ABSTRACT
The most important contribution of the English microscopists to microtechnique during the years 1860 to 1875 was the introduction of staining, especially for plant tissues. There are many excellent treatises on the histories of cytology, staining, histochemistry, plant anatomy, plant pathology, and fruit growing. The fruit industry grew in the 18th century, albeit slowly, in North America. Fruit were largely grown for personal or local consumption or for making beverages or animal feed. One of the first diseases to cause serious economic losses in the US was fire blight, which began to devastate the apple and pear orchards of Pennsylvania and New York before the end of the 19th century. Prior to 1850 there was little concern about fruit tree diseases in North America. It was only around 1860, as fruit began to be grown for fresh market purposes, that blemishes were no longer regarded as an inescapable act of “Providence”.
