Crown Gall. 
5 
case of a mixed orchard, the disease may not spread from stone 
fruits to apples and pears, or vice versa. 
The disease does not seem to be so destructive in most sec¬ 
tions where irrigation is not practiced, consequently many nur¬ 
serymen give it no attention, or are entirely ignorant of the sub¬ 
ject. That crown gall is abundant in such nursery districts is 
proven by the fact that but few shipments of nursery stock are 
ever received from points outside of the State that are entirely 
free from the disease. One County Horticultural Inspector de¬ 
stroyed two car-loads of trees in one season, largely because they 
were infected with crown gall. Most of our inspectors are 
equally rigid in their examinations, but it is impossible to detect 
all diseased trees, especially where the disease has just started. 
Prof. Tourney goes so far as to say : 
Every tree that comes from an infested nursery is dangerous, and when 
such trees are planted, great chances are taken. 
And again: 
If bundles of trees are received having a few with galls upon them, it is 
not safe to simply throw out the visibly diseased ones. There is no reason why 
the remainder of the bundle should not have the infection upon them from con¬ 
tact with diseased trees, and the whole should be destroyed. 
The following extract from Bulletin No. 191 of the State 
Experiment Station of New York, may be taken as representing 
the general attitude of nurserymen toward the disease : 
We find crown gall not uncommon in the nurseries in western New York, 
but we know of no case where it has caused material loss. * * * Usually nur¬ 
serymen discard the worst affected trees. 
So long as the disease is not serious in their own locality, the 
nurserymen see no reason why they should go to the expense and 
trouble necessary to eradicate it, consequently the disease has 
spread, gradually, until it is quite common in many of the nur¬ 
sery districts. 
The Experiment Station occasionally receives letters from 
nurserymen protesting against the destruction of their stock. 
One firm thought that fraud was being practiced when their trees 
were rejected, as they had never heard of this disease. Another 
nurseryman sent 100 high priced trees to the Experiment Station 
which were all condemned by the Inspector. This gentleman 
claimed that the galls, many of which were as large as one’s fist 
(Plate III.), were due to a characteristic varietal growth, and not 
to a disease. 
The best remedy for most plant diseases is preventative rather 
than curative, therefore the best line of treatment for crown gall 
would be, first of all, to buy nursery stock from nurseries that are 
known to be free from the disease. And in this connection it is a 
pleasure to state that, so far as is now known, all the nurseries of 
this State are free from crown gall. 
o 
