A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 7l7 



territory have shown that some of these mistletoes can attack eastern 

 species and it is possible that if introduced to the East they would be 

 found to be serious enemies of certain of our eastern pines. One 

 fungus of uncertain origin which was perhaps brought from the West 

 to the East is the so-called "Woodgate rust" occurring on Scotch pine 

 in New York State. Injury by this disease to our valuable southern 

 slash pine is feared if it spreads to the South. 



To summarize: Introduced diseases now in this country cause less 

 damage than is done collectively by our many native diseases, but 

 there is reason to fear that unless quarantine is fully supported and 

 proves highly successful, we have only seen the beginning of the 

 introduction of acute diseases of foreign origin. Our forests may be 

 exposed at any time to new epidemics, with consequent commercial 

 loss of additional native timber species. While even the most serious 

 of the native diseases limit their effect mainly to reducing the yield of 

 forest products, the introduced epidemic disease may also cause 

 serious loss in aesthetic and recreational value of the forest, and in 

 some cases may diminish its value in watershed or stream-bank pro- 

 tection. The agencies engaged in protection against foreign diseases 

 are handicapped by the lack of knowledge of the tree diseases in for- 

 eign countries, and their methods of dissemination which makes it 

 difficult to establish fully efficient quarantine regulations; this same 

 ignorance together with the insufficient knowledge of native diseases 

 makes it difficult to recognize a new disease promptly after it gets into 

 the country. When all things are considered, it is by no means im- 

 possible that by the end of the present century our forestry program 

 may be more hampered by new diseases from abroad than by all of 

 our native diseases. Movement across the country of native diseases 

 now limited either to the East or to the West, though less dangerous 

 than the introduction of foreign diseases, is also a basis for some 

 concern. 



PRESENT STATUS OF RESEARCH AND CONTROL 

 AGENCIES ACTIVE 



Considering the immense area of land in this country suitable only 

 for tree growing and the part that timber produced on this land has 

 played and must continue to play in the economy of the Nation, the 

 agencies engaged in developing principles for the control of forest-tree 

 diseases are inadequate. 



Federal work on forest-tree diseases is carried on in the Bureau of 

 Plant Industry, Department of Agriculture, by the Division of Forest 

 Pathology and the Division of Blister Rust Control. The Division 

 of Forest Pathology is purely an investigative organization to develop 

 principles for the control of tree diseases. In addition to the central 

 organization in Washington, this Division maintains one or more 

 pathologists in 3 of the 9 regional offices and 3 of the 1 1 Forest Experi- 

 ment Stations of the Forest Service. After principles of control have 

 been determined, their actual application on national forests is carried 

 out by the administrative officers of the Forest Service supplemented 

 by whatever assistance in instruction or supervision is needed from 

 the Division of Forest Pathology to make the work effective. The 

 same assistance is given on other Federal forest land, on State forests, 



