350 
date (October 1948) the known in- 
fested area involves about 7,000 acres, 
all within 5 miles of Hicksville and 
all in Nassau County except three 
small fields comprising 30 acres just 
across the line in Suffolk County. 
Because thousands of bushels of 
potatoes were grown and marketed 
without restriction from farms later 
found to be infested, there was specu- 
lation as to how generally distributed 
the golden nematode might have 
become. Also there was much specu- 
lation as to the amount of damage 
it might cause under normal cropping 
procedures in this country. What 
about soil fumigants? Was there an 
economical and practical way to 
“live with” the parasite should it 
become generally distributed in this 
country? Was there a simple way of 
disinfecting potatoes so that those 
grown on infested land could be 
allowed to move through normal 
marketing channels without creating 
a hazard of spread? There was an 
urgent need for research which would 
lead to answers to these and similar 
questions. 
Survey Extended to Outlying Areas 
In an effort to determine the distri- 
bution of the golden nematode in 
this country elsewhere than on Long 
Island, a carefully planned survey 
was organized by the Bureau of Ento- 
mology and Plant Quarantine in 1944 
in cooperation with 19 of the more 
important potato-growing States east 
of the Mississippi River. In repre- 
sentative fields in centers of potato 
production as far west as Minnesota 
and North Dakota, plants were pulled 
and the roots examined. Particular 
attention was given to potato fields of 
poor stands or those with spots or 
streaks of unthrifty plants, and to 
areas around loading and grading 
points and waste dumps. More than 
48,000 acres of potato land involving 
1,500 properties in 148 counties were 
examined. No golden nematodes 
were found. Each year since then 
the survey on Long Island, elsewhere 
ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1948 
in New York, and in adjoining States, 
has been intensified using improved 
soil-sampling procedures but no in- 
festation has been found beyond a 
10-mile radius of Hicksville. This 
year particular attention has been 
given to surveys in New Jersey, Penn- 
sylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and 
Virginia, with some additional work 
in New England and in States as far 
west as Wisconsin and Minnesota. 
It is encouraging that the “outside” 
survey for this season is now complete 
in most areas as far west as Ohio, and 
the results are negative. 
Just what would it mean if the 
golden nematode became generally 
established in the more important 
potato-growing areas of the United 
States? Actually only a few fields 
have been permitted to become in- 
fested to the point that damage has 
been conspicuous. However, what 
has happened in these few fields 
coupled with the history of the pest 
in the British Isles and at other points 
in western Europe not only leaves little 
doubt as to its potential as a pest in 
this country, but focuses attention on 
the complete inadequacy of available 
methods of control. 
When it was realized that several 
thousand acres of potato land on Long 
Island were infested, that eradication 
of the golden nematode with available 
tools was practically an impossibility, 
and that further spread of the parasite 
was inevitable unless drastic measures 
were taken, it was natural that we 
should look to Europe for available 
information on control. In November 
1946 Dr. A. B. Buchholz, representing 
the New York State Department of 
Agriculture and Markets, and the 
writer, visited the British Isles and 
other points in western Europe to con- 
sult with scientists, potato growers, 
representatives of marketing associa- 
tions, and others directly concerned 
with potato culture and marketing in 
areas where the golden nematode has 
been a major problem for a number of 
years. In our opinion the situation 
that exists in England today is sugges- 
