CHESTNUT BARK DISEASE. 13 
both the optimist and the pessimist, but until the chestnut is 
nearer extinction than at present, a prediction of ultimate destruc- 
tion does not seem warranted. 
WORK DONE IN CONNECTICUT. 
The work done on the chestnut blight in Connecticut by the 
Experiment Station consists of a survey of the state to determine 
the extent and seriousness of the disease, and of a ‘thorough 
inspection of a tract on the state forest in Portland for the pur- 
pose of locating and cutting out diseased trees and also a plot 
where affected trees were located, counted but not cut out. 
Besides this a large amount of laboratory work has been done 
to determine various points of scientific interest in regard to the 
life history and cultural characteristics of the blight fungus. 
The survey of the state was made by members of the Botanical 
and Forestry Departments visiting and locating the disease in 
all towns from which specimens had not already been received. 
In this survey no attempt was made to locate definitely all the 
points of infection in every town, but each town was inspected 
in a very general way to locate the disease and get an approxi- 
mate idea of the amount of chestnut. 
The work in the Portland forest consists of a thorough inspec- 
tion of a definite tract in which all infected trees are located, cut 
out, the brush burned and the infected timber removed and 
peeled. Such as is not large enough for timber is burned for 
charcoal nearby. As a check on the results obtained on this 
tract an adjacent tract is inspected, the trees counted and not cut 
out, thus showing whether the cutting out has any control on the 
disease. This has been done for two years and, while the results 
have so far been negative, this experiment must be carried on for 
a series of years to arrive at definite -conclusions. Besides this 
inspection a small amount of work has been done in the way of 
peeling or burning the infected stumps to determine the effect 
of such treatment on the sprouting of the stumps and on the 
destruction of the disease. At this writing it is too early to say 
what the results of this experiment will be. Judging from the 
time taken to do a small amount of such. work it would prove 
too expensive for the owner of timber land to undertake cutting 
diseased trees and burning the stumps. 
