New Britain herald., 1916-01-26
ID CONTROL WHITE
 PINE BLISTER RUST
Public Hearing on Proposed Quar- antine for Eastern Nursery Stock
Especial to the HeraldD


 Washington, D. C.. Jan. 26-Jn or der to protect the white pine forests or the country from the disease known ~as the white pine blister rust, it is pro- posed to place Federal quarantine on shipments of 5-leaved pines and cultivated black entrants from several eastern states. A public hearing on thls question will be held by the Fed eral Horticultural board at the de- ,partment of agriculture, Washington, on February 4, at 70 a. m. The states which it is proposed to quarantine on this account are New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York and Pennsylvania.
 The white pine blister rust, like c1- trus blight and blister blight, is an imported disease which was intro duced into this. country on nursery stock before the passage of the Fed . eral plant quarantine law. Ninety per '~ cent. of the infections now in Amer1- ca came from 8, single German nur- sery. The disease, it is said, can be controlled in the eastern states, where it now exists, but if it finds it way into the western forests there is no Iiken- hood that it's spread can be success fully checked. At the present time these forests are free from blister rust and it can only be introduced into them through nursery stock of g. leaved pines or entrants. A quaran- sine against the relatively limited tratv fife in this stock is, therefore, believed to be necessary precaution. Additional Safeguard
 As an additional safeguard, it also is proposed to prohibit the entry of 5- 1eaved pine nursery from Canada and of nursery stock of entrants and gooseberries from Canada, Europe and Asia. These questions will be consid cred at the same hearing as the pro> posed domestic quarantine.
 The importance of protecting the white pine forests from the blister rust may be inferred from the fact that in New England, New York and Pennsylvania alone there are still 1 , billion feet of mature white pine val ued at not less than $75,000, 900, and In the Lake states, 12 billion feet val ued~at $96,O00,OO0. In the enormous forests of the west the white pine and sugar pine are among the most valu- able trees. At a conservative estimate there are about 30 billion feet or western white pine which are worth at least $9O0OO,OO0. Of these, 20 bil-
  10 billion feet in National forests. The value of the mature sugar pine is placed in the neighborhood of s150,- 000,000, the greater part of which is in private hands. +ys ..1
 Hit Planting of Trees. s.@ | ,.zyIn addition ito its reflect ltpon?sthis | standing timber, the spread of the | disease would seriously interfere with | the planting of trees. At the present | time the white pines are among the | principal varieties planted, not only ! by private owners, but also by cities, | states, and the National government. | If blister rust is allowed to, become | preva lent, much land more suitable ! for forestry than for agriculture and | which could otherwise bear splendid | forests of white pine will have to re- main waste or be devoted to some h. | ferior tree. It is estimated that in New England, New York and Penn sylvania, there are not less than 10 1 million acres to which this is apphc- able and that in the Lake states there are another 10 million. -:. The proposed quarantine will not i only be an additional protection to the great western forests, which are nat l uraIly isolated from the east by tree less plains, but it will protect as we'll 1 those portions of the eastern states l which now lie outsile of the infected | area Maine, the Lake states and the 1 southern states have never become in fected and need never be if the disease Is controlled in the territory in which | 1t now exists.