Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1891-02-12
PEACH YELLOHS.
Growers Plead for the Extension of the
Extirpation Law.


Special Correspondcnce Of Gazette and journal
DOVER, Feb. 6.-Aboat all that the
Legislature did, of general interest, to-
day was to listen to what number Of
the leading peach growers Of Kent
county had to urge in favor Of the eX-
tension to the whole State of the opera
ton of the peach yellows act This act,
which Representative Saekctt made
his special charge two years ago and
which he pressed to victory in the face
of considerable opposition, was modelled
after the Michigan legislation which has
re-established peach culture in the State
But the Sackett law is limited to Sussex
and the southerly belt Of Kent counties,
being a district into which the yellows
had not made much nroud; there being
insurmountable Opposition, two years
ago, to its application to the rest Of Kent
county. Some Of this came from
growers who wished 10 ship "prema-
lures" and therefore objected TO the up
roofing Of diseased trees before they
had borne their dying crop; others
maintained that winter freezing aud bad
cultivation We're the chief trouble and
predicted a good crop and the graduated
recovery Of well managed orchards; Il
prediction that has proved fallaciuua
and growers here to-day say that tliis
opposition to the extension Of. the law
no longer exists.
Among the peach men present to-day
We're John J. Rosa, u. II. Bancroft, w.
L. Case, William Dyer, Glider +. jack
son, A. X. Phillips, james Davis, j,
Alexander Fulton, William salisbury,
A. II. Cahall, David J. Murphy and
others, john j. Rosa was the first
speaker, and be was followed by Messrs.
Fulton and Bancroft, while Messrs.
Higgins, Case, Cahall, jackson and
others took part i'll discussing some Of
the points brought out. II was the con
yietipn Of all that there is only one way
10 save the peach orchards Of Delaware
and that is by following The example of
Misunderstanding ont and destroying
every infected tree. II is worse than Il
waste Of time and money fol farmers to
experiment with diseased trees, because
a diseased tree in some way endangers
the whole neighborhood. Eminent scien-
fists have been laloring in vain 10 dis
cover the brigham cause of the disease.
Nobody knows whence the infection
comes or how it spreads. Sometimes it
VIII strike a tree here and there through
Il large orchard, Willie other trees re-
main unaffected; sometimes il will de-
strey isolated trees far from infected or
chards. Mr.. Rosa thought there was
about one chance in million Of some
body stumbling upon cure for the yell
lows, as did the FrenChman who iii
vented the cure for grape rot. lie
sprayed his grapes with mixture in
tended to render them unpalatuble to
the thieves who pefsistently despoiled
his Vineyards, and he observed that the
vines thus treated were cured Of the rot
But at present, all that is known is that
the culture Of the peach in Michigan,
after having been almost abandoned be-
cause OF the yellows, has regained a new
foothold through the eradication of the
disease by the enforced uprooting and
destruction Of every infected tree. Grow
ers in Sussex and lower Kent have
been benefited already by the operation
of the Sackett law, but they wish TO Sc
cure its more rigorous enforcement as
well as its eXtention northward. To
this end amendments are TO be proposed
requiring the inspection Of orchards, by
three commissioners in each hundred
who are to be paid ~ per day while on
first time in each season, between April
10Th and May 18th, and for the second
time during July and August. Every
tree condemned by the inspectors is to
be taken out as soon as possible, and it
was regarded as safer that the leaves
and green twigs should be burned on
the spot Whether the trunk and
larger branches could be safely carried
to the wood pile for use as fuel was
question that elected some difference Of
opinion. Mr.. Jackson said that in his
district that's the kind Of wood we use
now.n Mr., Corsa preferred to burn the
whole tree, roots, trunk and branches,
on the spot, since no one knows to a
certainty whether even the dried wood
may not prove source or infection;
while Mr.. Cahall raised laugh by re-
marking that he .had asked about
this because Representative Marvel
had told him that sassatras bush ashes
would sprout