4 Donald Reddick and V. 13. Stewart 



other factors, e.g., nutritional defects, and secondary parasitisms," and 

 it is to be expected, therefore, that climatic conditions, soil conditions, 

 and various other factors may enter to cause even greater variations in 

 different regions than would result if only the one complication were 

 involved. For this reason, regional tests must be made to determine 

 the destructiveness of the disease for any particular set of conditions. 



In this connection it is to be recalled that some years ago F. C. Stewart 4 

 stated before a convention of fruit growers that "in New York, at least, 

 apple crown gall is an unimportant disease." Stewart cites the C. H. 

 Stuart orchard at Newark, New York, as an example. It has been 

 objected that C. H. Stuart was engaged in the nursery business at the 

 time when the orchard was set (the inference being that he was therefore 

 not disinterested), and that apparently no healthy trees were set for 

 comparison. The former fact practically assures that the trees really 

 had crown-gall disease, and the latter is a natural mistake sometimes 

 made by others than merely practical men. 



The controversy concerning the number of trees originally set in the 

 Stuart orchard, and particularly the question as to whether one hundred 

 of the original trees died, possibly from crown-gall, led one of the writers 

 (R) to visit the orchard. The following facts were either ascertained 

 from E. V. Pierson (the present owner and a son-in-law of C. H. Stuart), 

 or determined by personal observation. The orchard is one and a half 

 miles directly north of Newark on Main Street. It is on the right-hand 

 side and a little back from the road, and is permanently marked by a large 

 stone some three feet in diameter which lies at the southwest corner. 

 The exact limitations of the original planting of galled trees cannot be 

 determined. There are more than a thousand trees in the orchard, all 

 apparently of the same age and of the same general appearance. The 

 block, therefore, constitutes a satisfactory experiment, because at least 

 as many gall-free trees were used as trees bearing galls. The number of 

 galled trees planted originally is of little consequence, but Mr. Stuart's 

 statement to F. C. Stewart may be accepted as the more likely number, 

 namely, 500 trees. The galled trees in particular constitute a mixed lot 

 of varieties. Baldwin, Greening, Sutton, and Ben Davis were recognized, 

 and others are present. The remainder of the orchard seems to be some- 

 what mixed, also. The experiment indicates that, to date, crown-gall 

 has done no material damage. Allowing for the numerous varieties set 

 indiscriminately, the orchard is pronounced "average" by W. H. Chandler, 

 Professor of Pomolog3 r at Cornell University. Trees have died here 

 and there and have been replaced. Excepting for a wet area which 

 scarcely could have been included in the block of galled trees, the number 

 of missing trees is not greater in one area than in another. 



♦Stewart, F. C. Interesting facts about crown gall of apple and peach. West. New York Hort. Soo. 

 Proc. 53:97-98. 190S. 



