DUITED STATES DEPART^ffiNT OF AGRICULTURE 
Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine 
V^ashington, D. C. 
April 1, I9I4O 
Foreign Plant Quarantines In-service Training Series. No. 1 
PLANT DISEASE REFERENCE AND STUDY VJITERIAL 
The desirability of ready reference information concerning 
plant diseases of special quarantine interest has long been recog- 
nized. A series of subject headings to be used in preparing such 
information was worked out and the assembling of tho information was 
begun in 192? by Mr. N. Rex Hunt. From time to time other members 
of this Bureau's personnel as well as specialists in the Bureau of 
Plant Industry assisted in the work. Much time was consumed in 
endeavoring to get all data rewritten or verified by leading 
specialists and the data were changing so rapidly that part of the 
information at hemd was always out of date. These summaries in 
various stages of completion have been kept on file here. With the 
increasing interest in study meetings at the various ports and the 
increasing emphasis on in-service training for improved efficiency 
throughout the government service, the time seems opportune to 
supply this information, insofar as it has been assembled, for the 
use of members of the division who are in the field. 
The old "work sheets," as they have been called, are quite 
brief. Mr. Hunt felt that the varied needs of the personnel of the 
entire division would be better served if more information, some 
discussion, suid an annotated bibliography were added and that it vms 
more important to make the material available for use promptly than 
to spend so much time obtaining expert opinion and verification of 
data, many details of which might be of no significance from a 
quarantine viewpoint. This policy was approved, A copy of Mr. Hunt's 
explajiatory memorandiim which accompanied the first group of write-ups 
of specific diseases and two papers that might be useful in study 
period discussions are attached for your information. 
Individuals and study groups are requested to send us any 
corrections or additions to the information furnished that may come 
to their attention from time to time. Suggestions as to additional 
information desired in such write-ups and as to other types of 
information or discussion material that would be useful are invited 
also. Without your help and criticisms we ceinnot succeed in our 
purpose to make the material furnished as useful as possible to you. 
In " Chaise/ I 
Division of Foreign Pl^t Quarantines 
