Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1892-08-11
DISEASED PEiCH TREES.


a Grower Who Does Not Believe in the
Pulling Up of the Trees as Cure.
smyrna Times, August Sd,
feel some heStanGy in promulgating
an opinion antagonistic to the gentlemen
who advocate pulling ont the diseased trees
as q means Of eradcating the disease or,
IN their language, stamping ii OUT and
especially should ! hesitate as this is in
accordance With the scientist whose special
duty 1t is to investigate this subject. Never
theless, as the scientist is unable to tell lis
the cause Of the disease and how trans
mitted, we have the right to our own
opinion in the matter, and while we are
willing 10 admit that with our present
knowledge of the disease it is useless to let
a diseased tree remain where unmistakable
signs Of yellows are present.
| at the same do not believe that the dis
ease can he stamped out in this way unless
the last tree in every orchard on the PENN
slla is pulled out and remain out for sew
eral years, In that case | think we might
again have profit, fruit and profitable or
chafds. But this can be done only by
common consent. | have five orchards,
four of them about 1900 trees each, and
one two years old. For the public good
and coming generation, | would agree to
pull out the last tree if this could be uni
versally adopted over the whole Peninsula
II is barely possible with our present
arrest the disease, and without this our
grip on the peach market is done for and
we will do well to devote our land TO some
thing else.
IL may be well for me to give my reasons
for the opinion expressed at the beginning
OF this article, viz: that the disease cannot
be stamped out by pulling out diseased
trees AS long as there are other trees re-
naming in our orchard.
planted a small family orchard soma
years ago. II bore one good crop of perfect
frult, The next year there was one limb
that prematured the fruit Now If the
scientist or anyone else can tell me WHY
that limb prematurcd, we will then be on
the road to discovery. There was no other
orchard within half a mile or more. If
the disease was transmitted that distance
it would seem useless to pull out the trees
with the expectation Of stamping il out.
Other trees III this orchard developed the
disease the next year, and the pulling out
process then begun has finished the
orchard some years ago. In the meantime
planted several other orchards. One at
home and one on the place tenanted by
Mr.. Wharton.
The trees have been going out of NV
home orchard at the rate Of about 100 Il
year, and this year there are several hum
dred that will be pulled out Mr., Whar-
toms orchard began 10 premature rs soon
or before IL commenced To bear at first Il
few trees, the next year about so and now
the commissioners have marked $50. At
this rate Of increase, one or two years
more will stamp tile orchard out whether
the disease is stamped out or not. This
orchard last year bore near 1000 baskets
OF marketable fruit and several hundred
baskets of premature fruit. some of il fine
| i'll SIZE and outward appearance. But we
| do not market it and such fruit should not
be marketed in any case
The disease must be somewhat like some
diseases in the human family-epiClemic
i'll its character. III other words, inde.
| pendent of any immediate local cause,
otherwise, where did my first tree get the
| disease? Ii it is floating in The iltmos-
! phere, it would seem to be folly to expect
to stamp it out until every tree on the
Peninsula is pulled out and remain out
| until the atmosphere is purified and robbed
oil it, deleierious influences.
| My experiments in treating the trees
| with chemical washes have moi been at all
| satisfactory though some trees that were
| badly dressed, SHOW maricd Improvement
| while others do not. Net intend if life
and health permit TO continue them Tor q
| year or 50 longer | have moi vet gone
through the course laid out which pro-
pose To do later in the season. If we
should have peaches next season the trees
Will then show whether they have been
benefited or not. II nothing can be Ascer-
tanned in this way the sooner our orchards
are removed the better. +. b. q.
SPRING MILLS, July Both.