THE PINE INVESTIGATION. 287 



From the information obtained from the above correspond- 

 ence with Mr. Strayer and Mr. Fisher, together with what ob- 

 servations I had made, was sufficient to convince me that a 

 very serious trouble was affecting the pines over a large area of 

 West Virginia. 



SPECIAL INVESTIGATION COMMENCED. . 



By the following spring the trouble was found to be of such 

 a serious and threatening character that it was decided to make 

 a special investigation of the trouble, and on May 23d, 1892, I 

 entered the pine region of Hampshire county for the purpose. 



The first thing to attract my attention upon entering this 

 county was the increased number of groups of dying pine on 

 the mountain slopes, and as I drove through Hampshire, 

 Hardy, Grant and into Pendleton county along the South 

 Branch of the Potomac riv^r, I had an excellent opportunity to 

 observe tfie remarkable and interesting character of the 

 trouble. 



THE CHARACTER OF THE TROUBLE DESCRIBED. 



The conditions as they were observed in the different coun- 

 ties gave a good idea of the commencement and progress of the 

 trouble. In Hampshire county groups of trees from a few to 

 fifty or more were observed upon which the foliage was turn- 

 ing yellow, had already died, or had taken on a reddish brown 

 hue, which is characteristic of the leaves of pine trees killed by 

 fire. These groups of affected trees occured all through the 

 pine forests, separated by spaces of healthy timber varying 

 from a few hundred yards to a half mile or more. The yellow 

 leaves of the dying trees, and the reddish brown of the dead 

 ones, showing in marked contrast as they occured in the sur- 

 rounding mass of green foliage of healthy trees. 



As I proceeded further up the river into Hardy a.nd Grant 

 counties, this peculiar diseased condition became more com- 

 mon. Many groups of dying and dead trees here covered one 

 to fifty acres each, and as the central portion of Pendleton 

 county was reached, nearly all of the pine on entire mountain 

 ranges was found to be dead. 



