346 THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



QUARANTINE [^ Jfe S DIVISION 



REPORT FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL, 1915. 



By Frederick Maskew. 



In working out and tabulating our findings of insect pests and plant 

 diseases on horticultural imports during the month, it occurred to us 

 that a short statement explanatory of the same was justified. This office 

 has endeavored by every method available during the past three years 

 to bring about a clean-up of horticultural imports at the point of origin, 

 • and the results obtained by this procedure have amply repaid our 

 efforts. Never in the history of the station have commercial consign- 

 ments of nursery stock received from foreign sources been found as 

 generally clean of insect pests and plant diseases as during the past 

 season. For the encouragement of the foreign inspection officials and 

 exporters who have co-operated with us in this matter and whose 

 capable co-operation we desire to hold and augment in the future, the 

 apparent discrepancy between the foregoing statement and our monthly 

 report of findings is explained as follows: The majority of the pests 

 and diseases we record each month are found on the plants and plant 

 products brought in either as souvenirs or as food by the passengers on 

 the regular liners. 



With a passenger list of approximately 3,500 persons a month arriv- 

 ing from Polynesia, Oceana, Oriental and Central American ports, this 

 close inspection of personal belongings will always be necessary, in fact 

 to those who have intimate peculiar knowledge of the quarantine work, 

 the real source of the possible introduction and distribution of new 

 pests lies in this class of material. With commercial shipments of 

 plants and plant products controlled as they are prior to arrival by the 

 admirable methods devised by the Federal Horticultural Board and 

 suljscquL'nt to entiy and delivery by the complete organization of Cali- 

 fornia's horticultural inspection service, the movements of the same are 

 always recorded and the material can be kept under surveillance at all 

 times; but onee a passenger leaves the dock we have no means of know- 

 ing what the ultimate disposition may be of the plant products in his 

 possession at the time, and hence our persistent efforts in each instance 

 to determine the condition and control the disposition of the same 

 wiiile it is yet within oui- jurisdiction. 



