Fruit Investigation, 1906. 9 
I think the blossom and twig blight in apples would tend to de¬ 
crease. Some growers have trimmed out all blighted spurs and, 
while it improves the looks of the tree enough to pay for the trouble, 
I hardly think leaving these spurs would increase the liability to 
attack the following year, as by mid-summer all blighted spurs 
are thoroughly dried and it would seem impossible for any hold¬ 
over blight to exist in them. I believe pear trees are, in the ma¬ 
jority of cases, responsible for carrying the blight through to the 
next blossoming season. 
PEACH MILDEW. 
Probably owing to the unusual amount of rain during the 
early part of the season, peach mildew has been of more impor¬ 
tance than usual. Losses from those of small per cents to those 
of total crops have been reported. Measures used in com¬ 
batting this disease should be of a preventative nature rather 
than as a cure. After the fungus has once obtained a 
good foothold on the fruit, nothing can be done to save the peach. 
The fungus may be killed, but the flesh underneath refuses to 
grow and at ripening time we have a one sided peach or a peach 
with a sunken spot on it. The disease is capable of destroying 
a crop in a short time and prompt action is important. 
Observations made in orchards where the attack was severe 
show that one thorough spraying with half-strength Bordeaux (2- 
4-50) will destroy the mildew. Thorough winter spraying of in¬ 
fested orchards with 'full strength Bordeaux should prove a very 
important safe-guard. The first appearance of the disease in 
early summer should be followed by prompt action on the part of 
the owner, and the orchard thoroughly sprayed with half strength 
Bordeaux. A week’s delay in some orchards often means a loss 
of fifty per cent of the crop and two weeks a total loss. 
GUMMOSIS. 
Cases of Gummosis in peach trees have been found occasion¬ 
ally. Gum starts to flow from the trunk or larger branches dur¬ 
ing the early part of the summer and large drops are formed on 
the bark, often reaching an inch in diameter and are nearly as 
round as marbles. In severe cases the tree dies in the latter part 
of the season. While the number of cases reported need cause 
no alarm, the loss of a single tree in an orchard does not add to 
its value, and with reasonable care, I think the loss might be avoided. 
