198 AGRICULTURAL APPROPRIATION BILL, 1924. 



that is, from the principal grain-growing districts. I found they had 

 accompHshed that either by law or just simply on account of the fact 

 that the farmers had become so convinced that thev could not grow 

 grain where there were barberries that they took tbem out without 

 the compulsion of law. 



In England they have taken out nearly all of their barberries; 

 they have never had a law, however, and it has taken them a lonj: 

 time. But to-day they are about 125 years ahead of us on this bar- 

 berry eradication, because English farmers, about ISOO, commenced 

 to realize that they could not profitably grow small grains where 

 there were a great many barberry bushes. So they simply got to- 

 gether and started to take the bushes out and have been taking them 

 out ever since, so that at the present time there are practically no 

 barberry bushes in the grain-growing regions of England. 



In Rouen. France, they passed a barberry eradication law in 1660, 

 but, on account of various other difficulties they had over there that 

 law was never enforced very rigorously. However, since that time 

 a great many of the local political units have passed eradication laws 

 so that at the present time, as the result of these laws, there are 

 scarcely any barberries in the agricultural districts of France. I 

 traveled a great many miles by automobile and saw but few barberry 

 bushes in the agricultural districts. Of course, there are still barberry 

 bushes in the mountains, in the Pyrenees Mountains, in the Jura 

 Mountains, and in the Alps. They are still growing some gi-ain there 

 but they can not grow much. However, in the principal grain- 

 growing regions there are practically no barberry bushes. The pre- 

 amble of one of the laws they passed struck me rather forcibly. That 

 law was passed in 1891. They started it with the usual preamble, in 

 which they said: "Whereas, it has been amply demonstrated that the 

 presence of the common barberry is a veritable scourge to grain 

 fields." 



They said it with all of their French enthusiasm and then they went 

 ahead and passed their law, and as the result of that law there are 

 practically no barberry bushes in the principal grain-growing regions, 

 although, as I say, they are to be found in the mountains. 



In Italy the same thing is true. There are very few barberry 

 bushes except in the mountains. 



In Greece they are all over the mountains but there are not so 

 many in the agricultural districts, and the same thing is true through- 

 out the Balkans. 



The old Austro-Hungarian Empire passed a law about 1S9S as the 

 result of which they have gotten rid of practically all the barberry 

 bushes in the present States of Hungary, Czechosfovakia, and those 

 other smaller countries now belonging to Serbia, and othercountries 

 near there which formerly belonged to the Austro-Hungarian mon- 

 archy. .The Hungarians were so linuly impressed with the bonelicial 

 effects of that law that the present State of Hungary simply reenacted l| 

 the law re(juiring that all of the remaining barberry bushes be taken 

 out, so that there are practically no baiberry bushes in the territory 

 which previously belonged to Austro-llungarv. except in the movin- 

 tains and in some of the waste lands. 



In (lennauy the same thing has l)een done. The kingdoms, 

 duchies, grandduchies, and other political units there passed laws, 

 beginning appro.ximately about 1805- althougii th<Me had been some 



