192 AGRICULTURAL APPROPRIATION BILL, 1924. 



that loss was connected with the oat crop. Iowa is not a heavy 

 wheat-producing State at the present time, due very largely to the 

 damage caused 03- rust. The farmers did not know at the time that 

 it was connected with the barberry bush, but wheat took the rust 

 and did not yield. They almost quit raising it, which was quite a 

 drawback in the rotation of crops, but they did keep raising oats. 

 They raised quite an acreage of oats, and the loss on oats from grain 

 rust was very great this year. The loss of wheat, of course, in com- 

 parison to the amount raised, was in the same ratio. 



I just want to cite one fieki that came to my attention, and that 

 was a 40-acre field of barley. That field was very badly rusted, and 

 they found in a 4^-acre tract a CTeat number of barberry bushes — I 

 think something like 1,000 — in that vicinity. That 40 acres yielded 

 320 bushels and should have yielded 1,400 bushels, making the loss 

 to the owner of that crop on the 40 acres something like S600. There 

 are other cases, of course, but that had been brought to my attention, 

 and I mention it here to show the extreme damage of this plant. 



I think that is about the situation in Iowa, and that is all I have 

 to say, unless somebody desires to ask some questions. 



Mr. xVxDERsox. We are very much obliged to you. 



Mr. Fuller. The next speaker will be Mr. Hill, president of the 

 South Dakota Farm Bureau Federation, 



Monday, November 27, 1922. 



STATEMENT OF MR. W. S. HILL, PRESIDENT SOUTH DAKOTA 



FARM BUREAU FEDERATION. 



Mr. Hill. Mr. Chairman, I represent South Dakota, which is one 

 of the big small-grain producing States in the Northwest and a State 

 which has suffered millions of dollars in losses from black rust. The 

 work of eradication was commenced in our State in 1918, and up until 

 the end of 1921 they had covered about 20 counties. During the past 

 year, 1922, owing to the increased appropriations, they covered 24 

 counties, so that we have at this time 44 counties which have been 

 covered. 



Mr. Anderson. Was that all new work or does that include some 

 resurveying ? 



Mr. Hill. That, I think, was all new work, Mr. Anderson. The 

 entire part of the State lying east of the Missouri Kiver has now been 

 surveyed, but there are still something over 20 counties yet to be cov- 

 ered. 



Mr. Buchanan. Do barberry bushes exist in all portions of the 

 State? 



Mr. Hill. So far they have found barberry bushes in every county 

 they have surveyed. In some counties there would not be many, but 

 tliey have found some in every county. 



Mr. Buchanan. How many counties have you in the State? 



Mr. IIii.L. There are aboiit ()5 in the State. That map will show 

 what has been covered. This is the part east of the I'iver that has 

 been covered [indicating], and it leases all this j)art to be covered 

 [indicating]. 



