The Daily Missoulian., 1913-01-10
Plant Quarantine
BY Frederic J. Haskin

Those interested in the agricultural
welfare of the United States are re-
joicing that this year will see put into
full effect the various provisions of
the law passed by congress last year
authorizing a quarantine against all
plant products affected with any kind
of insect pest or disease which may
be spread and thus cause the trouble
to extend to other parts of the coun-
try. The Importance of some method
of protection of plant life has been ac-
lively urged by the department of ag-
riculture for a number of years.
The new law gives to the secretary
of agriculture the right to issue a
quarantine against the plant products
of any region in which insect pests or
disease may be discovered, to regulate
the importation of nursery stock and
other plant products and to regulate
the movement of fruit plants and
vegetables in such manner as may best
serve for the protection of the coun-
try from an increase in any pest.
Soon after the laws became effective
in october last, four quarantine no.
tees were issued. These We're re-
great preventive work it is hoped
will soon be in operation against the
many pests that cause such enormous
annual waste. The first is against the
white pine blister rust which is a new
disease not yet widely prevalent, but
which, if not checked, may become as
serious as the chestnut canker. The
quarantine forbids the importation
into the United States of three speci-
fled species of pine from Great Brit
ain, France, Belgium, Holland, Nor
way, Sweden, Denmark, Russia, Cor
many, Austria, Switzerland and Italy.
The second quarantine was placed
against the Mediterranean fruit fly,
which is prevalent in Hawaii and is
new and not widely prevalent as yet
in the United States. This prohibits
the importation into the mainland
from Hawaii of considerable number
of fruit and vegetables, excepting
those which have been passed upon
by special inspectors appointed for
that purpose.
The third quarantine is against the
potato wart, a disease which has been
found to exist in Newfoundland, the
islands of st. Pierre and Miquelon,
Great Britain, Germany and Austria
Hungary. The fourth notice was di-
rected chiefly against the spread of
the gypsy moth and the brown tail
moth. 1t chiefly affected the New
England states and was slightly felt
by dealers in Christmas trees and
other holiday green's, although it's ef-
feet was much less serious than was
at first feared by the dealers in those
products.
The white pine blister menace is
partially the effect of the movement
in favor of demonstration which has
become SO widespread during the past
10 years. In their efforts to replant
ground from which all the pine timber
has been taken, hundreds of thou
sands of trees were imported. Some
of these imported trees were infected
with the disease. and as result have
been taken up and burned. The cost
4 of the cure of the disease has already
| greatly exceeded the values of the i'm
portation. 1t is now possible to Sc
cure the trees for planting in this
country. so there is no real need of i'm
porting them. 1t was recently neces-
sary to burn an entire shipment of
$4,000 young trees recently received