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[Freehold, Monmouth Co., N. J.]
Jan. 28th. 1888.

Mr. E. F. Smith,

Dear Sir:

In answer to your letter with regard to peach
yellows, I would say that they still exist to some extent with us,
be we believe the disease here is entirely the fault of our nursery
men in planting the pits of sickly fruit.  If we procure
good sound trees, we have no fear of the yellows, but if a few
sickly trees are left in an orchard as the roots intermingle others
will become diseased by them, so we cut out those that seem to be
diseased.  Our orchards are very healthy now, and trees long-lived,
bearing as one of my orchards has done, 11 successive crops,
trees now full of buds and looking well.  I do not think <s>that</s> the disease
you describe does harm to an orchard until the sickly roots
have grown large enough to disease others,* then if not cut out, the
whole orchard  will be affected.  We have never been without the
disease in this Co. but orchards are much more healthy and longer
lived than they were 25 or 30 years back.  They seemed to have
run out at one time but are doing well now.

Yours respectfully

David S. Wyckoff
Monmouth Co.,
New Jersey

*In the young orchard of J. Alex. Fulton, Dover, Del.,
<s>the trees set &</s> the trees are set 40 ft. apart & yet quite
a good many of these have the yellows.
        