WHITE-PINE BLISTER RUST IN WESTERN EUROPE. af 
The universal cultivation of black currants in western Europe, 
although red currants and gooseberries are also grown, is the primary 
cause of the widespread distribution and seriousness of the disease 
in these countries. White pine is of less importance to the happiness 
and welfare of the average European than are these popular Ribes 
fruits which have been so carefully cultivated for centuries. For- 
esters have found a substitute for white pine in other fast-growing 
conifers, but no fruit to replace the currant and gooseberry. On 
account of the blister rust white pine can not be cultivated further at 
a profit, and the forester must respond to the popular demand to give 
up the exotic white pine rather than require the farmer and gardener 
to forego a profitable and widely grown crop. An excellent example 
of the damage done to white pine by the blister rust when black cur- 
rants are near by to spread the fungus is shown in Figure 3. 
DAMAGE TO EASTERN WHITE PINE IN EUROPE. 
The earliest observation of damage to Pinus strobus by Cronartium 
ribicola is recorded by Hisinger in Finland, 1869 (78), who states that 
30-year-old trees attacked on both the stems and limbs were being 
killed by the rust. Prior to 1870 the fungus had been reported in 
Denmark and later became so widely spread that in several places 
the cultivation of Pinus strobus was abandoned (27,p.281). During 
succeeding years the fungus was discovered in other European coun- 
tries, causing damage and killing trees. Information upon the sub- 
ject is fragmentary, as no accurate records or data have been kept. 
Only meager notes were made concerning the occurrence of the fungus 
and the killing of the trees. It is quite natural that the European 
foresters should not regard the disease in the same light as American 
foresters, since, as previously stated, white pine is an introduced 
species of secondary economic importance. The fact that the tree is 
susceptible to the rust is sufficient in most cases to create prejudice 
against its further planting. 
SWEDEN. 
The general opinion expressed by the members of the forestry pro- 
fession and of the Swedish experiment station is that the white pine 
is not adapted for planting in their country. The blister-rust attacks 
have been a potent factor in developing this attitude, for the pine has 
become infected wherever planted. <A forester in northern Sweden 
states: “Pznus strobus is not a tree for my forest. It is quite impos- 
sible for me to raise it, for Cronartium ribicola [white-pine blister 
rust] causes great loss, particularly to young trees.” Similar state- 
ments have been received from other parts of the country. 
NORWAY. 
Norwegian foresters have held white pine in very high regard be- 
cause of its rapid growth and yield capacity, as well as its ability to 
regenerate naturally. To-day their attitude is very unfavorable, be- 
cause of the destruction caused by the rust in their plantations. The 
Norwegian forest service has not used the species in its experimental 
plantations for several years and henceforth will not cultivate it. 
The few plantations made in the past have been thinned out by the 
disease until only a few white pines remain in the whole country. 
