The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1932-11-03
Eradication
Of Burberry
Is Necessary
Agricultural Department In
teresting Stearns County
School Children
IS NATIVE OF EUROPE
Brought to United States in
About 1870; to Minnesota
in the Early sos

Kenneth Ingwaldson, of the U. S.
Department of Agriculture has
spent the past six weeks in Stearns
county, working with the Public
and Parochial Schools instructing
the children in the survey and
eradication of the Burberry bush, a
native of Central Europe.
For the past 10 days the gentle
man has been working out of
Sank Centre, and has about COM
pleted the survey of Stearns coun-
ty.
First of all Mr.. Ingwaldson has
told the students of the damage
done to wheat, barley, oats, rye and
65 varieties of grasses. He taught
them how to identify the bush. He
pointed out to the children where
the barberry bush enters the pic
ture of spreading plant disease.
To increase the interest of the
children a medal, distributed by
the Agricultural department and
furnished by the Grain Confer
ence, of Minneapolis, can be won.
This medal is specially engraved
bronze, with the inscription: Bar
berry Service Eradication" the
center of the medal contains a
bundle of wheat. There is a plain
bronze bar at the top and the med
al proper is attached to a red,
white and blue ribbon.
Each child or student locating a
barberry bush will receive one of
these medals. To date nine have
been given out in Stearns county
during the six weeks period, as
follows:
Leona Proell, Sank Centre.
Franklin Vandesteeg, Sank Cen
tire.
Vernon Weeks, Sank Centre.
Victor Schwinghammer, Albany.
Julie Thoele, Clearwater.
Julius Kruger, Melrose.
Alois Duclos, Freeport.
Mel Orion, st. Cloud.
The German government began
to eradicate the Burberry in 1856
when a German Scientist, Debarry,
discovered it was a menace to plant
life. It was brought to. Eastern
United States about 1870 and to
Southeastern Minnesota in the
early S0s. :,
The berries on the bush were used
by the housewife for the making
of jellies and wine. 1t was propa-
gated and sold for many years by
the nursery growers.
Denmark started the eradication
war in 1901. In less than five
wears every barberry bush was ex-
terminated from the Empire.
The work of eradication started
in the United States in 1917. 1t has
been estimated that the annual
loss attributed directly to the bar
berry bush, the fountain head OF
black rust, caused a small grain
loss annually of 100000 bushels
in the ID northwest states. AS a
result of the campaign the aver
age annual loss since 1927 has been
100000 bushels.
The campaign started in South
eastern Minnesota, which was most
heavily spotted in 1918. Since that
time more than 100000 bushes
have been removed in this state.
Mr.. Ingwaldson stated to the
Herald editor Wednesday that the
number of bushes per acre in
Stearns county was considerably
below the average. He said the
farther north one travelled the per-
centage of trees decreased. Every
county in the state, save Cook, has
had more or less of them.
The barberry bush has from 1OO,-
600 to 100000 spores of germs
under each leaf. Under favorable
weather conditions these spores
will leave the leaves the latter part
of May or early in June. They
will be carried a distance of 10
miles in either direction, and locate
on the stems of the growing grain.
(Continued on Page Four)