The Blight That Swept the Highlands
As pear trees wither overnight, local orchardists warn that only immediate, coordinated action can save the region's agricultural heart.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Within the last week, fire blight, the most deadly and destructive of all orchard diseases, has made its appearance in a large number of the orchards of this community. Wm. Kenyon of the Highlands warned, 'Unless every orchard owner in this district gets up in arms now and begins the battle against blight, every pear tree and a lot of the apple trees are going to be ravaged. Right today blight is raging in the Highland orchards like a prairie fire.' Professor Wm. Meikle emphasized that there are no 'sure cure' patent remedies, and that the only known method of control is to cut and burn all infected parts immediately and disinfect tools thoroughly. A public demonstration on how to identify and combat the disease is scheduled for Saturday at the N.P.I. company’s 40-acre orchard.
“Put a scare head clear across the front page, because I want to tell you the orchard industry of this section is facing disaster right now.”
Fire blight remains a significant, persistent threat to pome fruit production in the Columbia Basin. The urgent community mobilization described here mirrors the modern agricultural struggles Kennewick faces against invasive pests and pathogens that threaten the economic backbone of the Tri-Cities.
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