58 
EASTERN SHADE TREE CONFERENCE 
spring. Even if tremendously low winter temperatures should result 
they will not be very effective in areas where trees have been blown down, 
unless there is proper salvaging and burning of debris. Salvage opera¬ 
tions can be of great service in cutting down the Gypsy Moth popula¬ 
tion, if in addition to logging, cleanup and burning of debris can be done. 
DUTCH ELM DISEASE CONTROL IN NEW YORK STATE 
By W. H. Rankin, Supervising Horticulturist , State of New York Department 
of Agriculture and Markets , Albany 
Upon the finding of the large area invaded by the Dutch elm disease 
in and around New York City in the fall of 1933, it was recognized that 
the future existence of the elm in the United States was seriously threat¬ 
ened. Large monetary losses were indicated in the near future in public 
and private property values, as well as the heavy cost of removals and 
replacements in residential areas if the disease was allowed to spread out 
of control. 
The loss of the American chestnut was a recent object lesson which 
forewarned that such an event could happen and that we should not 
hesitate to do what was possible in an attempt to prevent the passing of 
the most valuable of all of our ornamental tree species. In the face of 
theoretical uncertainties on the possibility of eradicating the disease it 
was decided that the attempt should be made. It was believed that the 
public expected their State and Federal government agencies to de¬ 
termine the possibility of eradicating the disease by action rather than 
by debate before surrendering the elm to extinction and writing off the 
millions of dollars loss that such a decision would entail. 
It was in this spirit that New York State assumed its responsibility 
to cooperate with the Federal Department of Agriculture in prosecuting 
an eradication program. Since 1933 New York State has appropriated 
for this work over $700,000 including the research project under the 
direction of the New York State College of Agriculture. 
The Program. The objective of the program from the beginning has 
been to find and destroy by burning all sources of spread in so far as prac¬ 
ticable and by this means prevent the enlargement of the infected area 
and reduce the incidence of the disease to a point where complete eradi¬ 
cation might be found possible. 
The method for attaining the objectives has been to find and burn 
promptly in the summer all elms that are being killed by the disease to 
prevent local spread and to destroy in the winter the principal and larger 
dead elm material breeding elm bark beetles. 
