26 PROTECTION OJ PLANTS — 1922-28 



This leads directly to problems of storage and transportation which are recei- 

 ving so much attention at this time. 



Patho-anatomy is a field that is almost untouched. The proper study of 

 its problems necessitates a knowledge of the anatomy of both host and pa,ra- 

 site. While its economic bearings are indirect, it will no doubt react favorably 

 on studies of the life histories of many organisms and indirectly on our methods 

 of control. 



.Pos^bly one of the most far reaching phases of the subject is that of qua- 

 rantine which immediately introduces interstate and international questions. 

 Neither host plants nor diseases are respectors of international boundaries, of 

 flags, or rulers or armies. They travel where ever the conditions permit and 

 arfe frequently aided and abetted by the immediate commercial interests of the 

 various countries. That our laws are imperfect, inefficient and frequently 

 unjust cannot be denied by those who are familiar with the subject. The writer 

 hesitates even to suggest a solution for these complicated questions, but certainly 

 broader knowledge which can be gained only by international study and co- 

 operation will prove helpful. Our quarantilie laws are based on our knowledge 

 of botany in general and our very imperfect knowledge of international plant 

 pathology in particular. Our knowledge is not only imperfect, but provincial 

 We must not only know more about the distribution of plant diseases, but we 

 must know more about their symptoms and behavior under different conditions 

 and also about the periods of incubation of many of them. A few years ago 

 the United States Department of Agriculture was greatly exercised over the 

 threatenejd iri"vasion by the powdeiry scab of the potato and established quaran- 

 tines which were vigourously opposed by Canada and several Europe'an coun- 

 tries. It is possible that a more thorough knowledge of the disease in question 

 would have prevented much, possibly all of this annoyance to international 

 trade. The internatfonal laws should be more uniform and there should be 

 more international co-operation. Every nation in which agriculture is an 

 important factor should have investigators in foreign countries and every 

 nation should employ foreign experts to assist with various problems. 



This leads us to make inquiry as to the efficiency of our present methods of 

 education. The teaching of botany has changed very decidedly within the last 

 half century. Fifty years ago there were very few departments of botany in 

 the colleges and universities of North America; and in others botany was the 

 tail piece in the departments of zoology which were masquerading under the 

 name of biology. In fact this is true in some benighted institutions at the pre- 

 sent time. The American botany of fifty years ago was little moi*e than taxo- 



