No independent field stations are maintained but pathologists cooperating with the Forest Service, universities, and State forestry institutions are stationed at San Francisco, Calif.; New Haven, Conn.; New Orleans, La.; Albuquerque, N.Mex.; Wooster, Ohio; Portland, Oreg.; Philadelphia, Pa.; Madison, Wis. Tree disease emergencies.-Work under this project consists of the investigation of the newly discovered dutch-elm disease in this country, a research and scouting program to determine occurrence of european-larch canker and investigations leading to its control, and similar studies of douglas-fir cankers, woodgate rust, canker, willow-scab-beech disease, western yellow-pine blight, pine canker, and fir needle cast. Other diseases are studied when they first appear in the country, before they have become established. Diseases of shade trees, shrubs, and chestnut orchards.-Work under this project consists of investigations leading to the control of the diseases of street, park, and shade trees and shrubs, as well as the diseases occurring in cultivated chestnut trees, including cooperation with the Department of the Interior in studying diseases of trees in the national parks. The demand for information on the diseases of shade, street, and park trees is far greater than can be supplied and thousands of specimens are received each year for diagnosis. The disease and breeding investigations of chestnut are undertaken with a view to establishing a chestnutorchard industry in this country with blight-resistant chestnuts. (Department of the Interior and Bureau of Entomology cooperating.) Diseases of forest trees and forest products.—Work under this project, carried on mainly at the experiment stations and region headquarters of the Forest Service consists of investigations of the native diseases attacking standing trees in the forest and forest nurseries as well as the fungous discolorations and decays of logs, lumber, etc., and is part of the program authorized by the McNary-McSweeney Act. Research on the long-introduced diseases chestnut blight and white-pine blister rust, is also included, forming a basis for the development of resistant forest chestnuts and for the local control of the rust. The management of Government, State, and private forests on a profitable basis depends upon the prevention of loss from disease. Because of the long life of forest trees, study of these diseases must be continuous over a period of years. Prevention of fungous injury to forest products is of particular value to the consumer as well as to the producer. (Forest Service, Bureau of Chemistry and Soils, and Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine cooperating.) Mr. HART. This is a continuation of the same work that was done last year, is it not? Mr. RYERSON. With the exception of a major reduction in one item called "Tree Disease Emergencies", which is entirely cut out. That is the item you might say is our Red Cross disaster relief item. It is the one under which research on all new diseases is started. At the present time our research work on the Dutch elm disease is being conducted under that item. There are at least eight important new diseases now being studied under that project that would be cut out. These diseases extend from the Atlantic seaboard to the Pacific coast. CANKER IN THE SOUTHERN-PINE AREAS One of them is the canker in the pine areas in the South, in the slash pine, at least. One large operator there has stopped planting until this disease can be studied in order to see how it will affect their future outlook. It is spreading very rapidly and the research on its behavior and control is handled entirely under this project which is eliminated. Mr. CANNON. It does not affect other growth? It is restricted entirely to pine? Mr. RYERSON. The studies have not gone far enough for us to be sure as yet. Mr. CANNON. Does it spread rapidly? Mr. RYERSON. Yes. The preliminary statement covers the other diseases of forest and shade trees and if additional details are desired, Dr. Brandes will be glad to answer. DUTCH ELM DISEASE Mr. CANNON. Have you been able to combat the Dutch elm disease successfully up to this time? Mr. RYERSON. Well, good progress has been made insofar as it has been located; it is still uncertain just how large the area is. It seemed small, but indications this winter have shown it to be more widely spread than was at first thought. It is an imported disease. It came in on logs from France that were sent over here for veneering purposes. Large elms which had died from the disease were cut down and sent to firms in this country, thus bringing in the disease, and that is how our infection started. I saw the effect of it on the great elms all around Versailles, a few years ago. They were showing it then, and I understand they are almost all gone at this time. CHESTNUT BLIGHT If it is not checked it will do to our elms what the chestnut blight has done to the chestnut. Mr. CANNON. We have not been able to readicate it? Mr. RYERSON. No, sir. It has eradicated the chestnuts. There is a slight area in the South that is still untouched and of course the chestnuts on the Pacific coast have not been affected. The disease has not gotten to the Pacific coast. Mr. CANNON. What was the source of the chestnut blight? Mr. RYERSON. China; and this particular item is for investigation on these new diseases just as it was for chestnut blight when it was first discovered. OTHER FOREIGN TREE DISEASES Mr. CANNON. Is it not possible that there might be other foreign diseases which if introduced in America would be as damaging? Mr. RYERSON. Many of them are already known, that have not gotten in and are being guarded against. Mr. CANNON. And you are quarantining against them? Mr. RYERSON. Taking protective measures against them and studying them abroad before they get here so that if they should get in we will have some basis of attack. EFFECT OF REDUCED FUNDS Mr. SANDLIN. Why was this amount eliminated for tree disease emergencies in your suggestions from the Department? Mr. RYERSON. It was not recommended by the Bureau of Plant Industry. Mr. JUMP. That was not recommended by the Department. Mr. SANDLIN. Well, do you consider it a very important item in the appropriation? Mr. RYERSON. Very much so; a vital one in the protection of our forest resources. Mr. HART. It would not be possible to spread this work over some of the other work? Mr. RYERSON. That work has been spread so thin now you can see through it. We have been going through this process for several years. Mr. SANDLIN. This spreading process? Mr. RYERSON. The spreading process; and we are down where we cannot spread any further. Specific projects will have to be eliminated. FRIDAY, JANUARY 26, 1934. