B. P. I.—698. 
THE CONTROL OF THE CHESTNUT BARK DISEASE. 
THE DISEASE. 
HISTORY AND DISTRIBUTION. 
The chestnut bark disease was first recognized as a serious disease 
in the vicinity of New York City in 1904, and the first publication 
regarding it appeared in 1906. There is reliable evidence, however, 
that it was present on Long Island at least as early as 1893. Its 
origin is unknown, but there is some evidence that it was imported. 
from the Orient with the Japanese chestnut. This view is not, how- 
ever, held by all investigators. But whatever may have been its time 
or place of origin, it is certain that it has now spread into at least 
10 States, as is shown by the accompanying map (fig. 1). In the 
vicinity of New York City and through adjacent counties it has 
killed practically all chestnut trees. Throughout a much larger 
neighboring area, as shown in figure 1, practically all chestnut trees 
are infected. Outside of this area, throughout the country from the 
northern border of Massachusetts and from Saratoga County, N. Y., 
to the western border of Pennsylvania and the southern border of 
Virginia, scattering areas of infection are known to occur and may 
be expected at any point. 
So far as is now known, the bark disease is limited to the true 
chestnuts—that is, to the members of the genus Castanea. The 
American chestnut, the chinquapin, and the cultivated varieties of 
the European chestnut are all readily subject to the disease. Only 
the Japanese and perhaps other east Asian varieties appear to have 
resistance. In spite of popular reports to the contrary, it can be quite 
positively stated that the bark disease is not now known to occur on 
living oaks, horse-chestnuts, beeches, hickories, or the golden-leaf 
chinquapin (Castanopsis chrysophylla) of the Pacific coast. 
FINANCIAL LOSSES. 
The bark disease appears ultimately to exterminate the chestnut - 
trees in any locality which it infests. A survey of Forest Park 
(Brooklyn) showed “that 16,695 chestnut trees were killed in the 
350 acres of woodland in this park alone. Of this number, about 
9,000 were between 8 and 12 inches in diameter, and the remaining 
7,000 or more were of larger size.” Three years ago the financial loss 
from this disease “in and about New York City” was estimated at 
“ between five and ten million dollars.” 
The writers regard $25,000,000 as a conservative estimate of the 
financial loss from this disease up to 1911. In many localities the 
greatest damage has been among chestnuts grown for ornamental 
purposes, which have a value greatly in excess of their value as lumber. 
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