144 AGRICULTURAL. APPROPRL\TION BILL, 1924. 



PLAN OF WORK FOR COMING YEAR. 



Now, supplementing this statement and specifically with reference 

 to the enlarged program now in effect, the plan of work is this: This 

 applies to the Great Lakes, Xcw York, and New England white pine 

 territory. Wherever in territory white pine is being encouraged to 

 replace itself, to reseed itself and be treated as a timber crop for 

 future harvesting, and the local interests are willing to put their 

 money into the eradication of the currant and gooseberry bushes 

 which make possible the spread of the disease from pine to pine, the 

 department places a blister rust educational agent. He is in a county, 

 the man who does as regards blister rust control, through ribes 

 eradication, ribes being currants and gooseberries, what the county 

 agent does for agriculture. He works with and in many cases is 

 quartered with the county agent. He devotes himself to the locating 

 of the areas within which it is advisable to undertake this work 

 sj'stematically, gets in touch with the owners of the land, acts as a 

 general adviser and supervisor of the actual eradication work, which 

 is paid for by the State, the town, and by individual contributions, 

 that phase of the work being not financed from the Federal appro- 

 priation at all. 



So that the blister rust control campaign now is under way in 

 approximately 50 counties where white pine has acfjuired the status 

 oi a crop, to be cared for and ultimately harvested for profit. It 

 involves the correlation of the interest and activity within those 

 States of the State forestry activities, the State agricultural extension 

 activities, and the department's activities, the depar4ment paying 

 the salary of this special man to lead in that work. 



STATES AKD IXDHTDUALS COOPERATING WITH DEPARTME>rr. 



Mr. Buchanan. Is that all the Federal Government pays? 



Doctor Taylor. Yes. You will recall that previously this work in 

 its pioneer stages was handled upon a basis oi joint financing of the 

 eradication work. That plan worked fairly well tlirough the pioneer 

 stages, but it appeared to us that it had reached a place where there 

 was sufficient knowledge of the methods that needed to be adopted, 

 and that the main job from now on is an intelligent, efficient, properly 

 supervised leadership of an educational campaign, the bill for wiiich, 

 as regards the actual clearing out of these disease-transmitting plants, 

 should be borne by the people and the States that would have the 

 crop saved. 



Mr. Buchanan. Are all those county or State local agencies re- 

 sponding to the terms of that agreement as carefully and fully as is 

 necessary and required ? 



Doctor Taylor. Very satisfactorily. 1 would like to say that we 

 have not reached the peak of efficiency yet, because such a campaign 

 takes time, particularly, Mr. Buchanan — I wish Mr. Wason were 

 here— in a region that is as ruggedly conservative as the white pine 

 back country of New England, where the ])eoi)le are of the old-lime 

 stock. The leaders, however, are awake, anu they have come into 

 line very satisfactorily. The leaders are awake, including the select- 

 men of the towns, who const itut(» Ihe ndininistrHtive lead»'i"ship in 

 the localities. We believe the plan is sound, that it is operating satis- 



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