ENDoTHIA CANKER OF CHESTNUT 595 
drought-injured bark and limbs, hail, and other mechanical injuries, 
and the like. 
The writers have proved, through thousands of inoculations made in 
the States of Pennsylvania and New York, that the healthiest trees are 
entirely susceptible. Winter-injured trees, even if dead, could not be 
more susceptible. 
Anderson and Babcock (1913) were unable to find any conditions under 
which one tree is more susceptible than another. One of the writers 
of this bulletin (Rankin, 1914) has shown by a careful series of inocula- 
tion and growth studies, along with accurate determinations of the water 
and air content of the bark, that in 1912, at least, no connection between 
drought and change in susceptibility was found. The majority of the 
inoculation work reported in the same paper was performed on coppice 
growth which had grown from trees cut about five years previously. 
These trees had not, therefore, been subject to the severe winters which 
Clinton has claimed, predisposed the chestnut. Inno way were the results 
of inoculations made on this five-years-old coppice any different from those 
made on older trees. In cutting several trees near Napanoch, a few were 
found that showed a dead area which may have been produced by the 
severe winter of 1903-1904. In one case the injured area had decayed, 
leaving a ring-shake. In other trees no injury was apparent. No 
difference in susceptibility, however, was noted. 
The writers would summarize their belief, based on observation and 
experiment, that, without regard to any ecologic relations, the native 
chestnut is entirely susceptible because of the parasitic potentialities of 
the fungus, which have not heretofore had an opportunity to be demon- 
strated. 
CONTROL 
METHODS THAT HAVE BEEN ADVOCATED 
Merkel (1906: 101-103) attempted to control the disease in the New 
York Zodlogical Park, where he first discovered it. In the summer and 
fall of 1905 he had all the diseased limbs removed from four hundred 
and thirty-eight trees, and the trees’ were then sprayed with bordeaux 
mixture. Only one application was made. No further report appeared 
on this experiment except the statement of Murrill (1906 b:205): “ An 
attempt was made by Mr. Merkel, chief forester at the Zodlogical Park, 
to control the disease by spraying, but I believe he considers the condition 
quite hopeless. Practically all of the chestnut trees within his jurisdiction 
appear to be dying rapidly.” 
Murrill (1906 a:152-153) was the first to give advice on control, his 
advice being as follows: 
