Canadian Forestry Journal, December, i()i6 



859 



Rust Characteristics. 



The blister rust which is parasitic on 

 white pine can be detected on currant 

 and gooseberry bushes as a yeUow rust 

 on the under side of the leaves- On 

 these host plants it undergoes a change 

 about the end of June and another form 

 of spore develops. This is carried by 

 the wind to the white pine. As wild 

 gooseberry and currant bushes are to 

 be found all over Eastern Canada, there 

 are plenty of host plants to generate 

 destruction of practically every white 

 pine tree we possess. 



This calls for immediate action by 

 lumber companies, by Provincial and 

 Federal Governments, by all who have 

 any interest in or responsibility for the 

 saving of white pine forests. To lo- 

 cate infections, and to destroy 'the dis- 

 eased trees and all gooseberry and cur- 

 rant bushes in the vicinity comprises 

 the only effective procedure known. 

 Guarding against infected nursery 

 stock is, of course, an obvious neces- 

 sity. As for tHe origin of the white 

 pine blister rust, it is supposed to have 

 been brought to America from Ger- 

 many on white pine seedlings. 



A recent conference of ofificials in- 

 terested in suppressing the epidemic 

 was held at Albany, N.Y., and in ad- 

 dition to delegations of experts from 

 most of the states where the rust has 

 developed, the following were present 

 from Canada : Clyde Leavitt, Forester, 

 Commission of Conservation ; F. J. 

 Zavitz, Forester of Ontario; B. R. Mor- 

 ton, Dominion Forestry Branch ; W. A. 

 McCubbin, Division of Botany, Cen- 

 tral Experimental Farm, Ottawa; G. C. 

 Piche, Chief of Forest Service, Quebec. 



pert from Ottawa, but unfortunately 

 very little was then known about Pine 

 Blister Rust, and beyond recommend- 

 ing the destruction of the affected 

 trees the expert had no advice to offer. 



Blister Rust in B. C. 



There is reason to fear the white pine 

 blister rust has secured a lodgment in 

 the interior of this province, in which 

 case infection must have come from 

 one of the border states, says the 

 Western Lumberman." 



"Some four or five years ago, if we 

 mistake not, the attention of the Pro- 

 vincial and Dominion authorities was 

 directed to a mysterious blight that 

 seemed to be attacking trees in some 

 parts of Okanagan district. An in- 

 vestigation was conducted by an ex- 



Logger in Daring Feat. 



A few weeks ago the crew of Hig- 

 gins' logging camp at Cameleon Har- 

 bor, Tribune Channel, about 80 miles 

 north of Vancouver, witnessed an act 

 of remarkable daring and agility, per- 

 formed by one of their number, which 

 will doubtless be talked about for many 

 a day in the Coast lumber camps, 

 where feats of daredevil bravery are as 

 common as "scraps" among school 

 boys. .".;. 



In the course of a shift to a new log- 

 ging location it became necessary to 

 attach a cable to a very tall tree at a 

 point 120 feet from the ground. Usu- 

 ally this is done by a workman 

 ec{uipped with pole-climbing spurs and 

 belt, but this time these means were 

 not available. What was to be done? 

 It would take several days to secure 

 the equipment from Vancouver, and a 

 shutdown of the operations for that 

 length of time was not to be thought 

 of owing to the heavy expense in- 

 volved. 



This is where tall Andrew Busby 

 came to the rescue, if reports are true. 

 He was an expert chopper and skilled 

 in using a springboard. With his axe 

 and two springboards he began to 

 climb the tree. Standing on the first 

 board, he chopped a notch five feet 

 above him, slipped the second board 

 into the notch, climbed up, and, draw- 

 ing the first board after him, repeated 

 the performance a score of times. In 

 an hour, while his companions below 

 watched him breathlessly, he reached 

 the top of the tree and afifixed the rope. 

 Standing on a board a few inches wide, 

 he was apparently as cool at 100 feet 

 from the ground as when he was only 

 five feet from terra firma. 



Busby is now a private in the 230th 

 Forestry Battalion, having enlisted in 

 A^ancouver a few days after performing 

 the act above recorded. 



