Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1892-10-06
PEST or pEAcn TREES. r.

IFfsST Or fISSCff IhEE5.
Meeting of tho Kent County Farmers
Institute in Harrington---An Address
ON "The Peach Yeliows," by Prof.
Irwin I. Smith of Washington, u. C.---
Means of Guarding Against the Disease.
Special alCorrespoudenceOt tiazctto and journal
MILFORD, Sept. 2D.-rhe Kent County
Farmers Institute met in regular monthly
session in Harrington, yesterday after
noon, and the meeting was an unusually
largely attended one, the town hall where
the meeting was held, being comfortably
filled. The meeting was presided over by
its venerable president, Thomas Il. Coursey.
Routine business was FIRST taken mp and
quickly disposed of. The following new
members were enrolled: j. Il. l'rettyman,
John w. Poole, George y. Smalley, Frank
j. Prcttyman and William Purnell.
Immediately upon the conclusion of
routine business, the speaker of the day,
Professor Irwin I. Smith of the agricul-
cultural experiment station at Washington
was introduced and took up the subject of
the meeting, "rhc Peach Yellows."
The speaker started out with the asser-
tion that he did not believe cure could
be found for the dreaded disease. He
hoped, however one would be found some
time in the near future. II was asserted a
few years ago, he said, that Mr.. Croft, of
Washington to investigate the cure, and
after talk with Mr.. Croft about his cure,
he came to the conclusion that that gentle
man did not even know the disease when
he saw ii. This was said positively and
with all sincerity by the speaker, lie also
said, 81 showed MIR. Croft IA diseased peach
but he declared it was q healthy one. |
also provided for the treatment of some
trees with the remedy discovered by Mr..
Croft, but the trees are long since dead,
and we have found no cure yet. Nor do
believe one can be found.
II Will go step further" said he. ~
do not believe there is any fertilizer to
prevent the disease. 1t has been stated
by several prominent writers in many of
our leading agricultural papers that there
were certain fertilizers that would prevent
the disease and among them are wood
ashes. On this point went to Amherst,
Mass, to look into the fertilizer treatment
used by DR.. Gresham. Here | found that
on trees that had been dosed with wood
ashes were just as badly infected as those
that had been left entirely alone. The
doctors excuse was that enough of the
fertilizer was not used
After this' said he, II did not put any
faith in any mans statement, but went to
work to study il out. | have no faith III
the use OF fertilizers as a preventative for
the disease, Us have found from my own
personal practical experience that when
nothing is used the trees do better.
"Of course lost cases where no treat.
ment was used, but where GreSham's treat
ment was used lost more.
"'Ihe wife of MIR. Hale, the well-known
agricultural writer of Connecticut. about
year ago issued pamphlet stating that
there was no cure for the ycllows."
Mr.. smith then told of some of his ex-
periments made on this Peninsula and
especially on the farm of Mr.. Greene near
Magnolia, where he said he had used the
fertilizer experiment but found it no more
effective than in former cases
Then, again, he said, it is claimed that
by using certain kinds of stocks the dis
ease may be kept away. His experiments
had exploded that theory as he said he had
tried them all, Russian apricots, plum
roots and all and he had not found one yet
that would not take the disease.
He is OF the opinion that the disease is
conveyed from one tree to another by
birds. He also believes there is virus in
the leaves that can be carried by the wind
thereby inoculating other trees. There is
no doubt that the disease is a contagious
one, and besides the ways already men
toned of conveying the disease, the
speaker believed that it could be conveyed
by the saw or pruning knife.
After Professor Smith concluded j. j.
Rosa, who for the past year has been one
OF the commissioners in Milford hundred
but whose time has expired, offered reso-
luton to the effect that certain sections of
the peach yclluwS law be amended and
that a legislative committee he appointed
from the institute To recommend these
amendments to the next session of the
legislature. The first change recommended
by Mr.. Rosa was III section /, of the
law. lie wants II read 50 as to cover the
entire StuIp and NnNXr nsti la