FEDERAL. HORTICULTURAL. BOARD. 621 



In the enforcement of the Texas border inspection and quarantine 

 service a total of 15,962 freight cars and 14,846 vehicles nave been 

 inspected and certified for entry into the United States. The car 

 ana vehicle fumigation houses referred to in previous reports were 

 completed and put into operation on October 1, 1919, and since that 

 date 7,772 cars have been disinfected in these houses with hydrocy- 

 anic-acid gas. The Congress, in appropriating funds for the purchase 

 of chemicals and for labor incident to the proper fumigation of cars 

 crossing tiie border, made the proviso that: 



Any moneys received in payment for cliarges fixed by the Secretary of Agriculture 

 on account of such cleaning and disinfection at plants constructed therefor out of any 

 appropriation made on account of the pink bollworm of cotton to be covered into 

 the Treasun' as miscellaneous receipts. 



Accordingly an initial charge of So per car was made, but owing 

 to a reduction in the cost of chemicals it was possible, on P^ebruary 

 1, 1920, to reduce the cost per car to $4. A fee of 50 cents is col- 

 lected for each buggy, wagon, or automobile fumigated at Del Rio, 

 Tex. During the nine months of operation S34,381 were collected 

 and turned into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts. 



It has been necessary to considerably enlarge this border service 

 during the year. It now includes, in addition to the ports from El 

 Paso eastward, Xogales, Ariz., in connection with the extension of 

 the border trafhc regulations to the State of Sonora. wSince estab- 

 lishing this service at Nogales, on Januar}^ 20, 1920, 2,725 cars have 

 been inspected and certihed for entr}^ at that port. At present no 

 car-fumigation facilities are available at Nogales, and it will prob- 

 ably be necessary to provide a large car-fumigation house at that 

 point in the near future. 



The arrival of many cars fouled with cotton seed at Juarez, Mex- 

 ico, opposite El Paso, and the finding of much of this seed to be 

 more or less infested with living pink bollworms, has necessitated a 

 considerable enlargement of the fumigation facilities at the port of 

 El Paso. The construction of a 15-car fumigation house at this port 

 was begun in June, 1920, to take the place of the inadequate l-car 

 house which was being used to fumigate the small percentage of cars 

 which up to that time had crossed at El Paso. As soon as the new 

 house is completed all cars crossing at this point from Mexico into 

 the United States will be subjected to dismfection, as is now the 

 practice at other Texas-Mexico border ports. 



The extension of this border service to include Mexican corn i» 

 discussed below. This extension has resulted in the erection by 

 private concerns of sterilization plants at Piedras Negras and El 

 Paso to meet the requirements of sterilization by heat. All such 

 sterilization takes place under the supervision of inspectors of this 

 board. Similar disinfecting plants may later be established at 

 Brownsville, Del llio, and perhaps other points on the border. A 

 similar plant is under consideration at Los Angeles, Calif., for the 

 sterilization of Mexican corn reaching that pomt by direct water 

 route from Mexico. 



In order to further prevent the entry of the pink bollworm and 

 other insects subject to ouarantine, inspectors nave been placed at 

 the footbridge of all of tnc important ports to work in cooperation 

 with the customs ofiicials. The wisdom of this move was soom 



