LXXX RETORT OF THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE. 



the necessity of securing purity and conformity to standards in articles 

 of tliis kind is evident. Dangerous narcotics and poisonous substances 

 should not be indiscriminately sold, and drugs intended for ordinary 

 therapeutical purposes shovdd conform to the standards laid down by 

 competent authorities. 



Work for Other Departments. 



The Bureau of Chemistry is constantly increasing the services ren 

 dered to other Departments of the Government. This is especially 

 true in respect of its collaborative work with the Treasury Department 

 in controlling the polarizations of sugars, and in assisting the appraisers 

 in the classification of other imported articles where the rate of duty 

 depends upon chemical and physical characters. 



Extensive studies have also been conducted for the Post-Office 

 Department in regard to the character of canceling inks and stamps 

 used therewith. Similar investigations have been conducted for the 

 Bureau of Engraving and Printing in regard to colors used for print- 

 ing bank notes, Ijonds, and other Government securities. 



All of this work is of a nature which is highly important to the pub- 

 lic service, and is conducted largely on agricultural products. 



DIVISION OF ENTOMOLOGY. 



Work on Insects from Abroad, 

 the san .jose scale and its asiatic ladybird enemy. 



In the report of last year attention was called to the exploration 

 which was being conducted by the First Assistant Entomologist, Mr. 

 Marlatt, in Japan and China, to discover, if possible, the native home 

 of the San Jose scale {Asj)ldk4us permciosus)^ and also to find native 

 parasites and enemies which might be imported to control or at least 

 check the damage which is done b}^ this insect in the deciduous 

 orchards of this country. Mr. Marlatt's exploration of Japan demon- 

 strated that the San Jose scale is not a native of that country, as many 

 of our entomologists had supposed, but, on the contrary, that it had 

 come to Japan comparatively recently on imported nursery stock, and 

 been thus spread somewhat generally over the islands of the Japanese 

 Empire. Subsequent to the time covered by the report for 1901, viz, 

 in the late summer and fall of that year, Mr. Marlatt extended his 

 explorations to China, examining the coast region from Shanghai 

 northward to Pekin. The evidence from native fruits and wild plants 

 in the region about Pekin and south of the Great Wall established 

 very clearly that the original home of the San Jose scale was in this 

 region. 



In brief, this scale insect was found on wild haw apples, native 



