THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
247 
Danger Ahead 
By J. G. Sanders, State Entomologist of Wisconsin and Secretary of the American Association of Official 
Horticultural inspectors. Bead at the Milwaukee Convention of the 
American Association of Nurserymen 
T HE existence of a serious calamity in the form of a 
plague of disease in any district or community 
calls the attention of the inhabitants to the fac¬ 
tors resulting in the importation, the cause, the nature, 
the results and the methods of eradication. Likewise, 
the person, board or other body which finally controls 
such a serious situation always receives greater praise 
and attention from citizens than the person who may 
have labored his entire life in an attempt to prevent the 
introduction and dissemination of this same calamity. 
Therefore, it has been common experience that one 
who remedies a serious condition receives more attention 
and commendation rather than one who seeks to prevent 
a serious condition of affairs by the issuance of warn¬ 
ings. 
For this reason I wish to bring to your attention a 
warning with the wish that it be given serious and 
thoughtful attention at this time, before it is too late. 
You can imagine horticulural conditions in the United 
States in the absence of both insect and plant disease 
pests. You know in part the conditions which now ‘exist, 
since many dangerous enemies of plants have been intro¬ 
duced along with many other species of lesser importance. 
My purpose is to call to your attention some of the enor¬ 
mous destruction which has occurred in the past few 
years by introduced plant pests, and I will ask of you 
after the review,—is it worth while? 
The White Pine Blister Rust has been discovered in at 
least eight of the eastern states of the Union, and, al¬ 
though a comparatively new pest, one with which the 
most of you are not familiar, its appearance and dissem¬ 
ination in the states should arouse the greatest alarm and 
should incite us to drastic measures for control. Ignor¬ 
ance of the destructive nature of this and other diseases 
does not ameliorate the condition or lessen the danger. 
I appeal to you to listen attentively to the warnings and 
the recommendations of the scientific men of this coun¬ 
try who are working for your interests. They know the 
nature of these diseases, the readiness with which they 
can be disseminated, and the probability of control by 
drastic measures. I recommend that you use your 
strongest influence to aid these men whose duty it is to 
control these diseases and pests in their several domains. 
Unfortunately, in some of the eastern states little was 
thought of the danger which might result from the intro¬ 
duction and establishment of this White Pine Blister Rust. 
Consequently, the measures for control that were carried 
out were not sufficiently severe nor complete, with the re¬ 
sult that the disease is spreading. 
When the Cotton Boll Weevil first appeared in Texas 
on the American side of the Rio Grande, an entomologist 
recommended that the growing of cotton be prohibited in 
the zone surrounding the infested area. Ilis recom¬ 
mendation was received in the nature of a huge joke, 
with the result that no action was taken. A map pre¬ 
pared by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, showing 
the successive annual advances of the Cotton Boll Weevil, 
which now covers the majority of the cotton-growing 
area, is mute testimony of the good judgment of this en¬ 
tomologist and the poor judgment of the Texas legisla¬ 
ture. Hundreds of millions ol dollars loss has resulted 
from the Cotton Roll Weevil invasion from the south. 
Turning again to the plant disease side, the Chestnut 
Blight is already known, although it has been established 
in this country during a comparatively short time. The 
Chestnut Blight has doomed the native chestnut in Amer¬ 
ica and this tremendous loss has resulted from tlx* intro¬ 
duction of a few comparatively worthless trees from 
China. 
The calamity which has visited tin 1 citrus growing re¬ 
gions of the Gulf states in the form of the Citrus Canker 
is appalling. Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth 
of valuable citrus groves are being destroyed and a tre¬ 
mendous amount of money is being expended for inspec¬ 
tion, control and eradication work. This loss is a result 
of the introduction of a few comparatively worthless cit¬ 
rus trees from the oriental region. Again, I ask you, 
—does it pay? 
The San Jose Scale has almost become a family topic 
of discussion, and may be credited as the cause of tin; 
greatest amount of horticultural legislation enacted in 
this country. We will never accurately determine tin' 
appalling losses resulting from the introduction of this 
tiny insect pest, another introduction from the oriental 
region. 
The Gipsy Moth and the Brown-Tail Moth, as yet 
largely confined to the New England states and a portion 
of Canada, will entail such losses ultimately that figures 
will not accurately represent them. When we consider 
that in the state of Massachusetts approximately one 
million dollars is being spent each year for control work 
of various kinds for these two pests, we should stop to 
think of the tremendous good which might be accom¬ 
plished with one million dollars in constructive w ork for 
the common good. 
The Elm Leaf Beetle, that obnoxious pest of tin' beau¬ 
tiful elm shade tree, is gradually spreading throughout 
the eastern states, working its way westward and caus¬ 
ing a damage which cannot be estimated with any ac¬ 
curacy. Elm trees left to the mercy of this insect with¬ 
out remedial control are seriously injured, while the cost 
of treatment of these large, beautiful trees is enormous. 
The Pine Shoot Moth ( Evetria bouliana) has become 
too widely established in some of the eastern states and 
bids fair to cause immense destruction unless very active 
measures are taken for its control. This insect w as in¬ 
troduced on pines from Europe, which might fully as 
well have been grown in this country. 
Many other instances of destruction to horticulture by 
introduced insect pests and plant diseases might be cited. 
