The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1937-09-10
BY THE FOREST RANGER

which for many q have been
the Inland Empires bulwark
to the region Of the northern Rockies,
where it is making such startling
strides at the present time, the scourge
extends over a continental range from
Maine to California. During every
growing season, i'll winds, that blow
Of disease deeper. and deeper into the
economic welfare Of the country,
threatening the future Of lumber in
dustries throughout the land.
This, according to officials OF the
forest service and bureau of entomology
and plant quarantine, IS the present
Eurasian invader against which they
have been waging an uphill battle Tor
many years.
Deadly As Fire
As deadly as fire, the rust, because
Of its treacherouS attack, cancerous
growth and tremendous spread, is even
more q menace to Americas magnifi-
cant ~five-needle pine forests than the
raging demon fire itself. Whereas fire
kills and destroys everything in It's
path, cronartium ribicola, as the Scien-
lists prefer to call the disease, is never
so accommodatingly thorough. killing
only the most valuable species, white
pine, it leaves. the trees as girdled,
nv ~ esA@0
and raising the hazard of fire in the
surrounding forest a thousandfold.
Believed to have originated on the
stone pine in Asia, the disease was first
discovered in European Russia In 1854.
Spreading like wildfire through all the
it caused so much damage hat re-
forestation with white pine was entire
" discontinued. Studies conducted
there have made it tragically obvious
that wherever this disease exists in a
white pine, region, growing OF these
trees must be abandoned unless timely
protective measures can be taken
Introduced in 1898
Introduced into the United States
in 1898 on some nursery stock imported
from Europe, the first infection centers
were found in white pine forests of the
east. Not until 1910 when nursery stock
couver, B. c., did the disease enter the
west. It became established in the white
pine belt of the Inland Empire in 1928,
but was not discovered until the fall
of 1927 when it was found in the KAN
iksu national forest. Located on pine
at Newman lake, Washington, in May.
1928, infections have since been found
generally distributed throughout the
white pine belt and 2O8 points Of cpl.
demic have been found in the Inland
Empire. From Vancouver, B. c.. 1t has
spread south through the coastal re-
gion of Washington and Oregon to
stage in Oregon, it was found about
five miles south of the Oregon-Cal-
ifornia line n 1885.
In spite of its tremendous power Of
spread and damage, blister rust has,
however, one inherent weakness. Oddly
enough, in order to complete its muir
derous life cycle, it is absolutely de-
ranSort m c1lrrQnt or ~p0OS1herTV
bushes botanically known as "Ribes"')
for a mother touch This strange at
finity was discovered only after years
of intensive study on the part of plant
pathologists, but has since opened the
way for important control measures.
Rust Spread by Germs
Like n other infectious disease of
man, or plant, blister rust is spread
by means of germs or, more accurately
(since it is a fungus growth) by
spores" These Spores" although pro-
lifically spreading from white pine to
"Ribes' and back to white pine again,
never jump the disease directly from
one white pine tree to another. In,
fected members, inevitably doomed
their brothers without the nearby
presence of "host" plants.
Chief carrier Of the disease is the
wind. Microscopic spores" released
from ripe and burSted cankers on the
bark of afflicted white pine trees have
been known to ride the spring a nad
early summer winds as much as 800
miles before settling on a Tribes"
plant to take root. Luckily for purposes
of control, the return trip from currant
or gooseberry to white pine is relatively
localized and rarely exceeds a distance
From these facts, it is obvious even
~ thu ooc,,o1 ohSortyar That while the
disease is so well entrenched as to make
complete eradication practically impos-
sible, effectual control of spread can be
obtained simply by removing all currant
and g~ooseberry bushes In the vicinity
of white pine stands. When the great
n ngmssr ni Of Wi a9owi ana in d9 fopests and
gardens of the United States is con-
Sidered, however, the task Of ~effecting
their complete elimination takes on
almost hopeless proportions. No at
tempt has, therefore, been made to
completely eradicate the disease.
All efforts have been directed toward
value of white pine stands warrants
the expenditure Of time and money.
Winter Has Little Effect
Hard winters and climatic conditions
have little effect on blister rust, but
moisture is an extremely important
factor in spread Of the disease. Since
both, white pine trees and most highly
susceptible species Of "Ribes," attain
their greatest growth along the lower
elevations in stream bottoms and IN
areas of considerable annual rainfall,
this common characteristic brings
them into continual close association
and facilitates an easy transfer of
spores from bush to tree and back to
bush again.
No white pine tree, whether eastern
white pine, western white pine, sugar
pine, or the dwarfed highland pine, is
immune to the disease. Knowing no
barriers, the injecting spores coming
from nearby Ribes bushes, sift through
the minute openings in the pine needles
where they gain their first foothold in
the tree. Sending runners UP and down
the needle, from the needle into the
tWig or branch, and from branch into