368 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
cutting is delayed until long after the tree is girdled, the timber will 
necessarily be open to the same objections as that from any dead tree. 
The Pennsylvania Chestnut Tree Blight Commission has in- 
duced certain railroads in that State to make a discrimination in 
freight rates in favor of products from diseased chestnut trees, which 
enables these products to be used more cheaply than those of other 
species. Unless some such plan can be brought about in other States 
also, it is difficult to see how a great glut in the market for chestnut 
products can be avoided. 
IMPROVEMENTS IN FOREST MANAGEMENT. 
The work on the bark disease in certain States has been made the 
occasion of a general forest survey. Everywhere it will result in 
more careful management of the surviving trees. In localities where 
the chestnut is already past saving, this species must be discriminated 
against. While change of management of chestnut woodland may 
not affect the course of the disease, except in so far as it involves the 
cutting out of infected trees, constructive forestry is bound to be 
stimulated by the work done on this disease. Methods of control of 
this and other forest diseases, which are visionary now, will be in 
daily use in 20 years. We do not now realize how rapidly forestry 
in the Eastern States is becoming as intensive as that of Europe. 
TREE MEDICATION. 
The possibility of controlling disease in trees by special fertiliza- 
tion or by direct chemotherapy, that is, by the introduction of 
chemicals or immunizing substances directly into the tree, has long 
been a fascinating ideal. The method has been discredited by the 
number of “ fake ” remedies which are supposed to be applied in this 
way. Nevertheless, the basal idea is fundamentally sound. The 
Pennsylvania Chestnut Tree Blight Commission, in cooperation with 
the United States Department of Agriculture, is making extensive 
experiments along this general line. From this work very valuable 
scientific results are to be expected, whether the method becomes a 
practical success or not, and the results obtained may be expected to 
be in some measure applicable to other species of trees, including 
fruit trees. 
BREEDING RESISTANT TREES. 
The apparent resistance of various Asiatic chestnuts suggests that 
if resistant individuals of these varieties are crossed with the Ameri- 
can and European chestnuts, hybrids might be produced with the de- 
sirable nut characters of one parent and the resistance of the other. 
So far no resistant individuals of the American chestnut have been 
found. Trees of both American and Asiatic species of the genus 
Castanopsis could possibly also be used as resistant parents, at least 
