HEARINGS BEFORE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE. 105 
them all in our selections and get the chief thing first, and then work 
to the finer points later. 
The next point on which we would like to have an increase is cran- 
berry diseases. The cranberry industry is a large industry in certain 
States, namely, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin. The out- 
put of cranberries is very great, but many of the bogs have been 
attacked by a serious disease, known as the ‘‘scald.” This disease 
attacks the fruit as it ripens, and rots it. The New Jersey Experiment 
Station studied the trouble for a long time, and finally appealed to us 
for help. We sent a man up there, and we believe that we have now 
discovered the real cause of the disease and the means of controlling it. 
We want to put several men in the cranberry bogs to carry out ona 
practical scale the operations which we think will solve the problem. 
We are spending $600 on that cranberry work this season and want to 
increase it to $1,100. 
The next line of work is on orchard fruit diseases. We have one 
athologist and two assistants who are giving their attention to orchard 
fruits—apples, peaches, pears, etc. At the present time we have 
three diseases on which we are working particularly, and upon which 
we want to work with special vigor next year. One of these is the 
pear blight, which has already wiped the pear out of certain sections 
of the country, and which also attacks the apple. It is a bacterial 
disease, which gets into the blossoms and runs down the branches into 
the limbs and into the trunk of the tree, often killing it. It is known 
only in this country, and is the cause of great loss. We have found a 
method by which we can eradicate that disease, but it must be carried 
os under expert supervision until the orchardist learns just how to 
o it. 
The Cuarrman. What is the nature of the operation? 
Mr. Woops. It is cutting out the hold-over blight. The difference 
between healthy and diseased tissue is only a slight difference in the 
shade of color, and it takes an expert to pick it out. 
The Cuarrman. Spraying does not affect it? 
Mr. Woops. No; not at all. We have demonstrated our method 
on a commercial scale in Georgia and Texas. 
Mr. Bowrs. Will it pay for itself, after deducting the expenses of 
the experts? 
Mr. Woops. Yes. The cost of the operations is not one-tenth of 
1 per cent of the value of the crop saved. It is like giving the 
orchard one more plowing. In our experimental plot in Texas we 
saved about $10,000 worth of fruit on the pruned part of the orchard, 
while there was a complete loss of fruit in the untreated plot. ; 
Now, as to peach rot, which is one of the most serious peach dis- 
eases in the world, and the bitter rot of the apple, which for two years. 
past has caused the destruction of over $10,000,000 worth of fruit. 
These diseases can undoubtedly be checked by the proper application 
of methods already known. We want to send men into the field and 
determine if this can be done. We ask an increase of $2,000 for this. 
We are now using $6,800 for this work. 
Mr. Scorr. You speak of the apple blight having caused the loss of 
$10,000,000 in the last two years? 
Mr. Woops. Yes; the bitter rot has caused that much loss. ; 
Mr. Scott. Is that a guess, or have you some means of knowing 
with accuracy ? 
