e have gone. I can show you how many
trees are in each section and how many affected trees there are in that
section, or whether there are any or not. I say I can control it easier
than I can control scale and with less expense and I want that to go on
record. There is no question about it. It can be seen at my place. I go
over my groves about four times a year and have been doing it all the
time, and I don't doubt but that I discovered this disease the first of
anybody in the state, perhaps, in 1902. I was looking around to cut
scions and I saw one tree whose center was dead and around it were the
finest shoots almost that I had ever seen for grafting purposes. I went
to it and saw the center was dead. I cut some scions and today that is
one of the finest trees I've got on my place. From what I know now that
was a blighted tree.

A member: Did you paint over the scars?

Col. Sober: No sir, but we are doing it now, using white lead.

A member: How much blight is there around you?

Col. Sober: I am surrounded with it on all sides. Right up against my
groves about 17 per cent of the trees are affected. That is the report
coming from the parties inspecting now for the Blight Commission. I
shipped Mr. Mayo about four or five thousand trees this fall. I don't
suppose there were a dozen that were thrown out, thinking they were
blighted or diseased. We have records of all that up at my place. There
are some trees right here now that came from my nursery. I wish you
gentlemen could just see for yourselves; come out and see.

The Chairman: In advancing this chestnut on a commercial basis it had
better be stated that it does not blight as badly as the American
chestnut and that when blighted it can be cared for with less cost than
the apple tree. I would suggest that some such notice be sent out with
commercial stock. That would put it on the right basis so that the
chestnut would find its position, which it is not finding now because
the people are full of the blight; and if a frank, full statement of
this sort were made I believe it would be extremely important.

Mr. Rockey: I went through practically the whole extent of Mr. Sober's
orchard recently and found one infected tree. I can vouch for the
statement that he has made that he is almost surrounded by blight.

The Chairman: I have given attention to only a few of my own trees that
were blighted because I have too much else to do and too large a place,
a couple of hun