The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-09-01
Frederic Haskin's Letter
Old Crops and New.

tato is known in Africa as the
English potato"
One of the big things for which
the department is fighting is to pre-
serve the chestnut trees of this
country against the pest which IS
obliterating them. This pest is a
blight which has been destroying
the trees for a long time, in spite
of every means used to fight It,
Finding that fighting the disease
was almost useless, plant explorers
were sent out to find a chestnut
tree somewhere in the world which
would grow readily in the United
States and resist the blight which
has ruined the native American
growth. A chestnut tree has been
discovered in Japan which will
measure up to all of these require
ments, it is believed.
Another task in which the de-
partment is deeply interested is
fighting the blister now destroying
/ the American white pine. This
fight has not yet come to the stage
of exploration for new pine which
will resist the blister, but that may
be the final move to save this lum-
Der growth. The present means of
fighting the blister is an historic
measure, based on the known neces-
stiles of the pest which causes the
blister. This pest is an odd one,
spending part of its time on Wild
currant and gooseberry bushes, and
the rest of the time on white pines.
The bushes, when the pest is pres
ent, develop a yellow nothing OF
the leaf. In order to try to control
the ravages of this insect and save
the remnant OF the pines, cam
paign is being conducted to destroy
the gooseberry and currant bushes
whenever they are found in the
neighborhood of white pines. 1t is
impossible for the department to
predict the outcome of this battle.
Plants Go Through Quarantine.
After plant is found which il is
desirable to bring into the United
States, due to regulations of the de-
partment, it must be sent to Wash
ington to the plant quarantine sta
ton here. This has been aptlY
termed the Ellis Island of the hor-
ticuItural world.
The main purpose of this station
is to prevent the introduction Of
new plant diseases into the United
States. Each plant brought in
must be fumigated and treated for
all kinds of diseases, whether traces
of parasites are apparent or the
plant seems entirely healthy, or not.
Sometimes, the invisible eggs Of
pests deadly to many crops may he
present. but not detachable even
under the microscope.
Despite this fumigation, It ig
known that there are some plant
pests which it is impossible to kill
in this way, and therefore no plants
which have been brought into the
United States are ever allowed to
leave the quarantine station exceDt
for scientific study by experts who
know how to handle them and keep
them from harming other gr0wths.
From these plants, young plants
may be grown which are known TO
be absolutely free of any sort If
pest, and it is from these that crops
are propagated.
With seeds, it is possible to kill
q AhihS VI Tue III dSl lItdI pI
and therefore imported seeds are
put through the quarantine station,
rendered free from every germ Of
plant disease known to man, and
then shipped throughout the coun-
try without danger to other crops.
The explorers sent out by the
department are all trained horticui-
turists, and their knowledge must
and does go beyond knowledge CT
plant life of all sorts. 1t must in
clude an exact knowledge Of how to
prepare plants for mailing long 70
tances, so that on arrival they will
not be shrivelled up or rotten.
This is an important factor when it
is realized that in shipping plants
from such points as the interior of
Africa and Asia, they may be as
much as four or f1ye months in
transit before getting into the hands
of the proper people in Washing
ton