asked a
lawyer what I could do about it, and after going over the question he
said that I probably was powerless.

After announcements by the Secretary, the convention took a recess until
2 P. M., at which time it was called to order by President Morris and
the regular program was resumed as follows:

The Chairman: The executive session will be held after the meeting, as
many are here to hear the paper on the chestnut blight, so we will
proceed at once to the order of business and listen to the first paper
by Mr. Rockey.

Mr. Rockey: This paper deals more particularly with the work that has
been done in Pennsylvania. But what has been done here may be considered
to be typical of what has been done elsewhere.

RECENT WORK ON THE CHESTNUT BLIGHT

KELLER E. ROCKEY

Forester in charge of Demonstration Work, Pennsylvania Chestnut Tree
Blight Commission

The history of the blight, briefly outlined, is as follows:

In 1904 the diseased condition of the chestnut trees around New York
City was noted and an examination of them showed that they were being
attacked by a disease at that time unknown. Investigations since then
have shown that the blight had been at work there and elsewhere for a
number of years before that time, but it has been impossible to
determine just when it first appeared or where. The disease was studied
and described at that time.

On display here are specimens and photographs showing the appearance of
the blight so that I will not go into that part of the subject in
detail. I hope that you will notice, however, the symptoms by which the
disease is recognized: 1st. The small red pustules which produce the
spores and, on rough barked trees, appear only in the crevices. 2nd. The
peculiar mottled appearance of the inner bark of the canker. 3rd. The
discoloration of the outer bark. 4th. The danger signals, such as
withered leaves in summer or persistent leaves or burrs in winter,
suckers which develop at the base of cankers, and the yellowish cracks
which soon appear in the bark over the cankers.

Workers in the Bureau of Plant Industry, Washington, D. C., have been
studying the blight since 1908. In the Spring of 1911, a bill creating
the commission for the investigation and control of the blight in
Pennsylvania was passed, and the active work began in August 1911. The
method upon which the Commission is working is outlined in Farmers'
Bulletin No. 467, of the Department of Agriculture, an