Peach Blight.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume XVIII, Issue 1700, 29 June 1885, Page 3

Peach Blight.

The foil..wing letter mi the subject of peach blight apj ears in the Auckland btar;-Mr,—ln the papers I see lots of notices ab-.ut Professor Kirk's commission re peach blight m the Waikato and other pans, and 1 think it compdete folly on the part of tlic Ministry or whoever authorised this inquiry, this'" cold tea” way of assisting the country. I call it "fooling, to trot Protessor Kirk round at this time ot the year when there is nothing but bare twigs to be seen, and not many of those. Every settler in the Waikato can bear testimony that the trees are dead, or half dead and no fruit, and all of your cot respondents have been lamenting tha loss, and describing the blight for Ihree or four years. If the Government wish to assist, which it is their duty to do, let cm depute some scientist to reside here, let him have the most powerful microscopa obtainable, and thus he ~n the- spot whe-n the disease appears in the spring, to thoroughly examine trees and affected brandies and try experiments for cure (we know the disease, ,ve want the cure). I wi.i willingly place one or twenty trees of different ages at the disposal of the Government to experiment upon—live trees that have been fading for several y ears or forward brandies for exauiiiia-ti'-n. Peeking for the disease now is Very mudi ,ike i - king f.,r the cause of death Oi. a skeleton that had succinubed to smallpox go years a -,-.