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CROPS AND DISEASES Mr. SANDLIN. The next item is for fruits and vegetable crops and diseases, as follows: For investigation and control of diseases, for improvement of methods of culture, propagation, breeding, selection, and related activities concerned with the production of fruits, nuts, vegetables, ornamentals, and related plants for investigation of methods of harvesting, packing, shipping, storing, and utilizing these products, and for studies of the physiological and related changes of such products during processes of marketing and while in commercial storage, $990,936. Your current appropriation for this purpose is $1,144,100, and the Budget estimate for 1935 is $990,936. Mr. RYERSON. The following statement is presented in connection with this appropriation: Appropriation: 1932 1933. 1934.. Estimated obligations, 1934 Budget estimate, 1935. Increase, Budget 1935, compared with estimated obligations, 1934.. $1,500, 360 1 1, 222, 500 1, 144, 100 950, 508 990, 936 40, 428 The reduction of $153,164 in the 1935 estimate of $990,936 below the appropriation of $1,144,100 for 1934 consists of: The reduction of $4,940 is due to a decrease in the amount which will be used for rent in view of the purchase of land at Beltsville, Md. WORK DONE UNDER THIS APPROPRIATION Under this appropriation investigations are conducted to determine the best methods of culture, propagation, breeding, selection, disease control, and related activities as affecting the most profitable production of high quality orchard fruits, small fruits, nuts, vegetables, ornamentals, nursery stocks, and related Includes $1,200,000 in regular appropriation for 1933, $15,000 carried in the agricultural bill for 1933, being the unexpended balance of amount provided for 1932 for the Mississippi Valley Pecan Station, and $7,500 transferred from Cereal Crops and Diseases. plants. The interrelation of various orchard practices and problems concerned with the nutrition and physiology of the various horticultural plants are studied. Investigations for determining the best methods of harvesting, packing, shipping, storing, and utilizing horticultural products are also conducted, including the physiological and related changes of perishables during marketing and storage. In addition to cooperative activities with the State agricultural experiment stations, Bureau of Indian Affairs of the Department of the Interior, and others, field stations, laboratories, and offices are maintained at the following points: Spring Hill, Ala.; Chula Vista, Fresno, Indio, Los Angeles, Pomona, Riverside, and Sacramento, Calif.; Greeley, Colo.; Eustis and Orlando, Fla.; Albany, Fort Valley, and Philema, Ga.; Chicago, Ill.; Vincennes, Ind.; Robson and Shreveport, La.; Presque Isle, Maine; Beltsville and Bethesda, Md.; Meridian, Miss.; Springfield, Mo.; Pemberton, N.J.; New York City, N.Y.; Chadbourn, N.C.; Charleston, S.C.; Hood River, Oreg.; Austin and Brownwood, Tex.; Bellingham, Seattle, Wenatchee, and Yakima, Wash.; Cheyenne, Wyo. Deciduous fruit production investigations. This work includes studies of the factors influencing color, size, and quality of fruits, and determination of orchard management practices which will give uniform crops of highest quality. Investigations are under way on effect of fertilizers, cover crops, moisture supply, and fruit thinning on production and quality of apples, pears, peaches, prunes, apricots, and other tree fruits. By hybridization, selection, and searching for bud variations, improved varieties of apples, peaches, pears, apricots, plums, strawberries, blackberries, and grapes are being developed. This work is of value to every State in the Union. Small fruit and grape investigations are of special significance to Pacific coast and Southern States, while tree fruit work is of general application in all orchard districts. (Bureau of Agricultural Engineering and Bureau of Chemistry and Soils, cooperating.) Nut production investigations.-This work includes experiments on culture and breeding of almonds, Persian walnuts, and filberts in the Pacific coast States; pecans in Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, and other Southern States, and black walnuts, hickories, filberts, and chestnuts in the Central and Northeastern States. These studies are undertaken in order to determine the best procedures for development of domestic nut production throughout the nut-growing regions of the country. (Bureau of Entomology and Bureau of Chemistry and Soils Cooperating.) Subtropical fruit production investigations.-Cultural studies are conducted to determine the methods of pruning, fetilization, soil management, and other practices which will result in greater and more regular yields of higher quality fruit. Citrus, avocados, mangos, and other subtropical fruits are included in these studies, which are conducted in the Southern Border States. These studies have as their object the efficient production of citrus fruits as well as the encouragement of the production of other subtropical fruits. (Bureaus of Agricultural Engineering, Chemistry and Soils, and Entomology, cooperating.) Plant propagation, nursery management, and stock storage. This work is of especial benefit to nurserymen and plant propagators and consists of a study of fruit trees, rose stocks, and ornamentals by seeds, cuttings, and grafting; testing and selecting stocks for apples, pears, and cherries; comparison of rose stocks for outdoor hybrid teas, and greenhouse grafting of roses and certain other ornamentals; storage experiments with nursery stock to determine the most suitable conditions for storing over winter and for shipment. Crop physiology. These investigations relate particularly to dates, pistache nuts, new Citrus hybrids and other better known fruits and certain other crops of possible economic value, the range of adaptability and cultural requirements of such crops, and the factors that determine their success or failure under different soil and climatic conditions. Breeding work is carried on whenever necessary to adapt such new crops to the soil and climatic conditions they must endure in this country. Experiments with dates, pistaches, and figs are under way in California, Arizona, and Texas, and new hybrids such as the Tangelo (cross of tangerine with grapefruit) and new early ripening varieties of Satsuma type oranges are under investigation in the Gulf Coast States. (Bureau of Indian Affairs of Department of Interior cooperating.) Fruit disease investigations.