FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSIONER. 263 



say is one that essentially kills nursery stock, but it also occurs on the adult 

 tree. 



Of course the first question that arises in our minds is what we are 

 going to do about it and in that connection I might say that whatever 

 we are going to do, or are not going to do, must be done now, because if 

 the thing is permitted to go another year it will be absolutely beyond the 

 possibility of control of any sort; and in the second place I may say that 

 the proposition of the control of this disease is purely a problem of 

 pathology. When the disease is in its most obvious condition, it is very 

 easy to detect, but in the stage which it is in at this time of year, it is 

 not so easy; in other words, the entire question of eradication, or rather 

 inspection, or whatever method is advocated, will have to be at least under 

 the direction of expert pathologists. 



Now, Dr. Spaulding and myself have known of this matter for only 

 a short time, a couple of weeks, and in that time we have not had oppor- 

 tunity to look the entire situation over so far as we would wish; so far 

 as we have looked the situation over, however, we believe that the disease 

 can be stamped out at this stage by thorough inspection, with eradication 

 of the disease in suspected plants. That necessarily involves a visit to 

 every place where these imported trees have been planted; it means going 

 over every planting; it means that the person who is doing the inspecting 

 must go over every individual plant, and that is necessarily quite a task. 

 There is also another difficulty that the disease which has occurred this 

 spring may already have spread itself to currants, and currant bushes will 

 have to be gone over, and that would have to be done in August; so you 

 can see it is a very serious problem, and now is the time if it is ever going 

 to be done. 



In conclusion I must say that the National Department of Agriculture 

 stands ready to assist in every way, and I want to say frankly that we have 

 no desire whatever to " butt in; " if the situation can be handled by the 

 pathological forces in the States themselves, it had better be handled in that 

 way. But the thing is a national question as it affects every State through- 

 out the white pine range, and so we naturally and necessarily feel a very 



decided interest in the situation. 

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