CIbe national nurseryman 
FOR GROWERS AND DEALERS IN NURSERY STOCK 
The National Nurseryman Publishing Co., Incorporated. 
Vol. XXII. ROCHESTER, N. Y., SEPTEMBER, 1913 No. 9 
THE DISCOVERY OF THE CHESTNUT BARK 
DISEASE IN CHINA 
By DAVID FAIRCHILD, In Charge of Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction, Dept, of Agriculture 
Mr. Frank N. Meyer, Agricultural Explorer of the Office 
of Foreign Seed and Plant introduction of the Depart¬ 
ment of Agriculture, during his first exploring trip in northern 
China, 1905-1908, visited the Pang Shan region east of 
Peking. He reported upon the existence there of con- 
among the chestnut trees from which he gathered chestnuts 
for introduction into this country. 
When it was announced that Mr. Meyer would make a 
second expedition to north China, the question was raised 
by Drs. Metcalf and Shear, of the Office of Forest Pathology, 
Skinner Overhead Irrigation System. One-year Own Root Roses. A Part of the Block not Covered by this System. The Difference in 
Growth in Favor of Irrigated Portion is Very Marked. Chase Bros. Co., Rochester, N. Y. July, 1913 . 
siderable quantities of wild chestnuts, where they “grow 
wild on the slopes of rocky mountains. * * * It is 
mostly found in groves, growing among rocks and bould¬ 
ers, and.even in its wild state it varies considerably in the 
size and flavor of its nuts and the spininess of the burrs. 
The Chinese name for the wild form is San li tze,*” otherwise 
spelled Shan-li-tze. At the time of Mr. Meyer’s explora¬ 
tion in the Pang Shan region, there was comparatively little 
interest in this country in the chestnut bark disease, and 
not being a plant pathologist, he did not look for the disease 
*A'Ieyer, Frank N. Agricultural Explorations in the Fruit and Nut 
Orchards of China, Bulletin No. 204, Bureau of Plant Industry, p. 52, 
March 25, 1911. 
as to whether or not Meyer might be requested to search 
for the disease among these Chinese chestnuts. On February 
26th, 1913, therefore, at Dr. Shear’s request, Mr. Meyer was 
asked to make a research for the disease, and in order to 
inform him specifically as to what to look for, specimens 
of the diseased bark were sent him. 
On June 15th, 1913, the American legation cabled the 
State Department as follows: “Meyer requests the legation 
to report that he has discovered chestnut bark fungus. 
Seems identical with American form.” 
On June 28th a letter was received from Mr. Meyer, 
written June 4th from a Chinese inn in an old dilapidated 
town to the northeast of Peking, between Tsun hua toho 
