25 
NEWS NOTES 
R. Kent Beattie, a plant explorer who for two and one-half 
years has been searching the domains of the Formosa head- 
hunters and the forests of Korea and Japan for blight-resistant 
chestnuts to plant in American forests has returned to Washing- 
ton. He collected about 250 bushels of chestnuts of native 
strains, and scions of about ninety cultivated varieties. He 
shipped these nuts and scions to Washington as fast as he col- 
lected them and the Department of Agriculture planted them 
in its forest mursery at Glendale, Maryland, to test their resis- 
tance to blight and their adaption to the climate and soil of a 
new homeland. These plantings produced about 250,000 seed 
lings. 
Last spring the department placed 73,000 seedlings grown 
from Mr. Beattie’s 1928 collections with foresters and experi- 
ment stations from Massachusetts, and Michigan to Alabama 
and Louisiana. 
apan is carrying out a wonderful reforestation program, 
says Mr. Beattie. The Japanese have been tree-lovers for gener- 
ations and are great tree planters. All untillable areas in the 
Empire where trees will grow are kept in well-ordered forests. 
Trees, grow row on row, bank behind bank, on the steep moun- 
tain-sides, Presenting an inspiring sight. The Japanese value the 
chestnut especially for its nuts, which are an important item in 
their diet. The same chestnut blight organism that is rapidly 
depleting America’s chestnuts exists in Japan also but does not 
injure trees there seriously. 
The Koreans are not tree-lovers, partly because tigers infest 
their forests, Mr. Beattie believes. For many years Koreans 
ave cut down the trees and dug up the roots. But during the 
Pectin years of Japanese control a program of systematic re- 
°restation has restored many of Korea’s wasted hillsides. 
to SAS ference to review the plant pest situation, with respect 
“ssus bulbs and to consider the advisability of modifying 
De resent restrictions on the entry from foreign countries and 
"state movement of narcissus bulbs, met at Washington on 
January 29. , 
— January 1, 1926, the importation of Narcissus bulbs 
restricted to those imported for propagation or for 
