Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 1886-1927, 1910-12-09
Second Instalmcnt.

point out more fully the reasons why
serious outbreaks OF blight occur af-
ter showers or thunder storms 1t
has been the common belief that
static discharges OF atmosphere e,ec-
trlcity have a considerable influence
upon such outbreaks. This, OF
course, is mere fancy and has nc
scientific significance whatever
Everyone knows that seed planted
in dry soil can not germinate unless
moisture is applied to It, either arti-
ficially or naturally. Now, suppos-
ing a thunder storm comes along
with heavy precipitation, or at least
sufficient precipitation to molsten
the soil about the seed; what hap
pens? The, question is so simple that
a child In the primary grade would
not hesitate In answering 1t. OF
course the seed starts into growth,
the rapidity OF its growth depending
upon the temperature following the
rainfall. Now, was 1t the rainfall or
the thunder and lightning that
caused the seed to germinate? No,
the rainfall and the warmth, and
nothing else. It has been explained
that germ or bacterlum Is also n
plant, dependent upon moisture and
heat for It's growth In a dry sea-
son an enormous number OF infec-
tions may take place, but the very
fact that the season Is dry and warm
accounts for the fact that these in
fections fail; just the same as in a
dry season a very large percentage OF
corn or any other seed put into dry
ground will fail to germinate and we
have an occasional plant coming IN,
just as we find in the case of blight,
only few infections appearing.
Everybody knows that after rain
every vegetable starts into rapid
growth, providing the weather Is
warm. Now, rapid growth in a pear
or apple tree means nothing more or
less than an enormous addition Of
water, plus food from soil and air
to 1t. Here we hove conditions fav-
orable to the growth Of the blight
germ which usese the pear or apple
as It's soil from which It draws its
water supply and its necessary food
namely starch and sugar. Just pre-,
ceding heavy rainfall, the germs
may have been distributed very wide
ly, Had dry weather continued the
fact that the germ had become wide
ly distributed would not have pe-
come apparent because countless in
fectlons would not have taken. In
very dry weather the nectaries of
blossoms soon dry, and unless germs
have gained strong foothold before
drying takes place no apparent in
fectlon results The above explana-
tion should suffice to show that the
thunder and lightning theory has no
bearing whatever on the disease
known as pear blight. Consider the
germ In the light Of seed whose
termination is dependent upon the
same geological conditions for all Of
It's growth activities.
To one who knows something Of
the theory OF the disease, the matter
OF eradication often seems very sim
pie, IL Is usually very easy thing
to write about the experiences Of 9TH
ers and to tell In considerable detail
how blight should be eradlcated and
controlled The actual field work Is
very difficult and tedious, and n
matter Of days or months Of train
ing VIII only make an expert field
man. No one can become expert af.
ter a few hours work even under
competent instruction given by a
trained man having had years OF ex-
perlence, However, we do find peo-
pie who are able to write and in.
struct without having had any ex.
perience whatever To the initiated
as well as the uninitlated, let me say
that the eradication OF pear blight is
one OF the most difficult problems
known to plant pathologists. Let no
one say that It Is a simple thing. II
Ia difficult, very difficult. The rea.
son for this difficulty is that we are
dealing with considerable amount
OF Ignorance and unbelief; again,
few farmers who have not had a
bacterlologists training, realize the
peculiar relation existing between the
organism causing the disease aud
the host plants. They fail to see
that this relation is practically the
same as that which exists between
the germ OF tuberculosis and man
On the one hand, antiseptic precau
tlons, aud the removal OF infection,
seems unimportant; on the Other
hand however, long experience with