118 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



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dependable Tree 

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J. M. Thorburn & Co. 



At the annual meeting of the Canadian 

 Forestry Association in Ottawa on the 

 ISth inst. the following subjects were dis- 

 cussed : " The Peril of the White Pine Blis- 

 ter Rust," speakers, Dr. H. T. Gussow, 

 Dominion Botanist; G. C. Piche, Chief 

 Forester of Quebec; E. J. Zavitz, Chief 

 Forester of Ontario. " Slash Disposal in 

 Commercial Logging Operations as a Fire 

 Preventive Measure," Mr. T. J. Welsh, of 

 Bemidji, Minnesota; R. D. Prettie, Superin- 

 tendent of Forestry, Canadian Pacific Rail- 

 way, and Mr. G. A. Gutches, Dominion 

 Forestry Branch, Supervisor for Sas- 

 katchewan. " Cutting Regulations on Que- 

 bec Crown Lands and their Value in Forest 

 Maintenance," Avila Bedard, F. E. De- 

 partment of Lands and Forests, Quebec. 



" The pine blister disease has not assumed 

 anything like the alarming proportions in 

 Canada that it has in the New England 

 States," stated Clyde Leavitt, Chief For- 

 ester, Commission of Conservation of 

 Canada, at The American Forestry 

 Association meeting, Washington, D. C, in 

 January. " The seriousness of the menace 

 is, however," said Mr. Leavitt, " pretty 

 generally recognized, and it is believed that 

 the measures taken and contemplated should 

 enable the authorities to prevent material 

 damage to the extensive white pine forests 

 of the country, which are valued at upwards 

 of $200,000,000, to say nothing of the poten- 

 tial value of the large areas of young white 

 pine growth in all the provinces of eastern 

 Canada. 



" The great bulk of our forest lands are 

 owned and administered by the respective 

 governments. The provinces of Ontario, 

 Quebec and New Brunswick derive a direct 

 revenue, into the Provincial treasuries, of 

 about $4,000,000 per year, from cutting priv- 

 ileges on these Crown lands. Of this, some 

 $1,250,000 may be credited to white pine. 

 Thus, it is easy to understand why the gov- 

 ernmental agencies should take a very 

 strong and direct interest in preventing the 

 spread of the pine blister disease. 



" This disease was first noted in the Fall 

 of 1914, in the Niagara peninsula of south- 

 ern Ontario. The presumption is that it was 

 brought in on white pine nursery stock im- 

 ported from Europe between 1906 and 1 909. 

 During the two succeeding seasons a num- 

 ber of inspectors have been employed under 

 the direction of E. J. Zavitz, Provin- 

 cial Forester, in locating infections and 

 eradicating diseased plants, both pines and 

 currants. 



" The section where the worst infections 

 have been found is about ten to fifteen 

 miles west of Niagara Falls. Here there 

 is a district comprising some 300 square 

 miles in which there are large numbers of 

 currants and gooseberries. The black cur- 

 rants show more infection than the red. 

 The Niagara peninsula is an old-settled 

 section, with practically no white pine of 

 commercial value, but with many scattered 

 trees of this species in fence corners, lawns, 



woodlots, etc. The great problem is to 

 prevent the spread of the disease to the 

 commercial white pine region in the more 

 northerly portions of the province. Some 

 outlying infections have been found to the 

 north and west of the Niagara peninsula, 

 but the measures taken to eradicate diseased 

 plants have resulted in keeping such out- 

 breaks under control. 



" Under the direction of the Dominion 

 Botanist, Mr. W. A. McCubbin has con- 

 ducted research work, which promises 

 important results in the development of 

 control measures for this disease. 



" In the Province of Quebec, small in- 

 fections have more recently been found at 

 two points not far from Montreal. The 

 most serious aspect of the situation in this 

 province is the threatened invasion along the 

 International boundary, from northern New 

 Hampshire, Vermont and New York. It 

 is possible that such an invasion may al- 

 ready have taken place, since the U. S. 

 Bureau of Plant Industry last summer dis- 

 covered an infection in northern Vermont, 

 within a mile and a half of the Quebec 

 boundary. The Provincial Forester, Mr. 

 G. C. Piche, is now planning the organiza- 

 tion of a force of inspectors, who will, 

 during 1917, investigate the whole situation 

 fully, with a view to locating existing in- 

 fections and taking necessary steps for the 

 eradication of the disease. 



" It is fully recognized that such action 

 is of the utmost urgency, since the serious 

 spread of the disease in Quebec would 

 threaten the large native pine area up the 

 whole Ottawa valley in both Quebec and 

 Ontario. 



" The white pine areas of New Brunswick 

 do not appear to be threatened as yet, but 

 they may become so, unless adequate action 

 is taken to prevent the spread of the infec- 

 tions located last year in the state of 

 Maine. 



" The Ontario and Quebec governments 

 both maintain forest nurseries. The move- 

 ment of white pine stock from both these 

 nurseries has been discontinued, and the 

 planting of white pine is practically at a 

 standstill until it can be determined what 

 will be the outcome of the campaign for 

 the eradication of the pine blister disease. 

 There are no commercial nurseries selling 

 white pine material, so this feature of the 

 situation is under complete control. 



" Under Dominion legislation, the further 

 importation of white pines from outside 

 Canada is prohibited. Dominion laws also 

 provide adequate authority for the de- 

 struction of diseased plants, whether pines, 

 currants or gooseberries. The Ontario Act 

 is effective along the same lines. Action in 

 Quebec can be taken under the Dominion 

 legislation, pending amendments to the 

 provincial legislation, should such action be 

 found necessary. 



" In southern British Columbia we have 

 some 2,700 million feet of western white 



