1917] EDITOEIAL. 405 



upon equivalent outside contributions. No part of the appropria- 

 tion for either disease may be used in pa^^ment for trees or other 

 property injured or destroyed. 



Small increases are also provided to combat several other diseases, 

 notably root rot and similar tobacco troubles, Stewart's disease of 

 sweet corn, a new bacterial disease of wheat, cranberry rot, and 

 some of the diseases of prunes, cherries, pecans, watermelons, to- 

 matoes, lettuce, celerj', beans, and alfalfa and other forage plants. 

 Provision is also made for the organization of a plant-disease sur- 

 vey of the United States, with an allotment of $10,000. Work 

 under this line has hitherto been conducted incidental to the vari- 

 ous special inquiries in progress, and it is hoped that this centraliza- 

 tion will assist in the estimation of the economic importance and dis- 

 tribution of plant diseases, the discovery and identification of new 

 fungi, the supplying of material to investigators, and in similar waj'^s. 



The allotments for crop acclimatization and fiber-plant investiga- 

 tions have been combined and carry a total appropriation of $82,510. 

 Of this amount at least $7,500 is to be used for experiments with 

 cotton seed interbreeding, and $25,000 is for studies of the feasibility 

 of increasing the production of hard fibers, particularh'^ in the 

 Philipi^ine Islands. The item for testing and breeding fibrous plants, 

 with special reference to paper making, has been increased $5,920 in 

 order to provide for tests of flax tow as a paper-making material. 



The sugar-plant studies have been enlarged to include work with 

 sorghums. There is a net increase of $9,000 in this allotment which 

 will be used for an economic and technical investigation of the status 

 of the sorghum industry, for extending the experimental work with 

 cane sirup, and for special studies in the control of the sugar-beet 

 nematode and curly-top disease of sugar beets. 



Other increases for the bureau include $22,000 for cereal investi- 

 gations, $5,000 for a study of the biochemical basis of disease im- 

 munity in plants, $6,600 for additional work on the agricultural sig- 

 nificance of nematodes, $3,000 for seed testing, $4,500 for developing 

 methods for decreasing the losses of tobacco resulting from weather 

 conditions, $5,000 for promological studies with a special allotment 

 for work with pecans, and $7,500 for the further development of the 

 Arlington Experimental Farm. 



The foreign seed and plant introduction work receives a net in- 

 crease of $23,000, of which $8,500 is for developing methods for the 

 protection of new plant introductions ; $4,500 for improving the facili- 

 ties at the field stations at Miami. Florida, and Chico. California; 

 and $10,000 for establishing an additional station at Bellingham, 

 Washington. The Congressional seed distribution is continued on 

 the customary basis, with an allotment of $243,720. 



