The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1915-10-22

demonstrated in other States that
blight can be controlled, and that it l.
feasible and practical to control IL
However, it is necessary for the orch
hrdist to have an accurate knowledge
or the essential facts concerning the
cause, spread and control Of the dis
ease
Spread or Blight.
Blight is caused by a microscopic
germ which lives in the tissues Of the
tree. 1T lives over winter in those in
fected parts Of the tree that do not dry
out As long as they remain moist
the organism can live, but Ii they dry
out at any time the germ dies. Those
parts that carry it over winter are
called "hold-over cankers." Only
relatively small number Of the cank,
ers are hold-over cankers, because the
dead bark or the canker often breaks
away from the living bark, thus cut.
ting the supply of sap off from the
canker I'm such cases the canker
readily dries out and the germs die.
This is more common in apples than
In pears, for pears are usually more
susceptible to the disease than apples;
and, too, the diseased bark Of pears
does not break AWAY from the healthy
bark as readily as In apples. Hold
over cankers are, therefore, more com.
mon i'm pear trees than in apple trees.
For this reason few old pear trees
very often constitute the source Of in.
lection for adjacent orchards.
From the hold-over cankers In the
spring yellowish, sappy substance
oozes out through the bark This sub
stance contains countless numbers OF
the germs. 1t Is visited by flies and
other insects, some of which later
visit the flowers and tender twigs,
leaving the germs on whatever they
happen to come in contact with by
this means, the germs are carried to
the nectar in the flowers where they
increase in number very rapidly, 20
that bees visiting these infected flow
ers get the germs on their mouth parts
and their feet and carry them from
flower to flower dropping the germs
wherever they happen to alight- In
few days the disease can thus be
widely spread in an orchard, although
It may have been confined to very
few hold-over cankers a week before
1T II the hold-over cases then that b.
come Of prime importance in the dis
tribution of the disease.
Control or Blight.
All cases OF hoId-over blight must be
cut out of all pomaceous trees in the
orchard and in the immediate vicinity
between late summer and the begin
ming of growth the following spring.
This includes practically ali infected
parts or pear and ounce trees. and all
cankers and branches that have not
previously dried out or the apple, crab
apple, service berry, hawthorn and
mountain ash, both cultivated and
wild . canizer is treated by cutting
out all the affected bark with knife
and gouge. or it may be removed by
cutting Of the branch just below the
caHker. In those cases where the
whole branch has died, the branch
should be removed few inches below
the diseased tissue I'm spring and
summer the tender sprouts from the
trunk and larger branches can be
shipped OH best with the fingers with
out danger OF reinfection. The tools
used and the wounds made, must al
ways d. sterilized after treating every
case to prevent reinfection. This Is
done by wiping them with cloth or
sponge wet with The sterillzing solu-
ton which I'D carried In bottle In the
pocket
I'm addition 10 The above, wherever
blight has been severe, II IL not nd
visabls to use fertilizers or practice
summer tiIlaEe and winter pruning
for anything that stimulates rapid or
prolonged growth tends to make the
tree more susceptible to the attack Of