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TWENTY-NINTH FRUIT-GROWERS' CONVENTION. 



the hardiest varieties, although they show various degrees of resistance 

 to its action. Hence, as already stated, the most resistant top should 

 be placed upon the hardiest known root in grafting against the malady. 



PROF. PIERCE. I would like to call attention to one thing which 

 I have not mentioned in my paper, and as this is, to some extent, a 

 meeting of Fresno growers, it ought to be spoken of. Something has 

 weakened many of the vineyards about Fresno. Many vines lost their 

 leaves last fall much earlier than they should have lost them. It is 

 apparently not a local cause, but quite general. I looked over this field 

 some weeks ago, and the only thing that I can fix upon as general 

 enough to be responsible for the appearances noted is the lowering of 

 the water-table. Colonel Forsyth has called my attention to that 

 condition, and other leading growers agree with him in respect to the 

 lowering of the water-table, and I believe that the vineyards of this 

 region have been materially weakened in the last year or two, probably 

 within the last year largely, through that cause. This section of the 

 valley has been very well filled with water for several years back, and 

 the vines have established a surface habit of growth, and now that the 

 water-table has been lowered they have suffered, in my opinion at least. 

 This seems to me to be the only plausible explanation. This may not 

 result in widespread death of vines, but it has a weakening influence 

 which prepares your vineyards for an attack of a very serious disease, 

 the one about which we have been reading. The vines here at Fresno 

 are now in a condition where, if the cause of that disease should be 

 introduced, you might lose your vineyards generally, so that I would 

 caution the growers to try and bring back the old conditions, to a 

 reasonable extent, as carefully as possible; do not overdo it, do not 

 bring the water up too soon, but bring it back somewhere near the 

 original level, if possible, and in the future be as careful as may be 

 that this condition is not repeated, because in southern California, in 

 the Sacramento Valley, and in the Santa Clara Valley the weakening 

 of the vineyards preceded this epidemic disease which has stripped 

 those regions of vines. This is simply a caution. I don't believe that 

 you have the disease here at present, and I will give you one of my 

 reasons for so believing. The Lenoir vines growing out east of town 

 are affected as much as other vines with the trouble, and I know, from 

 my extended observations throughout the State where this California 

 vine disease prevails, that that variety is almost absolutely resistant, 

 so that you have something else troubling your vines. If it is not the 

 lowering of the water-table I can not explain it. Just how low the 

 ground water should be I think depends on the habits of your vines. 



MR. KNOX. You speak of the lowering of the water-table here. I 

 know that in the majority of places around here it has been thirty 



