FEDERAL HORTICULTURAL. BOARD. 609 



The menace of this pest to the main corn areas of the country is 

 still to be determined. It may prove to be a very serious pest when 

 it reaches the o^reatCorn Belt and particularly when it j?ets into the 

 more southern reojions of corn culture. It can certainly always 

 have a very serious phase in connection with table corn for immediate 

 consumption or for cannino;, and in exceptional seasons with flint 

 and possibly other corn, unless clficient control by natural enemies 

 or other means develops. 



There is every reason to continue and adequately support the 

 quarantine work to prevent spread. The effort this year to divide 

 the cost of this work between the States concerned and the Federal 

 Government has been only partially successful. Fair support and 

 cooperation has been obtained from certain States, and very inade- 

 quate from othei-s. It becomes, therefore, a question to be seriously 

 considered whether in a menace of this kind which affects the whole 

 country protection should be jeopardized by conditioning the work 

 on State support. In a State where the insect has never done any 

 real damage, it is difficult to arouse interest and get prompt action, 

 and the same is apt to be true in a State where the insect has already 

 pretty well established itself and the benefit of the control is largely 

 in the interest of other States. The neglect or failure of any State 

 may negative both the efforts of other States and the Federal Govern- 

 ment. The situation is analogous to the situation in Texas .30 years 

 ago when the boll weevil first appeared, when it was neither possible 

 to arouse the State legislature nor the farmers to take protective 

 action, which at that time would have been a fairly easy and simple 

 proceeding. 



THE JAPANESE BEETLE. 



The Japanese beetle quarantine fund is also being administered by 

 the Bureau of Entomology, the board cooperating in quarantine 

 features. It seems desirable here to emphasize the belief of the 

 board that this pest is one of the most dangerous insect introductions 

 made in many years, and threatens large future losses, particularly 

 to fruit and forage crops; to the latter as a grub infesting the soil. 

 This beetle seems to be still limited to the original area of infestation 

 except for the natural spread of some 5 miles a year. In the center 

 of this area, where the insect has become most abundant, the damage 

 to foliage and fruit is very alarming. The ease with which the insect 

 may be carried, with produce is also a very disquieting feature: for 

 example, during 1921, out of some 200,000 baskets of sweet corn mov- 

 ing out of the district and subject to inspection, upward of 5,000 

 beetles were removed. The insect may be carried by almost any of 

 the farm, garden, florist, or nursery products moving out of the dis- 

 trict, and in addition is a strong flier. 



The quarantine and control work against a pest of this kind can be 

 justified only by the repression of spread and lessening of damage 

 secured. There is no cjuestion at all but that this pest will in time 

 spread throughout the United States. The prevention of spread is 

 of immediate value and gives a period during which the insect can 

 be studied and its means of control more fully determined, and more 

 particularly affords opportunity for the introduction from its original 

 nome of natural enemies. From this point of view the department 



