New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1918-05-22
'ROUND THE BARBERRY BUSH''
BECOMES MATTER OF REAL.
CONCERN. -~ =
':PLAY UP, PLAY UP AND PLAY
THE CAME" IF YOU WOULD
SAVE WHEAT.

but the war is changing all that as it
has changed practically everything else
on earth. For now, instead of going
'round the barberry bush" we must go
right thru it and over it and under it
until the barberry bush is left wondering
if there is possibly anything else you can
do to it, which wonder you must answer
by building nice hot fire and consigning
to it every last vestige of your one time
playmate, the Burberry Bush! Vicious?
yes. Cruel? yes. But it must be done
for the playmate Of earlier years has
been found to have vicious tendencies of
it's own and has been proven traitor to
it's country. It's foreign cousin, the
Japanese barberry, has thus far escaped
and is at present considered at least a
harmless alien, but the common barberry
must go the way of all traitors.
Branded Alien Enemy.
Mark A. McCarty of the State College
of Agriculture, University of Minnesota,
was in town Monday searching out the
haunts of the enemy. He located quite
family living boldly in German Park,
under the very noses of the Park Board
and the Electric Light plant. He also
discover ed number of hedges on private
property which consisted of the enemy
alien and in all he counted $50 plants
of the common barberry and tagged them,
giving them notice of their doom and
warning the owners of the property on
which he found them living that they
must no longer harbor the enemy. Red
tags have been used in marking the
plants as traitors altho it has been the
style for several months to use yellow
as the color with which enemies were
decorated. The fatal red tag reads as
follows. "This is a COMMON BAR
BERRY and is an Alien Enemy. The
Minnesota Commission of Public Safety,
Order No. %, requires the immediate
destruction of this bush.'
Burberry Are l. w. w.
Co. Agent Webb of Sleepy Eye has
been on the alert for some timeA seeking
out the barberry and last week he was
in New Ulm and reported similar results
of his trip about the streets Of the city.
He expected to make general survey
of the county looking to the eradication
Of the bush in order that it's propagation
may be discontinued altogether.
Just why all this noise and indignation
about an innocent appearing barberry
bush? Well, you see, the barberry has
actually been found committing sabotage
which is rather in disrepute at the present
time. The barberry gives aid and cons:
fort to the enemy by harboring the rust
which accounts annually for the loss OF
millions of bushels of wheat turnout
the great wheat states. In 1916 the loss
amounted to two hundred million bushels
of that years crop and the rust has been
known to do even more damage than
that in single season. Besides this
wheat loss, the rust also destroys the
grass crops to some extent. s~'
Act Quickly.
The Park Board Immediately con-
demned the bushes growing in German
Park and they have probably been re-
moved by this time. Others should be
equally prompt to act since it IS in the
spring Of the year that the barbelry
gives houseroom to the enemy rust. If
you wait until summer the enemy will
have already moved on to the wheat
field and all that you can do then will
, be to wonder why the Lord let's such
pests as the rust exist. This year you
will have no reason to blame the Lord
for his negligence since he really has
little to do with it after he has placed the
responsibility on your shoulders and
it's now up to you. Swat the barberry
and let no lingering sentiment of child
hood memories (nor the cost of your
hedge) deter you from doing violent
damage to the vicious alien! "
Distinguishing characteristics.
AS stated above, the Japanese bar
berry does not come under tie ban of
the Public Safety Commission. In order
that the innocent may not perish with
the guilty, herewith are given a few
facts about the two kinds of barberry.
These facts are given out about the two
varieties by the University Of Minnesota
Agricultural Division, and should be
scarefully studied in order that you may
be quite familiar with the differences
and may know which variety deserves
destruction. The University Bulletin
says:
Eat this time rof year these plants
may lie Recognized by the following
characteristics: Il !,
The comrhon barberry, green 81
fpurne variety: (the Condemned species).
Shrubs, 4 Of more feet high. Leaf buds