The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1912-06-17
u. S. HAS BIG
JOB TREATING
PLANT DISEASES
Government Maintains Thirty-five
Plant Hospitals With Physici-
ans and Nurses
FIND TREES HAVE CANCER
-----~----~ 'xss! '
Discovery that Plants Have Dis
ease May Lead to Dis
covery Of Cure
FIND TREES HAVE CANCER

innton who undoubtedly enjoy the
largest practice in the world, None
If the patients, however, pay any
fees. The physicians are the plant
doctors employed by the Govern
5nent 10 guard against and eradicate
the rayages of disease amang plants
within the borders of the United
States. In addition to the big path
illogical laboratiry in Washington,
the Government maintains thirty
five field stations or plant hospitals
scattered through the country, each
with It's physician in charge and a
corps of nurses.
The Bureau of Plant Industry Of
the Department of Agriculture. un-
Ter which this work Is conducted,
spends 100000 a year in protect
ing the health of our plants. 1t is
estimated that this activity results
in a saving of s40,000,000 year in
our fields and forests Probably
this estimate is too conservative. but
Il is sufficient to indicate that the
plant doctor pays The annual loss.
IS in the whole country from plant
disease amount to upwards of halt
billion dollars year,
The ordinary physician with tai
ly OF fifty human patents of various
ages apparently enjoys a compare
lively simple professional existence
compared with the plant doctor who
Is compelled to treat such diverse
patients az chestnut trees, potatoes,
wheat, cotton and pears Moreover
though TO the uuinitiated most
plants and trees appear to be
healthy, the fact is that they are
Just as susceptible to contagion and
rs much exposed 10 the attacks OF
hostile germs and parasites as are
human beings or other animals The
root, stJn, leaf flower fruit, bark
and wood veins are all subject tc
disease Plants become the prey OF
fungi, bacteria. slime m0lds and Of
JSAti HOHti LIiE pidiIAo Dc "CAt as VI
insects and animals OF fungi
alone there are about 100 GOO
known varieties. And the plant IL
constantly menaced by natural
phenomena such as drought, heat
wind, hail, lightning. frost cracks
and sun scalds. 1t is obvious from
this that the plant doctor has Nc
easy chair profession.
Plant diseases become epidemic
from fine to time and sweep through
La country causing terrible mortal,
ity among certain growing things
and sometimes completely destroying
great agricultural industries. Be
fore 1870 Ceylon coffee was made
for its excellence throughout the
world Coffee plantations formed
the principle business of the island
But. a pestilence struck the coffee
plants and pound Of coffee has
since been grown on Ceyion.
Sometimes the plant pestilences
are the direct cause of the loss OF
thousands of human lives, as in the
great Irish fannie, (which was d.
rectly due to a disease which swept
the potato fields and destroyed the
tubers.
In the United States we have some
sort of plant pestilence every fer
years. In 1885 an epidemic OF
wheat rust caused damage of st,875,
600 in the State of Illinois. The
California vine diseases wrought
$40. 100000 worth of destruction in
1892. Throughout the United
States the wheat rust pestilence
damaged the crop to the tune of
SS7 100000 in 1898. Violet leaf
spot cost us 100000 in 1900 and In
the same year the peach crop was
stricken and the farmers lost s2.335
600 A blight swept over the potato
fields in New York IN 1903. causIne
a loss Of $4,000, 900. This disease
does sS6,o00,O00 damage in the
United States annually, while wheat
ount involves an annual loss Of s11.
600 1900 and oat smut damages that
cereal to the extent OF $500 600 a
year.
I'M some respects a few disease.
have points of similarity with I'm.
man ills The sugar beet, for in.
stance, suffers from sort of mala-
ria, the germ of which is injected
INTO 1t by the bite of an insect. As
yet the Government Psychologists have
been unable to find this germ. A
round, fungoid spot on the leaves
of the beet is the sign of another
disease which causes the leaves to
curl up and die and greatly dimfh-
shes the precious sugar in the beet