ODDS AND ENDS 341 



made vigorous growth to cover the wound. The rapid decline 

 and practical disappearance of the disease cannot, however, be 

 attributed entirely to these remedial measures, for it was not 

 possible in any case to remove absolutely the whole of the tissues 

 attacked, and several trees, which were too badly attacked to 

 admit of treatment at all, were left standing in the orchard, and 

 did not prove a source of infection to the remaining trees. 



During these years a few trees at the Fruit Farm were attacked 

 by, apparently, the same disease ; but it did not spread there : 

 other specimens of plums suffering in like manner were sent to 

 the farm by various growers. 



As to the nature of the disease, some doubts must exist, for 

 the examination made by experts was not undertaken till after 

 the stock of material sufficient to render such an examination 

 satisfactory had become exhausted, and, moreover, the opinions 

 expressed by different experts did not agree. One of these was 

 that the disease was caused by the fungus Eutypella prunastri, 

 Sacc., observed on cultivated plum trees in the Rhine Valley, 

 and not uncommon on various rosaceous trees and shrubs, but 

 not known to have caused an epidemic such as that which occurred 

 at Harpenden. 



Whatever the nature of the disease may have been, its fatal 

 character and the rapidity with which it spread, must render it 

 a thing to be dreaded by plum growers; but consolation must 

 be derived from the fact that the rapidity with which it dis- 

 appeared equalled that of its appearance, and the orchard 

 where it caused such ravages up to 1898 has remained quite free 

 from the disease ever since. 



