44i 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



deprived of fuel, deprived of the prod- correctly, freezes like a southern plant 

 ucts of the natural garden of God, must brought to the north, and those who 

 either degenerate, like the Siberian sav- are more resolute liee from their father- 

 ages, or flee from Russia. Our nation land to Siberia, Turkestan. Canada, 

 does both. It degenerates, or more Australia, Argentina." 



WHITE PINES MENACED 



THE white-pine blister rust has 

 such dangerous possibilities for 

 the native white-pine forests of 

 the East that the United States 

 Department of Agriculture recom- 

 mends earnestly that all trees found af- 

 fected by this disease be destroyed at 

 once. The disease is most conspicuous 

 during the month of May, and it is 

 recommended that the owners of all 

 white pines which are not definitely 

 known to have grown from seed in 

 their present location make a thorough 

 search of their white pines for this dis- 

 ease. The latter part of May is the 

 best time to search for it in Northern 

 New England and New York, while the 

 first half of May is best for Southern 

 New England and New York and 

 farther south. 



The disease appears upon white pines 

 in most localities during the month of 

 May in the form of yellow blisters 

 breaking through the bark of the main 

 stem near the ground. These blisters, 

 after a few days, break open and give 

 forth great numbers of dusty, orange- 

 yellow spores. In rare cases it occurs 

 well up on the trunk of trees which are 

 twenty to twenty-five years of age. A 

 very similar disease occtirs at about the 

 same time upon the pitch pine, but it 

 should not be confused with the white- 

 pine blister rust, as it is a native disease 

 which does not attack the five-needled 

 pines. All owners of white pines, either 

 in woodlots or in ornamental plantings, 

 should make a special search for the 

 l)lister rust of white ])ine on their prop- 

 erty. In case it is believed that this dis- 

 ease is found, specimens should be for- 

 warded to the Office of Tn\estigations 



in Forest Pathology in the Uureau of 

 I 'hint Industry, where an examination 

 will be made, free of charge, and the 

 best possible advice given regarding the 

 eradication of the disease. General, 

 active cooperation of white-pine own- 

 ers will do much to make efifective the 

 efiforts of the Department to eradicate 

 this serious enemy of the most impor- 

 tant coniferous tree of the East. 



It is estimated that at the present 

 time there are present in this country 

 over two and one-half million voung 

 white pine trees which were infected by 

 this disease before they left Europe, 

 and which are now present in this coun- 

 try. This disease has an alternate stage 

 of development upon the leaves of vari- 

 ous currants and gooseberries. It has 

 been found a number of times in this 

 country occurring upon currants. These 

 occurrences of the disease upon cur- 

 rants in this country are directly trace- 

 able to neighboring diseased white 

 pines, as the disease is quite definitely 

 known now not to be carried upon dor- 

 mant currant stock. 



Since the discovery of this disease in 

 1909, a special efifort has been made by 

 various forestry officials and horticul- 

 tural ins|)ectors of the Eastern States, 

 where the infected imported trees were 

 mostly distributed, to eradicate the dis- 

 ease everywhere that it might be found. 

 It very often occurs in ornamental 

 plantings of private estates, especially 

 upon trees less than twenty-five years 

 of age. The disease is one from which 

 the tree never recovers, so far as now 

 known ; hence it is of no advantage to 

 the owner of diseased trees to refuse to 

 remove and destrov the diseased trees. 



