EDITORIAL 



THE WAR AND THE WHITE PINE BLISTER RUST 



A CONFERENCE of those interested in the control 

 of the white pine blister rust was held recently at 

 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As a result of the dis- 

 cussion, the Committee on the Suppression of the 

 Pine Blister Rust in North America decided to labor for 

 the continuance of the work along present lines so far 

 as consistent with the urgent needs of the war. The de- 

 velopments of this year have shown that the situation is 

 even more serious than was known to be the case a year 

 ago. It is plain that the blister rust is thoroughly in- 

 trenched and that it cannot be eradicated by human 

 agencies. What may be hoped to be accomplished is : 

 first, to enforce the present quarantines against the 

 movement of five-leaved pine and Ribes nursery stock; 

 second, to keep the disease from becoming established 

 west of the Great Plains ; third, to delay for many years 

 the progress of infection in the Lake States ; and, fourth, 

 to develop cheap and practical methods of local control 

 in the best pine areas of the Eastern States. Emphasis 

 is laid upon these four phases of practical work in the 

 order in which they are named. 



How much money must be spent on blister rust con- 

 trol during the present war crisis is a question which 

 cannot be answered solely from the forestry viewpoint. 

 It depends quite as much upon the course taken by the 

 war during the next six months and the need which will 

 become apparent during the winter for labor and for in- 

 creased production of agricultural crops. All who at- 

 tended the conference recognized that the welfare of 

 the nation demands that work in many important lines 

 must be held down to a minimum, in order to liberate 

 men who will be urgently needed when the full effect of 

 the draft is felt. 



The three great war needs which stand above all others 

 at the present time are more ships, more food, and more 

 men. Present indications are that food production may 

 be dangerously decreased next year because the short- 

 age of labor is expected to be several times more acute 

 than during the past year. Probably 600,000 trained 

 men from the farms will be called under the selective 

 draft before another summer arrives. This equals about 

 ten per cent of the trained farm laborers and if they can 

 be replaced at all, it must be by untrained and unskilled 

 men. Farming is a specialized occupation requiring skill 

 and experience as well as brawn. It will demand almost 

 superhuman effort to bring next year's crop production 

 up to this year's total, and the need for our food by our 

 Allies will be greater than ever before in history. For 

 this reason we are strongly of the opinion that labor 

 should be diverted from war work only where delay will 

 cause irreparable damage. 



The American Forestry Association is entirely in 

 accord with the recommendations of the committee for 



continuation of present appropriations for blister rust 

 control. Under normal conditions, the Association would 

 vigorously urge a substantial increase in both state and 

 federal appropriations and a large extension of practical 

 work. Under war conditions, it is felt that present efforts 

 should be limited to work which cannot be done as well 

 after the war. In the far West it will be impossible to 

 control the blister rust if the disease once becomes estab- 

 lished there, and the loss in that case will be appalling. 

 Only good fortune has kept the western white pine region 

 so far free from this disease. It is therefore extremely 

 important to enforce the quarantine against the trans- 

 portation of pine and Ribes west of the Great Plains and 

 to continue the search for possible importations of the 

 disease now existing in that territory. In spite of the 

 war, the efforts to protect the western white pines should 

 be increased, since a very small expenditure at this time 

 can prevent huge loss in the future. In the Lake States, 

 because the disease is not thoroughly established, we 

 have the opportunity of checking its spread from present 

 infection centers until it advances into Michigan from 

 Ontario. In order to save the Lake States from inva- 

 sion from the South or from planted nursery stock, the 

 present efforts to locate and destroy the disease in the 

 states lying between the Mississippi River and the Hud- 

 son Valley should also be continued. Later, if it appears 

 that the disease is making greater headway than this 

 year's finding indicate, these efforts should be increased. 

 A comparatively insignificant sum may save millions of 

 dollars' worth of native young pine growth in the Lake 

 States from general infection for many years to come. 



The result of this year's work in the Hudson Valley 

 and in New England encourage us in the belief that wild 

 currants and gooseberries can be uprooted at a reason- 

 able cost. The attitude of the public is favorable to the 

 removal of cutivated currants and gooseberries wherever 

 this is necessary to protect the pines. Control of the 

 disease in advance spot infections has proved successful 

 wherever it has been possible to eliminate all currant and 

 gooseberry bushes. Control of the blister rust on a 

 large scale will be possible in regions of general infection 

 if labor costs are not prohibitive. The experts are agreed 

 that the blister rust works slowly; nevertheless, a few 

 years' delay in undertaking control on a large scale will 

 undoubtedly result in considerable loss. However, the 

 damage will not be irreparable if work can be rushed 

 just as soon as the need for labor to prosecute the war 

 is abated. 



So far as the control of the disease in New England 

 is concerned, a minimum expenditure at the present time 

 has certain advantages. Apparently, the solution of the 

 blister rust problem in New England is local control, and 

 local control of the disease in commercial pine stands 

 depends on whether the pines to be protected are worth 



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