11 
the pear and apple Industries in the United States. 
You will have some appreciation of the seriousness 
of this disease in California when I tell you that in 
1900 our output of dried pears was 14,550,000 pounds, 
while in 1913 it was 2,000,000 pounds. I do not know 
what the output has "been during the last two years, hut 
I do know that it has heen steadily declining all the 
time. It is only "by the expenditure of an immense amount 
of money and constant and careful work that the fruit 
growers who are still raising pears are in a position 
to hold this disease in check on their respective places. 
In the San Joaquin Valley, which sixteen years ago was 
one of the great pear producing sections of California, the 
pear has heen ahsolutely wiped out of existence, and for 
some reason for which I can give no particular explanation, 
as it was far more virulent here than elsewhere. 
To my mind there is no man better equipped to make 
this contemplated trip to China a,nd carry out the work 
of investigation than Mr. Reimer, because of the very 
close attention he has given for several years to the study 
of varieties of pears. Naturally he is more familiar with 
the various types on account of his very close association 
with them in the field than any one else could he. Under 
the circumstances, it seems to me that he is better fitted 
to bring about results more quickly than any one else who 
July 25, 1916. 
