REPORT OF THE INSECTICIDE AND FUNGICIDE BOARD. 



United States Department of Agriculture, 



Insecticide and Fungicide Board, 



Wa.shi7igton, D. O., iSepte77iher 27, 1917. 

 Sir : I have the honor to submit herewith a concise report on the 

 work of the Insecticide and Fungicide Board for the fiscal year 

 ended June 30, 1917. 

 Respectfully, 



J. K. Haywood, 



Chairman of Board. 

 Hon. D. F. Houston, 



Secretary of Agriculture. 



The insecticide act of 1910 empowers the department to proceed 

 criminally against shippers of adulterated or misbranded insecti- 

 cides or fungicides, or seize shipments of adulterated or misbranded 

 insecticides or fungicides, provided that the goods enter interstate 

 commerce, or are offered for import or export, or are manufactured, 

 sold, or offered for sale in the District of Columbia or the Terri- 

 tories. A survey of the work of enforcing the insecticide act of 

 1910 during the year reveals that there has been an increase over the 

 preceding year in the amount of work required to be done. This 

 is due to a great extent to the apparent effort of manufacturers to 

 use new ingredients in their jDroducts which has necessitated an 

 increasing amount of work in the adaptation of methods of analysis 

 and test to special cases in which these new combinations, and some- 

 times new and unusual substances, occur. 



INTERSTATE SAMPLES. 



During the fiscal year the board reported to the solicitor of the 

 department 126 cases presenting alleged violations of law and with 

 recommendations that the facts be transmitted to the Attorney Gen- 

 eral to institute criminal action or seizure proceedings. Disposition 

 was made of 240 cases by correspondence with the manufacturers. 

 These cases presented violations which were technical only, were 

 not flagrant, or cases in which the manufacturer gave reasonable 

 and adequate explanation of his failure to conform to the provisions 

 of the act. Action was taken to place in abeyance 795 samples, which, 

 upon examination and test, were shown to be in compliance with 

 the provisions of the law or were from shipments of the same 

 goods made prior to shipments for which the manufacturer had 

 been convicted and had after citation conformed to the requirements 

 of the law. On June 30, 1917, 94 cases were pending preliminary 

 hearings or before the board for final action, 280 were held in tem- 

 porary abeyance pending the receipt of further information or 

 the outcome of prosecutions based on the same product, or corre- 



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