858 



Canadian Forestry Journal^ December^ ipi6 



Canada's White Pine in Danger 

 of Extermination 



Ravages of White Pine Blister Rust Developing serious 

 Conditions in Ontario and Quebec 



The spread of the white pine blister 

 rust in Canada has reached such dan- 

 gerous proportions as to call for prompt 

 measures by our Governments, lumber 

 companies, and individuals. Unless 

 effective means are taken at once, Can- 

 ada may easily witness a tragic loss of 

 white pine, far more serious than the 

 destruction of tamarack by the larch 

 saw fly. 



Canada's white pine possesions have 

 been reduced so seriously by causes 

 other than disease that no effort should 

 be spared to grapple with the new prob- 

 lem of blister rust at the outset. A 

 few months' delay and remedies may 

 be of no avail. 



Already the disease has found its 

 way into Simcoe, Durham, Wellington 

 and Victoria counties of Ontario, and 

 most seriously into the Niagara Penin- 

 sula. Mr. E- J. Zavitz, Provincial 

 Forester, and Mr. W. A. McCubbin. of 

 the Central Experimental Farm, Otta- 

 wa, have been at work for months dis- 

 covering and defining infected areas 

 and taking measures to isolate and de- 

 stroy diseased trees and the goose- 

 berry and currant bushes which act as 

 carriers. 



Danger to Quebec. 



In Quebec, outbreaks have been 

 found near Montreal, at Ste. Anne de 

 Bellevue, and other points. Mr. G. C. 

 Piche, Chief Forester of Quebec, has 

 given prompt attention to the danger, 

 and inspectors have been sent out with 

 instructions to locate diseased sections 

 and apply proper remedies. In the 

 State of Maine, within a short distance 

 of the Quebec border, a serious out- 

 break has been located, which may 

 easily cause trouble for neighboring 

 Canadian areas of white pine. 



Considering the enormous values at 



stake, and the rapidity of infection, 

 characteristic of the blister rust, it 

 would seem only a matter of wide 

 awake business management that the 

 Dominion Government as well as the 

 provinces of Ontario and Quebec 

 should take this grave matter promptly 

 in hand. To eradicate the present 

 plague of white pine blister rust will 

 require not only a wide investigation 

 of white pine areas, but a very consid- 

 erable expenditure of money, and the 

 employment of all the skill that Fede- 

 ral and Provincial Government depart- 

 ments have at their command. The 

 aid of the Dominion Government is 

 called for by the peculiar urgency of 

 the situation, and the national conse- 

 quences that must follow anything but 

 the most comprehensive and thorough 

 treatment. 



Quarantine Measures. 



Outbreaks in the United States have 

 been located thus far in all the New 

 England States, New York,, New Jer- 

 sey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, 

 Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Although 

 it has not yet been found West of the 

 Mississippi, prevention of the ship- 

 ment of nursery^ stock from the east 

 and the quarantine of infected areas 

 will be necessary in order to prevent 

 such a development. 



Expert opinion holds that the blister 

 rust can be suppressed by the follow- 

 ing means : ' 



The destruction of all gooseberry 

 and currant bushes, wild and culti- 

 vated, in and near sections where the 

 disease prevails. 



The destruction of all five-needled 

 pine trees exhibiting signs of blister 

 rust infection. 



Prohibition of the shipment of white 

 pine seedlings from infected sections. 



