
          379

the colony, has now become the rarest.  It 
is no exaggeration to say that by the destruction
of the peach, the value of the yearly food supply
of the colony has been diminished to the
extent of several thousand pounds [£].

The first symptoms of peach-blight are
usually exhibited after cold winds during the
flowering season and before the full development
of the leaves.  The ovaries swell
until the young fruits attain the size of a
large pea, when a sudden arrest of growth
takes place & they drop from the trees, in
many cases not even a solitary fruit being
left.  The leaves also fall away without
attaining their full development.  At or
before this time orange colored dots or punctures,
doubtless of a fungoid nature, are
formed upon the young twigs, and in some
instances become corifluent, ultimately
leading to the disintegration of the bark,
followed by an exudation of gum at the
affected parts.  The buds decay and become
infested with thrip [thrips] or other insects to a greater
or less extent, the bark becomes shriveled, &
the affected shoot dies.  As a general rule, the
lowest branches are affected before the upper.
Sometimes the tree is killed by the first attack, but
usually, on the approach of autumn, new
leaves are produced towards the tips of the young
shoots. [begin left margin text] 
Can this be due to Puccinia pruni? [end left margin text]
Although in many cases the new leaves
are attacked by a fungus, the plant seems, in
a fair way for recovery, but in the following
spring the same sequence of incidents occurs,
& sooner or later the tree dies.

"All the symptoms enumerated afford
evidence that the constitution of the plant
has become weakened; the vital processes
are not properly performed, so that the plant
        