cality or region. Because of this there is a more standard nut
product in most of Portugal than in the other European countries where
mixtures of local varieties are frequently grown. A very large portion
of the European chestnut orchards in Portugal are made up of seedling
trees, topworked with local selections. In Portugal most of the orchards
are located on the lower slopes and various crops are grown among the
trees. In most other European countries the orchards are on rougher
mountain land which is grazed.

In Portugal the State Road Department has established a number of
roadside plantings of chestnut. These plantings are very productive. The
State Road Department sells the nut crop to the highest bidder and uses
the funds for additional roadside tree plantings.

In northern Portugal authorities have conducted a large-scale program to
control the Phytophthora ink disease of chestnut by the following
treatment: The soil is removed from the base of the tree and larger
roots. The base and roots are sprayed with a sticker compound and then
dusted with copper oxide and copper sulfate before the soil is replaced.
Treatment is repeated every 5 to 7 years. Government officials secured
the cooperation of owners of chestnut stands in treating practically all
trees over large areas. Although this treatment for the Phytophthora ink
disease was originally worked out by the Spanish pathologists at La
Coruna, it has not been used extensively in Spain. The Phytophthora root
disease is damaging chestnut orchards throughout southern Europe. In
1950 I noted that this disease was causing severe damage even in Asia
Minor. In the southern part of the United States this same disease (here
called Phytophthora root rot) caused heavy losses at lower elevations.

The 1953 Chestnut Commission meeting terminated on June 30 at the famous
Palace Hotel at Bussaco, Portugal, where the Under Secretary of
Agriculture gave the delegates an official farewell dinner. No definite
plans were made for the next meeting of the Commission. It was the
general opinion that a meeting in the United States would be poorly
attended because of the expense of sending the delegates from Europe.

After the conclusion of the meeting, the U. S. Foreign Agriculture
Services sponsored my trip to France, Italy, Switzerland, and
Yugoslavia, to consult with Federal and local authorities on their
chestnut blight problems. This disease was found in Genoa, Italy, in
1938; l