The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-06-15
POTATO CROP SAID
TO Be IN DANGER
Eugene II. Grubb, Expert, Re-
CARDS the Situation as Ex-
tremely Grave.
SCIENTISTS ARE, ALERT
Group Of Learned Men to
Tour Country 10 Study
Situation.

Tho potato crop Of the United States
Is il danger. The great staple Nege-
table that can now be found in prac-
,ically every home in the world, is
doomed to destruction A disease that
has been lurking unseen for years has
been discovered hy scientists. who as
scrt that unless its spread is stopped at
once the potato will soon cease 10 be
common, will be Il rare luxury for II
brief time. and then disappear from the
face of the earth. Descendants of this
generation viii speak or the potato as
an extinct tuber, which tlourished for
wears and then dwindled away. the We
tim of 2 disease with which science
was unable TO cope.
But scientists are determined that
such shall not be the story of their de
scendants. They will not see the great
food supply mainstay of this and other
nations swept away. For time they
will lay asiue their Individual hobbies
and Join their forces in an effort to
find remedy for the sick vegetable.
They do not belittle the danger, but
they are prepared to meet 1T and Will
demonstrate to tho skeptical world that
the most common vegetable is not to be
Potato Expert Talks.
According TO Eugene H. Grubb, po~
tato expert for the Union Pacific and
Oregon Short Line railroads, who is re-
garded as authority on the actual rails
ing of potatoes, the situation Is so seri-
Gus that the entire crop is in danger.
Unknown plant germs, supposed to
have been brought from some foreign
country, have attacked the crop in al
sections Utah, the greatest poWto
state in the country, has had to import
50 per cent of her seed potatoes, so
heavy has been the attack in the west.
That the diseases are spreading rap
idly is shown from the fact that the
dreaded "leaf rollN which has caused
such heavy losses in Colorado and west
ern Nebraska, has now made its ap-
pearance in Maine and New York Sev~
eral other diseases, entirely new to SCI
ence, have made Simultaneous attacks
upon the potato plant in Europe and
America.
AS first steps toward discovering a
cure for the ills with which the potato
is suffering some of the foremost sci
entists of the world are to be gathered
from Germany. France, England and
America, They will go into the potato
fields of Maine. New York, Ohio. Mich
Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, Ore
gon. Washington and California for
personal observation.
Will Start From East.
The party will start from Bangor,
Me-, August !, and will finish its work
In San Francisco about October !. No
time will be wasted in trying to teach
the farmers how to grow more or bet
fer potatoes, but the members of the
scientific party will study the nature of
the diseases that have attacked the po-
tato plant Practically all of the ar
rangements have been made for the
trip, The itinerary is complete and
the money secured for the expenses
German and American scientists who
will head the party have already been
named, although the English and
French experts have not been selected
While on its way the party will live
IN train of eight cars which will be
from Bangor to San Francisco and
back to New York, One car will be fit
ted with laboratory with the best
microscopes and other scientific instru-
ments obtainable. There will be came
ras and experts to work them and the
chemical laboratory will be as complete
as Is found in. most modern universi-
ties.
Itinerary in Detail.
In detail, the itinerary will include
Aroostook county, Me-, western New
York, Ohio, the potato district of Mich
lgan, points in southeastern and north
central Wisconsin, st. Paul and points
in northern and northwestern Mime
sofa, Alliance and Mitchell IN Nebras-
ka. Greeley and other points in north
crn Colorado, eastern Wyoming, Salt
Lake City and other Utah points, Ida
bo Falls. Aberdeen and Jerome in Ida
ho, southern Washington, Portland and
the Rogue River valley in Oregon,
Stockton, the San Joaquin valley and
San francisco in California. Travel.
ing will be done at night as much as
possible and stops Of from one to four
days will be made in each place Wis
tied.
Among those who will be on the spe-
cial train are Government Counselor
DR.. o. Appel of the Imperial Institute
for Agriculture and Forestry of Ber-
lin, the recognized leader OF Europe in
this work; DR.. II. ". Wollenwober, also
Of Germany, who is the best authority
in the world on Fnsarium diseases Of
plants; Prof. l.. r. Jones, head OF plant
pathology, University of Wisconsin; f.
n. Grubb. the potato expert of Car
bondale, Colo, who. is employed by the
Union Pacifci and the Oregon Short
Line railroads, and some other expert
TO be chosen later, will represent the
American bureau Of plant industry.
Other Experts Included.
In addition TO the regular members
of the party, when 1t Is complete, will
be experts Of the state universities OF
the states visited, who it Is expected
will accompany the party through their
own states,
After the return, a report will be
made to the United States government
and the other governments represented
and to each state visited. The report
will contain the result Of the survey
made by the scientists and win treat
exhaustively Of potato troubles
throughout the country, as well as
those peculiar to each state.
The results Of the work scarcely will
be tahulafad In TINA fn ha nf La..s;4