Morris tribune., 1919-08-08
BARBERRY BUSH THE
CAUSE OF BLACK RUST
Discussed by University Professor
Who Says Rust Cannot Live
Without Burberry

Elbow Lake Herald: IF Minneso-
ia could eliminate grain rust, mil
lions of dollars would be saved an
nualIy to the farmers and the state.
Rust is something in which we are
all greatly interested, but which most
of us agree we know very little about.
Campaigns against the barberry bush
have been conducted from time to
time, and many have been skeptical
as to just how important part in
the rust problem was played by this
bush.
1t was this interest that caused us
to seek a little information on the
subject from E. B. Bottle of the Uni
ersity Farm who was in Elbow Lake
Saturday. Mr.. Bottle was here in
the interests of the United States
government in the Swat the Bar
berry campaign.
Mr.. Bottle entered the Herald office
bearing a branch that looked like a
peace token. 1t was an inoffenslVe
little sprig and when he told us 1t was
the barberry, we were interested, but
not greatly impressed. 1t seems that
he had discovered a luXuriant bar
berry hedge on the property of one
of our citizens who had no idea Of
what a vicious weed he was harbor-
ing. After MI Bottle had told him
the hedge was barberTy, he lost no
time in giving it the axe.
Burberry is rather a scarce article
in this part of Minnesota, and rust is
about the commonest thing We have.
In fact some years it is one OF the
chief crops. For this reason we have
been prone to doupt that the removal
of the small amount Of barberry here
would materially affect the amount
Of rust. So this was the question we
prOpOunded for Mr.. Bottle. is 1t
fact that if there were no barberry
there would be no rust, and that ali
Of the rust we have here this year
came directly from the small amount
of barberry we have here?"
The substance of his reply was that
all rust went thru certain cycle. Be
ginning on the baTberry in the spring
spores are formed which are discharg-
ed into the air. These spores travel
for miles, just as smoke from the for
est fires last year was noticeable two
hundred miles away. The spores are
very light and travel great distances.
The spores from the barberry go to
the young grain and red rust torh1s.
Later the red rust becomes black rust
Ehe rust winters as black rust and IN
the spring takes up the cycle again.
He said that the rust could not be
transmitted from one wheat held 10
another, and it was necessary Tor II
to 20 through the "barberTy stage
each year. He said the barberry ana
one other bush which is very rare
were the only plants on which the
rust could 90 through this beginning
stage. Denmark is now practically
free from rust, due to the campaign
against the barberry there. Mime
sofa is following Denmark's eXper-
fence and there is q state law Whlch
calls for the elimination Of the bar
berry.
Both the federal and state govern
y1e2ts have made extensive expert
ments on the rust problem and skep-
tical as we may be, there is posi-
bility that what they have found IS
true. The barberry is not so desir-
able that it will cause anyone great
pain to part with it. Nor is 1t SO
generally grown that its elimination
will entail great expense.
One Of the chief obstacles is the
fact that very few people are familiar
with the bush. Eliminating the bar
berry may not eliminate rust, but II
it should it would be the biggest re-
turn on the smallest investment that
was ever made by the farmers OF
Minnesota, so we believe that full
and hearty cooperation by everyone
in the state should be given towards
it's elimination. Anyone who possess
ses a hedge or bushes with saw-edged
leaves and a group of three spikes at
the base of each leaf, should sharpen
I'M the ave and get h1JSv