FRUIT REPORTS. 
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Insects and Diseases — Neither apples or peaches suffer to any considerable- 
extent from insect enemies in this State. The common enemies of the tree 
and fruit are the only ones worthy of note. The apple suffers from 
borers at the root and in the trunk. Trunk borers, being both the common 
round headed and flat headed, together with Scolytus rugulosus. The woolly 
aphis is one of the worst pests on young stock. The foliage suffers greatest 
damage from the green aphis, particularly upon young trees, 'while the tent 
caterpillar is most annoying upon older trees. 
Insects troubling the fruit of the apple are few outside the codling moth. 
Here the curculio is less injurious than in New York. The diseases are the- 
blight of the twigs; the rust on both fruit, branches and leaves; the scab on 
leaves and fruit. The leaves also suffer largely from brown spot(Phyllosticta 
pirina), in the southern apple growing regions. 
From nearly all quarters complaint comes to us of trees dying at the root. 
This is not confined to young stock, but seems to be common to both young 
and old. The disease is of fungous origin, but, so far, no one has worked 
out its character or life history. In the advanced stages a whitened 
growth is found under the bark and adhering to the wood. When the tree 
dies, or before, the bark cleaves loose and frequently falls off in an irregular 
line around the body, leaving the dead and hardened sap wood exposed. In 
some cases this condition is undoubtedly induced by root aphis, but in others 
there is no trace of early insect injury and the disease seems to start without 
previous cause. We are giving this trouble special attention with a view to- 
finding some successful remedy. 
Peaches are, up to the present, free from yellows; a small percentage of 
fruit being lost from the monilia where careful attention is not given to thin- 
ning. The trees during early years are subject to the ravages of the peach 
tree borer. Up to the present, however, the Scolytus has been found only 
in the extrememorthern part of the State, and few trees have been killed by it. 
Grapes have few insect pests, but suffer severely in most sections from 
mildew and black rot. At present the grape industry is limited to small plan- 
tations near the larger cities and towns, for the purpose of supplying a local 
demand, and to a few large vineyards planted exclusively for wine pur- 
poses. There are no evaporators making a business of drying fruit in our 
State to my knowledge. This is a promising field for such enterprises. 
There are several canneries and preserving factories doing a large business 
in fruit and vegetables. 
The State is also well provided with cold storage facilities, both at the- 
orchards and in the cities. 
In regard to hardiness or the influence of climate upon fruits, the sweet 
cherries and Japan plums are the two classes which give most trouble. The 
cherry grows to perfection only on the higher plateaus of the mountains ; 
while the Japan plum has a much wider range, yet it suffers from' too early 
blooming in many localities. Varietal differences and a better knowledge 
of the demands of this fruit will undoubtedly overcome this drawback for 
most fruit growing regions. 
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