The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1892-06-09
NEW SERIES, VOL. II, NO. a.
Dying Pine Forest.

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From time to time for two or tire
years, news items have appeared in tn
country papers of Virginia and Yves
Virginia calling attention to the fac
that the pine forests in the eastern par
OF West Virginia, Southern MARYLAND
and Western Virginia, were dying rapid
~ from some cause, which their owner
were unable to divine. For almost
year the rapid mortality among the pine
trees was a matter of comment and mys
terry, but nevertheless they continue t6
drop their foliage and die. Recently the
matter was brought to the attention oil
Mr.. A. D. Hopkins, the entomologist al
the State experimental station of West
Virginia. Mr.. Hopkins had very meagre
information to start with, merely state
ment that the trees seemed to be effected
with small bugs before death, and that
they decayed very rapidly and were sub
ject to the ravages of the boring grub
very soon after the sap ceased to flow.
A few weeks ago Mr.. Hopkins made a
personal Investigation, covering the
counties of Hampshire, Hardy. Grant,
Pendleton and Mineral in West Virginia,
andBath, Highland, Augusta and Rock
ingham in Virginia, and he succeeded
without trouble in discovering the
cause of the death of the forests.
Mr.. Hopkins found that about four
years ago, in some of the forests of
Hampshire county, some of the healthi>
est and strongest looking yellow and
pitch pine trees showed signs of weak.
ness and decay and after few months
died entirely. After the death of tree
those of the same species in the immedi-s
ate vicinity soon began to show the same
symptoms and invariably died. This
disease of the trees spread with great ra
pidity until nearly all the pine in the
counties Of the two States mentioned
was either dead or dying. His examina-
ton showed that the death is caused
beetle, the scientific name for which is
Dendroctinus fronta lis.
After this species has been at work
upon the tree but short time its condi-
ton is such that it attracts lnyriads OF
other insects of the same general class,
and in very short time the tree is dead
AS soon as the tree dies the beetles leave
it and attack other healthy ones, inva-
riably causing them to die. These bee
ties breed very rapidly, and single tree
will produce thousands of them in very
short time. 1t is Mr.. Hopkins opinion
that had he heard of the trouble early
enough he could, by the Introduction of
parasites, have stopped the ravages of
the insect, or at least confined it to q
very limited area; but at this time the
trouble has gone so far that there is no
possibility of saving any of the pine in
the counties referred to. The insect con
fines its operations exclusively to the
pine species, attacking first the yellow
and the pitch pine, then going into the
scrub pine. and later the white pine Mr.
Hopkins estimates that there are mil
lions Of dollars worth OF timber either
dead or dying, and that there is much
more that will snccumb to the work of
the beetles.
He further recommends that where
timber owners discover that their forests
are affected they should at once cut
them down, remove the bark and pile
the logs up above the ground until they
can be disposed of.