400 CONNECTICUT EXPERIMENT STATION REPORT, IQI2. 
24, p.. 78): “Like the preceding one, the past summer [1911] 
has been exceptionally dry, and the heat has been intense at 
times. This drought, coming as it did after three or four 
previous dry seasons, has affected vegetation to a considerable 
extent, and will result in later injury, especially to trees.” 
Rane (54, p. 152) said: “The disease was worse where 
thinnings had been made and a few trees allowed to stand 
because they were not large enough to cut into ties. These 
forests were unbalanced, and the air and sun allowed to get 
in. The blight was on the southern side; the cankers showed 
up largely there, but in the stands where we had normal condi- 
tions we found only a diseased tree once in a while.” 
Rankin (60, p. 47), in speaking of the relation of chestnut 
blight to drought, says: “Preliminary investigations carried on 
by the speaker seem to point to the fact that the susceptibility 
of the chestnut tree to this fungus depends upon drought con- 
ditions; that is, a low water content in the tree. * * * If the 
results of Doctor Moench on the cause of susceptibility and 
immunity of forest trees to disease should prove true in the 
case of this disease also, we may hope to be able to control the 
bark disease in shade, lawn and park trees by keeping up the 
water content of the tree.” 
Dr. Caroline Rumbold (63, p. 57) states: “As for water, 
there is the question, as to whether or not droughts of recent 
years are partially responsible for the spread of the disease 
in the chestnut tree. I am now conducting experiments in 
which chestnut trees are being exposed to infection under vary- 
ing conditions, from dryness to excessive moisture, both atmos- 
pheric and soil. These experiments may also throw some 
light on the report that the blight spreads rapidly where trees 
are in a crowded coppice, while trees growing on the ridge of 
a hill are unaffected.” 
‘Fire Injury. Not only the writer, but other members of the 
Station staff, have repeatedly noticed the blight on trees injured 
by forest fires. Examination of the region has usually shown 
that the blight was much worse on the trees within the fire 
area than on those beyond it. This fungus, in the writer’s 
opinion, has not developed merely because of mechanical injury 
to the tissues, but rather because of lowered vitality of the 
inner bark and cambium. S. W. Eddy of Avon, in March, 
