THE BLIGHTS OF CONIFEROUS NURSERY STOCK 



65 



essary for the people who are reallv 

 interested in the subject as protectors 

 of trees to organize their forces into an 

 intelligent association, consisting of the 

 owners of timber or their representa- 

 tives, be that ownership private, State 

 or national. These conditions supplied 

 the primal reasons for the birth and 

 growth of this great organization. 



''This association, being made up of 

 the bulk of the intelligent, organized ef- 

 fort for the prevention of forest fires 

 in the territory which it covers, has 

 been enabled to draw to itself most of 

 the potent factors necessary to its suc- 

 cess by the natural laws of gravitation. 

 We began by placing attractive litera- 

 ture on the subject in all the district 

 schools, thereby educating the children 

 along right lines, and they in turn edu- 

 cated their parents. Now the first 

 smoke that appears is instantly reported 

 to one of our rangers by the first per- 

 son that discovers it, over some unit of 

 the network of telephone lines which 

 we have constructed through the tim- 

 bered district, and one or more of the 

 great army of workers jumps on the 

 fire and puts it out. Our rangers repori; 

 to the country newspapers, and through 

 this medium a live interest in the sub- 

 ject of forest protection is steadily kept 

 in the public mind. The careless 

 camper and logger and the heedless far- 



mer is kept reminded of the duty he 

 owes to the public and to the laws of 

 the land regarding the unlicensed fires 

 he sets in carrying on his operations. 



"We recognize as a self-evident truth 

 that trees were created for the use of 

 man, and that when a forest becomes 

 ripe it should be cut without waste and 

 used, so that nature can get to work 

 on the new growth and perfect a new 

 forest for future generations. We are 

 not so much concerned in saving tim- 

 l)er for generations yet unborn as we 

 are in saving our present crop from 

 useless destruction, harvesting it intel- 

 ligently and starting the new crop grow- 

 ing and protecting the new growth. 

 Nature will still grow new trees if we 

 keep the fires out and just let her work. 

 Prevent and put out the small fire and 

 you will have no large fires." 



Reports on fire conditions in their 

 \arious districts were made by officials 

 of the various fire-protective organiza- 

 tions of Oregon, Washington, Califor- 

 nia, Idaho, and Montana, as well as 

 Government officials of the United 

 States and Canada, and there were sev- 

 eral addresses on other phases of for- 

 estry. There was a most gratifying at- 

 tendance both from the United States 

 and Canada, and the conference was in 

 every way a splendid success. 



THE BLIGHTS OF CONIFEROUS NURSERY STOCK 



A NUMBER of difl^erent blights, 

 concerning which little has been 

 known, do considerable damage 

 to conifers in nurseries in tlie 

 United States, according to Bulletin 

 No. 44, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. 

 Department of Agriculture. The in- 

 creasing amount of forest planting and 

 the danger that imported stock jwill 

 bring in serious tree diseases make it 

 especially important that methods of 

 controlling these blights be found in 

 order to encourage the growing or 

 planting stock in this country. 



Sun scorch is the commonest sum- 

 mer trouble among nursery stock. The 



roots of the plants aft'ected die before 

 or at the same time as the tops. Death 

 is caused by excessive water loss. It 

 usually occurs when the air is hot and 

 dry and the soil around the roots is 

 dry. The disease is worse on sandy 

 soils in crowded beds and on raised 

 parts of beds. On sandy soils it may 

 kill suddenly and in definite patches. 

 Successful preventive measures that 

 have been tested by the department are 

 watering, shading and avoidance of 

 crowding. In nurseries located on 

 mineral soils the humus content should 

 be increased. 



Winterkilling, another disease, causes 



