Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-01-15
The Vine Pest Mr. j. Dc Barth
ShOrb ON the Issue.

The Vine Pest - Mr. J. Dc Barth
ShOrb ON the Issue.
A short time ago the Messrs. I. G.
White and George E. Freeman, of Fresno.
wrote the HERALD very caustic note
arraigning Mr.. J. De Barth Shorb, OF
this county, for having stated that the
vine pest threatened the viticultural in
terests of the State at large. They were
quite caustic, and one would suppose,
from their confident tone, that anything
like a viticultural drawback had never
been heard of in Fresno county. The
matter is of such vital Importance to the
whole of California that we treat it edi-
torially. Below we give the letter of the
Messrs. Freeman and White:
EDITORS HERALD-Our press this morn
ing states that j. De Barsh Shorb stated
Yesterday that /" the same vine disease
that is now troubling your region is ruin
Mr. Shorb could not in honor make such
a sweeping statement without the fullest
knowledge of the fact. Now the vineyard
the proof of this, at least as it relates to
this region. Such statement without
proof is an outrage against large portions
of this State. The signers OF this note
are two large vineyardists OF Fresno
quainted with the state of the vineyards
here as any other persons.
We have never heard of such dis
Il 20 l.. nd
and most extensive observation have
and feel certain that it has never been
discerned north of Los Angeles county.
Through your columns we ask Mr.. ..Shorb
to inform US on what authority he bases
his statement. If it is true We wish to
know it; if false he must at once see the
gross injustice he is doing this and other
parts of the State, and we demand that
| he should at once retract such deelara.
| tion. T. @. WHITE.
GEO. E. FREEMAN.
Fresno, January 8, 1889.
Our Los Angeles viticulturist meets
the issue raised with visor closed and
lance couchant, and it must be borne in
mind that he speaks from the stand
point of authority. He was officially di-
rected by the Viticultural Commission to
make inquiry into this threatening visi-
tation. We give his letter below:
SAN GABRIEL, January IL, 1889.
EDITORS MISUNDERSTANDING to the
foregoing open letter, that I may
be able to answer it satifac-
torily and fully, l must ask that
you republish it. 1 am sure I do not
know what paper those apparently irate
gentlemen refer to, as "our press" and
not having the statement before me to
which they refer, or knowing who has
quoted me, possibly l may fail in giving
Messrs. White and Freeman entire salts
faction, and yet I will try.
My authority for saying that believe
"the disease" was unfortunately spread
all over the State, is the microscopic
Identification of the same disease on vines
and leaves sent to US by Mr.. Isaac De
Turk, Commissioner for Sonoma District,
for examination and Identification. They
were reported on by Prof. Ethelbrit We
rolen, scientific expert in charge Of this
investigation, to the Commissioner,
which report is published in full
in the San Francisco Merchant
Of January 4th, by the author
ity of the State Viticultural Com
mission. l presume these gentlemen
have not seen the San Francisco Mer-
chant nor the San Francisco Chronicle,
which published this fact some time
about January 1st. During the month
of August last visited Sonoma county
and observed there very suspicious signs
among the vines; and calling attention
to the same, was assured that what 1
saw was the result Of "the very hot blast !"
and nothing more. AS 1 have invested
in the L" must business" along with my
associates about $l9O,000, and the plant
is located at Geyserville, Sonoma County,
depending upon the vineyards there to
supply the grapes for our business, 1 am
surely interested directly in the vine
interest of that county, and view with
deep concern all that may in any wise
affect the same. Profs. Scribner and
Violo are reported as saying the same
disease is in Napa; nor does Mr.. Crug.
Commissioner for the Napa district,
deny that q disease at least similar was
located there. As no leaves nor canes
have been examined from Napa, this
report lacks scientific determination.
Mr.. G. G. Hagar, of Orange, known by
all in this county as gentleman of great
intelligence and entire reliability, in
formed me that Mr.. Robert Mcpherson,
of Orange, who has suffered severely from
"the disease" and who has been study
ing it closely for the past three years in
his own vineyards, had recently returned
from visit to Fresno and reported that
'the disease" Was also there in the vine-
yards. I think mentioned this fact to
Mr.. George West, Commissioner of the
Stockton District, at the semi-annual
meeting of the Board. He is largely in.
terested at Minturn in Fresno county,
and l am sure he took no offence at the |
If Messrs. White and Freeman "never
heard of such disease" ''north of Los
Angeles county," they simply convict
themselves of want of knowledge which |
they might easily have obtained in read
ing the Merchant, Examiner or Chronicle.