COMMENT. 



It is incumbent on the Editor to refer once more to the subject 

 of the White Pine bhster rust on imported seedhngs. The stric- 

 tures made on the stock introduced from the nurseries of Heins 

 Sons were submitted to that firm for their explanation. They 

 reiterate that their present stock is free from disease, but de- 

 clare that they '"have decided to ship no further White Pine to the 

 United States until we have a certificate from a German official 

 pathological bureau about our stock." 



At the same time wisdom forbids any slacking of the effort to 

 keep a watchful eye upon importation, and to keep the disease out. 



If the old saying is true that a cause which has no antagonists 

 or fault finders is dead, we have lately had occasion to congratu- 

 late ourselves on the F. O. being still alive. Fortunately the fault 

 was found mainly in extraneous matters, poor proofreading, lack 

 of form, and lack in discrimination as regards advertisements. 

 When we explained that the shortcomings are due to the fact 

 that the enterprise, although now in its tenth volume, is still a 

 mere labor of love entailing an annual deficit of one to two hun- 

 dred dollars, and that all the work must be done by volunteer labor 

 in spare moments of a few busy men, we received the very satis- 

 factory reply from one of our correspondents which we quote 

 because it rings with the proper spirit, and may do the work that 

 the writer has intended us to undertake. 



"I had no idea that the Quarterly was not on a self-sustaining, 

 even a profitable basis. I don't see, myself, how anybody who 

 wants to keep up with the procession can afford to be without it. 

 To have it die for lack of adequate support would be a portentous 

 professional calamity, and to fail to give it that support is sheer 

 professional ingratitude. It seems to me that if you could plan 

 a personal subscription campaign, lay it frankly before your pres- 

 ent subscribers, they would rally to your support and bring in a 

 sufficient number of new subscribers to do the trick. There must 

 be a large number all told, coming from our professional schools 



