THE MONTHLY BULLETUST, 409 



Bananas on the Dock. 



When the bananas are taken out of the ship they are segregated into 

 different lots, representing the consignees, and are counted and examined 

 before any are permitted to be taken away. This picture was taken 

 during the noon hour. It would be impossible to obtain a picture 

 during working hours, owing to the number of men and teams con- 

 stantly moving across the line of sight. Each bunch, as you see, is 

 wrapped in rice straw, and each individual bunch carries an inspection 

 tag which indicates the district in which it was grown and is an assur- 

 ance that the district mentioned is away from the immediate infestation 

 of fruit fly. The method of inspection followed by the State Quarantine 

 officers at the present time is as follows : 



The binding strings are cut, the outer wrapping of rice straw is 

 pushed to one side and the kind of inside wrapper determined. No 

 sacks of any kind are permitted. Paper must be the onl.y kind of 

 material used for an inside wrapper. The next point to determine is 

 what is technically termed as dry ends. A process in banana culture 

 is the rubbing off of all remnants of the dried blossoms from the ends 

 of the fruit. This causes the ends to harden over and remain intact. 

 If omitted, decay is likely to set in and furnish a possible medium for 

 the fruit flies to deposit their eggs. With these facts determined — 

 paper wrappers and dry ends — the bananas are released from the dock. 

 One inspector is especially detailed to follow the bananas to the curing 

 rooms and inspect them thoroughly after they are unwrapped and hung 

 up. He devotes his entire time to this and reports specially upon this 

 matter of bananas each month. So far no evidence whatever has been 

 found of fruit flies on any of this material. 



Fumigating Pineapples. 



All pineapples arriving from Hawaiian points are found to be infested 

 v/ith an occasional mealy bug or specimens of Diaspis hromeUce. Every 

 case of pineapples destined for points in California is fumigated before 

 being released from the dock. I have often computed the dimensions 

 of the pile and the dosage used, and can assure you that never less than 

 3 ounces of cyanide to each 100 feet of space inclosed is used in these 

 operations. The tents you see here in the picture are also oiled, so that 

 you present who are accu.stomed to fumigate citrus trees can appreciate 

 the severity of the dose applied. I have my doubts if even this strength 

 would destroy the fruit flies if any were present in the pupal stage, but 

 it is the best preventative treatment we know of or can apply at the 

 present time. 



Pacific Mail Liner, 



Here is a picture of a Pacific Mail liner that has arrived from many 

 foreign ports, touching at Honolulu on the way. We did not have to 

 board this ship in the stream ; when the doctor 's yellow flag came down 

 the Immigration officers and the Chief Boarding officer, together with at 

 least six watchmen of the Federal Customs, went on board and brought 



