Dr. Morris: I will show this afternoon that it can be controlled in a way.
Dr. McMurren: We in the department have not been in a position to do any work on the hazel blight so far. The hazel blight is interesting in that it illustrates a principle in plant diseases which it is well to know, that most of our serious plant diseases fall in one of two classes; either a native disease on imported plants or an imported disease on native plants. This filbert blight is very slight on native hazels but very serious on imported European hazels. I do not think there is anything more on the filbert disease, but Dr. Morris will have some interesting things to show you this afternoon.
I want to interject a remark here about the business of planting trees for commercial crops along the road sides. There is more to be considered than the mere matter of planting a tree. Insect pests and diseases have to be taken into consideration. There is nothing that an apple orchard planter more hates to see than a tree out of the orchard. It doesn't receive proper attention and is apt to be a source of disease. I believe that wherever the nut industry has been established on an orchard scale it is a matter that should receive careful thought before trees are planted on the road side. When you have an adequate fertilizing department and can give it careful attention the same as trees in the orchard, all right. But they do not as a rule receive it. Roadside planting perhaps sounds very attractive on the surface and is probably a very good plan in some cases, but I think it is open to grave objections where an orchard industry is in the same section.
The Secretary: I am sorry that Mr. C. A. Reed is not here to take up the discussion of the walnut blight, because I think he takes a little more serious view of it than Mr. McMurren.
Mr. McMurren: I know he does.
The Secretary: That is right that Mr. Reed does, and I am glad he is here (Mr. Reed having just entered) to talk it over. Mr. Jones is also here. Mr. Jones is a close observer and has followed it in the field from the beginning. This matter of walnut bacteriosis is a very important one. Here is the walnut industry just in its infancy. We want to know whether this walnut bacteriosis is threatening such proposed industry seriously or not. We know it is a very serious thing in California. Can we safely begin planting English walnut trees or is the question of the seriousness of bacteriosis so serious that we should not plant extensively until we know more about it. Mr. McMurren has been saying a few words about bacteriosis in which he has not given us an impression of seriousness. I think Mr. Reed will give us some remarks on that matter.
Mr. Reed: I do not like to go up against Mr. McMurren. He is the disease man. He is the last word in the government. I am only a second fiddle when it comes to diseases but I must say that I have not a very optimistic feeling over the blight situation. I have been depending very largely on him to give us information.
The Secretary: Where did you find it, Mr. Reed?
Mr. Reed: Speaking for the East only, for the part of the country that we are directly interested in, I have visited a number of the walnut sections. I think I have tried to reach all of them and in nearly every place that I have been to in the last year or two there has been blight. Several of the orchards that have been most widely advertised have blight, according to Mr. McMurren's identification. I went all the way from Georgia to Northwestern Pennsylvania and Northern New York State last year to be present when the crops were gathered from orchards of those sections, and in one of those orchards, one at North East, Pennsylvania, the crop was what I would call about 65 per cent failure due to blight. The other orchard, one near Rochester, was not badly blighted, but there was a very light crop, not over 10 per cent of a crop, but still there was some blight there. Now, I do not know just what Mr. McMurren has said. I do know that he does not feel very badly alarmed over the blight situation in the East and I would rather hear him talk and Mr. Rush, and Mr. Jones.
Mr. Bartlett: I would like to know what the chief characteristics of the blight are.