PRESENT STATUS OF THE WHITE-PINE BLISTER RUST. l7 



In 1911 the writer secured the only cUrect e\ddence that the fungus 

 may be carried on dormant Ribes stock that has yet been pubhshed. 

 This was the discovery of a single leaf upon an artificially inoculated 

 Ribes bush which had the telial stage upon the petiole (fig. 6) and 

 even on the slight stipules at its base. The statement ^ concerning it 

 read: 



The finding of the telento stage of the fungus affecting the stipule and bracts of 

 a Ribes leaf in the greenhouse is believed to practically prove that the fungus may 

 sometimes attack the bud scales of dormant bushes and cuttings; this very probably 

 explains the anomalous appearance of this fungus in this country upon Ribes at 

 Geneva, N. Y., and possibly in Kansas. 



It was intended to sav: "The findmg of the teleuto stage of the 

 fungus affecting the petiole and stipules * * * ^" ]^■^^^^ ]^y some 



mistake it read as above quoted. 

 Wliile this is not complete proof 

 that the fungus may occasionally 

 attack the bud tissues by way of 

 the petiole, such proof has been 

 sought by the writer and is still 



Fig. 6.-^Rihes petiole showing telial stage of Cm- lyQi^^ SOUght, not Only ill illdc- 

 nartium ribicola progressing downward from the ^ . , , . 



leaf blade. (Drawn in dry condition with a pendent experiments DUt alsO 111 



camera lucida.) experiments in cooperation with 



the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station. 



LEGISLATION. 



The various States of this country have as varied laws against plant 

 diseases as could well be devised. They range in efficiency from zero 

 to nearly perfect. A number have laws authorizing the proper State 

 official to declare and enforce quarantine against especially dangerous 

 plant diseases. This power has been used in but few cases, however. 

 In 1912 the nursery inspector of Massachusetts prohibited any fur- 

 ther importation of any 5-leaved pine stock from Europe into that 

 State because of the white-pine bUster rust. This order took effect 

 June 1, 1912. 



Soon afterward the Sixty-second Congress, in its second session, 

 passed the bill previously known as the Simmons bill for the regula- 

 tion of the importation of nursery stock, etc. This was approved and 

 became the official ''Plant Quarantine Act, August 20, 1912," this 

 being the short title for it. This is the only national legislation for 

 this purpose which has ever been enacted. Because it applies to the 

 white-pine blister rust and is so recent, a brief statement of its essential 

 features will be useful. 



Section 1 provides for the importation of nursery stock only under 

 permit from the Secretary of Agriculture. A foreign certificate of 



iSpaulding, Perley. Notes upon Cronartimii ril)ioola. Science, n. s., v. S.*), no. 891, p. 146-147, 1912. 

 [Cir. lliO] 



