St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1889-10-05
The Possible Prevention Of Pear Blight

Is now an absorbin@ ~ -
This has attracte { Il. l;5a,s asAsa i. scien'
tiic horticultursts for many years, hence
we cannot, perhaps, do better than give
the following extracts from correspon-
dent of the Country Gentleman, which we
commend to LIE Conte and Kietter pear
growers throughout the South:
For the few trees on my premises mao
large crop of pears last year, and FOL
this year the crop is very heavy one.
For three years [ have not seen trace Oh
blight, where for years previous had mol
been without more or less cases, SO severe
as to cost me the life of the trees. inns
exemption, and the fruitfulness OF the
trees. | attribute to the liberal application
of bone and potash fertilizers, with coplous
watering of the roots in the month OF Sep
TENDER, and a~second watering, still more
copious, in March or early in April, just
before the bursting of the buds into bios
som and leaf.
My experience is that blight commonly
appears in it's most virulent and destru c.
tive forms some time in June, when the
wood growth and foliage development are
at their best, but that it is by no means
confined to that month, and may appear as
long as the leaves are still green. Osu-
ally, too, the disease shows itself in moist,
warm weather in which thunder and light
ming play conspicuous part. Atmos-
pheric conditions like these promote rapid
growth in all vegetation, and in the case
of ripening small fruits, six or twelve
hours will sometimes do the work of full
week. These facts have led me to think
pear blight due to want of a healthy and
hearty Tapport between the radical sys-
tenn below ground and the arboral above ;
that is, larger demand for plant food is
made on the roots by the foliage than the
former are able to supply, in consequence
of deficiency of moisture in the SOIL
where the roots feed Therefore, | have
been led to this hypothesis-if it is hypo-
thesis-that deficient moisture and nutri-
ton being the cause of pear blight, sup
plying both at the proper time will prove
a preventive. Among the facts which
have led me to such conclusion are
these: In several instances where the
roots of the blight stricken subject have
been dug up and moved just after the at
tack, the earth in each case was found, II
not as dry as an ash heap, nearly so, and
this in seasons when if the rainfall had not
been copious, there was sufficient for sur
face vegetation. If blight is not confined
to young trees, it is rare on those of mid
die life, while those of great age are ex-
empt. showing, apparently, that when the
tree has sent its roots down to permanent
moisture, it is beyond the point of danger.
The gigantic and venerable pear trees
planted by the early French settlers on
the banks of the kaskaskia and Wabash
rivers, in Illinois and Indiana, few of
which have lived over one hundred and
fifty years, and come down to our own
time. were set out on the second bottoms,
and under the bluffs of those rivers where
they had moist soil always, and for
months and months wet one, but not
without Lealthful drainage.
The Canadian H"rticultur1st also reports
some bad failures with fruit crops from
disease, which has been unusually fatal
with some varieties this year. The editor
had beautiful orchard of Angouleme
pears, variety well known for its free
dom from blight. They were of bearing
size and the pride of the owner till June
of this year. But the blight visited them,
and whole rows present the appearance of
withered leaves and scorched bark, telling
tale of ruinous desolation.