2o8 Minnesota Plant Diseases. 



host plants. The careful plant grower will see to it that those 

 plants which harbor diseases dangerous to his crops are alien- 

 ated. It is known, for instance, that rusts of apples live also on 

 red cedars. If, therefore, an apple orchard is attacked by rust, 

 the owner should see to it that the alternate hosts, i. e., some 

 juniper trees, in the neighborhood are closely watched and re- 

 moved if necessary. Here intelligent action and knowledge of 

 the habits of the disease are indispensable. 



State aid and cooperation. Most agriculturists are acquaint- 

 ed with the fact that combating methods against many diseases 

 are often of no avail unless the cooperation of all farmers in the 

 community is obtained. If a farmer refuses to kill ofif the grass- 

 hoppers on his land not only does the guilty one sufifer, but 

 his neighbors suffer as well. Or if one farmer suffers injurious 

 weeds, such as mustards, to grow on his field all of his neigh- 

 bors suffer. It is just so in the fight against fungus diseases. 

 We have in our state a state entomologist, whose duty is to 

 aid in the combating of insect diseases of plants and it will not 

 be many years before the farmers of our state will demand a 

 specialist in the fungus diseases whose duty shall be to assist 

 farmers in combating those diseases and to direct movements 

 against the epidemics of these pests. State aid is absolutely 

 necessary in many cases and state laws are likewise a necessity 

 to protect the intelligent farmer from the ignorance or lazi- 

 ness of his neighbors and to carry on experiments on the larger 

 scales which individual agriculturists cannot attempt. Not 

 only does our state support the fight against insects but our 

 forests are under the protection of a forest warden, and very 

 rightly so, and no one questions the advisability of such pro- 

 tection. In combating animal disease and the diseases of man, 

 our state board of health is an absolute necessity. Now plant 

 diseases require quarantine and sanitation methods just as do 

 animal diseases, and the highest success of the agricultural in- 

 terests of the state will not be attainable until combative meth- 

 ods are supported by state aid. There should be established, 

 therefore, a corps of specialists whose duty it should be to be- 

 come familiar with the diseases of plants in this state, to in- 

 vestigate those not yet understood, to disseminate the knowl- 

 edge of the habits and treatment of such diseases and direct the 



