FEDERAL, HORTICULTURAL BOARD. 517 



its present distribution, and the possibilities of control, and that 

 larger appropriations, if they are to be made, should aAvait the de- 

 termination of these fundamental features of the problem. 



THE JAPANESE BEETLE. 



The Japanese beetle, reported to be one of the most injurious in- 

 sects in Japan, was apparently introduced seven or eight years ago in 

 the vicinity of Eiverton, N. J., in soil with imported Iris roots. When 

 this insect had increased sufficiently to attract notice it had thoroughly 

 established itself over some GOO acres and at present covers perhaps 

 10,000 acres, with outlying points of infestation involving approxi- 

 mately 25,000 acres. The Japanese beetle is a general feeder, attack- 

 ing the grape, peach, plum, apple, and cherry, as well as many orna- 

 mental plants and weeds and various truck crops, such as sweet po- 

 tato, and especially sweet corn. In the case of corn the beetle pene- 

 trates the tips of the ears, working in very much the same way as the 

 common ear worm, and as it remains in these ears for an indefinite 

 period, it is possible to transmit it widely with shipments of green 

 corn to various markets. 



Following the discovery of possibilities of wide harm to va- 

 rious agricultural products, a hearing on the subject of this pest 

 was conducted, and a quarantine was shortly thereafter pro- 

 mulgated covering the territory more or less invaded by this insect, 

 namely, the townships of Delran, Chester, and Cinnaminson, county 

 of Burlington, N. J. Inasmuch as the probable sole export from 

 these townships of plants which would be the means of conveying 

 the insect is sweet corn, the quarantine prohibits the movement inter- 

 state from the quarantined district of green sweet or sugar corn other 

 than in accordance with the rules and regulations drawn under the 

 quarantine to protect such movement. 



In the enforcement of this quarantine and in the campaign looking 

 to the eradication of the insect authorized by Congress the board is 

 cooperating with the Bureau of Entomology of this department and 

 with the officials of the State of New Jersey. 



THE POTATO WART IN THE UNITED STATES. 



The fact that the European potato wart disease had secured foot- 

 hold in the United States was announced in the annual report of the 

 board for last j^ear. The disease was discovered in September of 

 1918, subsequent to the period covered by that report but prior to its 

 publication. At that time the disease seemed to be restricted to three 

 counties in eastern Pennsylvania, namely, Luzerne, Schuylkill, and 

 Carbon Counties, involving house gardens in some 26 mining towns 

 in these counties. It was apparent that the disease had originated 

 from the shipment into Pennsylvania of about 12 carloads of Eu- 

 ropean potatoes of inferior quality in 1912, before the passage of the 

 Federal plant quarantine act of August 20 of that year. This act 

 specifically provided for an immediate quarantine against the coun- 

 tries infested with the potato wart, and subsequent to the passage of 

 this act no importations of potatoes have been made from countries 

 where the wart disease is known to exist. 



In view of the menace of this disease to the potato crop of America, 

 a special fund of $50,000 was appropriated by Congress for the fiscal 