--Investigations are conducted on the fungous, bacterial, virus, and physiological diseases of fruits and fruit trees, including apples, peaches, citrus and subtropical fruits, grapes and small fruits, fruit rots and decays and diseases of the pecan and other nuts. Scientific research on the causes and behavior of these diseases is carried on in the field and in the laboratory, and especially methods of control by spraying, disinfection, and eradication. Other methods are devised for the protection of the fruit and nut growing industry, economical production, and stabilization of the supply to the consumer. (Bureau of Chemistry and Soils, and Entomology cooperating.) Vegetable production, standardization, and improvement. These investigations include improvement in cultural practices which are for the purpose of lowering costs of production per unit of product, improving the culinary and market value, and reducing as far as possible the hazards of production of vegetables throughout the United States; the development of control measures against certain nonparasitic diseases or abnormal growth troubles of vegetable crop plants; improvement by breeding and selection of varieties that are resistant to disease and that have superior culinary and market properties; and field tests in cooperation with State agricultural experiment stations distributed over the United States for the purpose of establishing variety standards and variety descriptions to aid the grower in producing uniform high quality commodities that meet specific market requirements in the most economical manner possible. Vegetable disease investigations.-Investigations are conducted on the fungous and virus diseases of vegetables to determine their causes, conditions under which they develop, localities where they are most serious, methods of disease transmission and to develop control measures of the maladies and varieties resistant to them which are distributed more or less generally, in order to avert inestimable economic losses and a severely reduced food supply. (Bureau of Entomology cooperating.) Potato investigations. Experimental work is carried on in different regions with a view to developing through breeding and selection more desirable commercial varieties of potatoes and to improve cultural utilization and storage practices. The work is generally applicable but special experiments are under way in the following States: Maine, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, New York, Louisiana, Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Colorado, for the best development of the potato industry. The objectives of these experiments are not designed to increase the volume of the crop but rather to reduce production costs through the development of disease resistant varieties, and better cultural and storage practices. (Bureau of Home Economics and Bureau of Chemistry and Soils cooperating.) Fruit and vegetable handling, transportation, and storage invesitgations.-These studies include experiments to determine the best methods of handling, transportation and storage of fruits and vegetables, including the control of d'seases in storage, during transit and on the market; the effect of ethylene and other gases in coloring fruits and vegetables; methods of removing spray residues and investigations on the frozen pack method of preservation. The work is of general interest but more particularly for the regions of large production with extensive shipment and provides the fundamental studies for fruit and vegetable industries, for the improvement of handling, shipping and storing methods, or for other means of improving the quality of the product reaching the consumer. (Bureau of Agricultural Engineering, Bureau of Agricultural Economics, Bureau of Chemistry and Soils and Bureau of Entomology cooperating.) Fruit and vegetable utilization investigations.-These experiments include a study of the fundamental factors involved in the preservation of fruits and vegetables by canning, drying, and other methods; determination of the value of different varieties, and the relation of climatic and other environmental factors to the quality of the final products; the study of microbiological problems concerned in the processing and preservation of canned foods and the frozen packing of berries and other fruits as well as vegetables, in order to facilitate the production and distribution of fruit and vegetable foods of higher quality, and to make possible a more effective and economical utilization of horticultural products. Floriculture and landscape gardening.-Studies are made of the adaptability of different varieties of herbaceous and woody plants for planting in all the different regions of the United States. This study covers annuals, herbaceous perennials, including rock plants, shrubs, and trees. Breeding of chrysanthemums for cold regions with short seasons, the pruning of evergreens in different ways, and testing of rose varieties in outdoors culture are some special problems. Studies are also made of the use of shrubs and trees in ornamental plantings, including farmsteads, village homes, parks, and on roadsides and streets. Bulb culture.-Experiments with tulips, hyacinths, narcissus, and other bulbs are under way with a view to aiding the rapidly developing bulb-growing industry of the United States. The work is of especial interest in the Pacific Northwest, North Carolina, and Long Island, N.Y. The purpose of these studies is to develop reliable methods for the satisfactory production of bulbs in different localities. Diseases of florists' crops and ornamental nursery plants.—Investigations are conducted on the fungous, virus, and physiological diseases of ornamental shrubs |