieiititieally 

 called (hirid) rii.t sitiijidiitus, and has a family 

 allianee to the " Apple-tree borer," {Sa/jeida 

 hivitt(ita). >S. 1'. Eby, Kscj., informs us that an 

 insect of some kind is girdling his Linden 

 trees, near Mountville, and tho.se he brought 

 us present the same apjK'ai-aiice iis the hickory 

 pruner's work. 



Solium causes of blight and decay in trees we 

 may be able to account for, but even then we 

 may be at fault fm- a remedy, much less can 

 we provide one when we are ignorant of the 

 cause. On this subjei't the following, from 

 Scv-nce (insaiii (ov August. 1S7H, may contain 

 some suggestions thai may be worthy the at- 

 tention of horticulturists and others: 



Decay of the Trees in Hyde Park. 

 In Scitiicr ff'uKKij' for .M;iy, IST:!, is u iiiciniiir on 

 nipliiiles uiul oilier plaiil-erysliil" liy l'iiiri'!i(.<>r (iulll- 

 viT, F. K. 8., tlluslnili'd by numerous wihmI (Ills; and 

 lie lias siil)si'(|U<-iitly irlvcn dcucriplicinB, with a plate, 

 of the short irysliil priiinis In various plants, wore 

 essiK-elallv of the onler LciruinlnoBa-, in the Monlhly 

 .mcioscopicat Juiiruat, UeccinluT, \>i7'i. .\» to the 

 use of rajihiilis and other plant-crystals, he rei;anls 

 them as valualile manure, to lie restored at the fall 

 of the leaf to theearth forihe nulrlmiiit of the parent 

 plant; aud busideA to alTord at other times iin|iortant 



