Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1916-05-04
DISEASE Turks IN SACKS
USED FOR IMPORTATION
OF POTATOES TO u. S.
BY Ralph A. Collins, in the Washington
Times.

BY Ralph A. Collins, in the Washington
Times.
special warning against the use OF
second hand potato sacks, and a luciG
eXplanatlon of the conditions under
Whlch foreign potatoes can be admitted
20 the united States under the quar-
antlne action taken by the federal hor-
ticultural board are given in an official
statement from the department of agri-
culture.
me potato situation with conflict
ing statement of famine and plenty
nave 10 a great extent left the public
mind IN chaos. Importers, many po-
,a,o men and foreign growers pro-
claimed an impending famine. This
was denied by the department. Then
the horticulture board, despite all pro-
tests extended the potato quarantine to
Canada and other countries not pre-
Vlously involved.
AT the same time regulations were
prescribed for the admission of DO
tatoes from disease free districts and
countries. 1t is made plain today that
districts that are disease free must
quarantine against the disease area.
American Crop Would Receive Injury
Potato wart and other diseases are
mighty contagious, n without proper
protection, 1t is declared by the gov
eminent experts, the American potato
crop VIII receive permanent injury
Those opposing quarantine still main
tam that famine will ensue, but ex-
perts say it is better to have famine
nov" and assurance of future American
crops than to utterly destroy American
independence in this crop by letting
in destructive disease that would bring
practically a permanent impairment.
The warning issued today is to
American rover n aimed at sacks
from Great Britain or continental Eu-
rope. Unless these sacks are sterilized,
1t IS declared. they will carry potato
contagion.
The reason for this" the warning
says. is that recent inspections have
furnished ample evidence of the pres
ence Of a number of the most serious
potato diseases among importations OF
tha staple from Europe, These in
clude the late blight disease, silver
scurf, both dry and soft rots. common
scab, and the powdery scab.
The germs of these diseases, the
specialists find, may be, n undoubt-
edly are, carried in the sacks in which
potatoes have been imported from
Europe. The sacks, therefore, provide
a source of infection to American
grown potatoes packed in them.
Big Trade in Secondhand Sacks.
1T appears there is a considerable
Lraucl III SuCH SeCOnQ-naQQ foreign pO-
rato sacks between dealers located
chiefly at the Atlantic ports of entry
to the United States, II especially
in New York, and potato growers of
the eastern states.
I'm some instances, entire shipments
from the great potato districts of Maine
to New York city have been made in
foreign, secondhand sacks.
Even though none Of the imported
potatoes themselves We're used for seed
purposes. which is not the case, these
diseases would none the less surely,
but more insidiously, be introduced and
spread through this traffic in second
hand potato sacks as now conducted.
Farmers should require dealers to
guarantee that the sacks have been
sterilized. Purchasers of seed pota-
toes should specify that the seed came
in new sacks or sterilized secondhand
socks. Dealers can sterilize these sacks
before offering them for sale by
placing the empty sacks in tight con-
tainers in which live steam should be
injected for about an hour Pur-
chasers Of secondhand sacks car pro-
tect themselves by following the same
procedure or by boiling them for two
or three hours in any available vessel.
Unless these precautions are taken the
use of new sacks exclusively is rec
commended"
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