The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-08-19
PEACH FELLOWS.
Report of state Commission.

The explanation is made that the re- port does not include everything which might come under either specification, put only those things which are of di- rect practical importance to every one interested in any manner whatever in the subject of peach culture:
 To clear the ground for what is to be
 said on the positive side of the ques- tion, precedence in order of statement is here given to the things not known
 about peach yellows. And, first, it is
 not known what the real nature of the l disease is. Questions directed to this point can only be answered by a state ment of its progressive symptoms and it's inevitable consequences. We only
 know that some powerful agency an tagonistic to the life of the tree is at work; that the tree is helpless in its grasp, and must not only give up its own life, but if left for the disease to work it's will upon, must also serve to spread contamination and death among it's fellows.
 Secondly, we do not know by what agency or method the contagion of peach yellows is, under natural condi- tions, spread from tree to tree. That it does so spread is as well established as any similar fact of observation can be, but whether some impalpable germ is conveyed from bloom to bloom by insect agencies, or diffused by the l movement of the air or transferred in some other way, is as yet an undiscov- cred secret.
 We do know that the contagion can be artiflcially conveyed from tree to tree by the process of budding, though it appears that mere contact is not suf- | ficient to communicate the disease, but that the diseased bud must unite and grow to the healthy stock in order to effect a transfer of the contagion. | This fact harmonizes with many others which point to the conclusion that the disease exists in the circulation of the tree, and corresponds in some measure | to what we would call blood disease among animals
 | Another thing we do not know about peach yellows is it's period of incuba- | tion, or in other words the length of l time tree may carry the infection be-
 fore manifesting symptoms of disease. | It is fairly well settled that it may be 1 CdIIlGO ONGL UilS NtetSNiis anu ddllG llhe- I ly for a longer period, but just what
 the limit of time is, or whether there is l any uniform relation of time between
 the communication of the infection and | the outbreak of the disease, belongs in | the category of unknown things. Some l day we shall know these things, or a | part of them, and this knowledge may 1 light the way to a better practice, but now we must walk according to the
 light we have
 l We turn now to a brief statement of some of the things which are known about this disease, and mention is i made first of the fact that it is conta- 1 gious By this is simply meant that It's l nature is to spread from tree to tree. It's history proves this. From a very l limited area, it has in the not lengthy l period since first known spread until now it occupies a territory in the l northeastern portion of the United
 States bounded roughly on the south by l an irregular line drawn through Mary | land, Virginia and Kentucky to the | Mississippi river; on the west by the said river, and on the north and east
 by the limits of the peach-growing re- l zion in this direction. Outside of these 1 limits it is not known to exist. Its con I tagious nature is also abundantly l proven by common observation in an l infected orchard, which is sure to be destroyed by it unless prompt and thorough measures against the spread | of the disease are taken.
 | Secondly. it is incurable. This state 1 ment is made on the basis of our pres ent knowledge. Possibly in the near or far future remedial treatment may be discovered which will restore a tree in-
 fected with the yellows to soundness and health but though consistently sought no such remedy has as yet been discovered.
 Thirdly may be mentioned the de- structive nature of this malady. II
 may take several years to utterly de- stroy the life of tree, but the destruc-
 ton of value in both tree and fruit is immediate.
 It is admitted that fruit from wig orous tree in the first stages of the dis
 ease may find a market with consumers
 who are not we'll informed as to its
 character, but whatever gain may be obtained in this manner is many times
 overbalanced by the injury resulting
 from the almost certain dissatisfaction
 of the purchaser of such fruit, and from the maintenance in each such dis
 eased tree of a source of infection ir active operation. The declaration oi our law placing both tree and fruit in
 fected with the yeIlows in the list oi public nuisances. is but the recognition
 of a fact abundantly proven by expert ence.
 Finally, it is known that the yellows | can be so far controlled and held ir 1 check as not seriously to interfere with
 success in peach culture in regions nat
 urally adapted to it. Connecticut pos
 sesses these adaptations in libera
 measure. Her soil and climate com
 bine to give the peach grown here 8
 flavor nowhere surpassed on earth
 while the one drawback of the winters
 severity is largely offset by the discov-
 cry of hardy varieties which come neal
 to insuring annual crops.
 The method of protection against the
 yellows is very simple. It consists ot
 the prompt destruction of all infected
 trees and fruit as soon as the symp-
 toms of disease manifest themselves l To be effective this practice should be
 universal over a wide extent of territo- ny, and this can be assured only by
 making it a matter of legal require
 ment. Several states in which peach
 growing is an important interest have
 passed laws upon this subject all based