THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 455 



In considering the dangers from parcel post horticultural material a determination 

 of the importance of the mails as a carrier of shipments requiring horticultural 

 inspection as related to other carriers, is essential. For the purposes of this article 

 I am using the inspection records of San Diego County, covering a fiscal year, May, 

 1916-May, 11117. Of 2,578 shipments inspected during that period, 771, or 30 per 

 cent, arrived via parcel post. In comparison, the express carried 43 per cent, freight 

 23 per cent, and other carriers 4 per cent. Taken into consideration with the fact 

 that from reliable information at hand it was conservatively estimated that only 50 

 per cent of the shipments passing through the mails, requiring inspection, were being 

 intercepted, the importance of the parcel post is apparent. 



While the inspection of iutercouuty shipments is absolutely necessary, its strongest 

 point is the prevention of the more rapid distribution of those pests already estab- 

 lished within the state over an area in which there is often a strong possibility of 

 natural spread. In the case of interstate shipments, however, careful inspection can 

 prevent the introduction into the state of new and serious insect and plant disease 

 pests, of which there is practically no possibility of introduction through natural 

 spread. Therefore it is apparent that the inspection of interstate shipments is of 

 more importance than that of iutercouuty shipments. The importance of the parcel 

 post is further shown when considered in relation to this phase of the question. Of 

 the 2.57S shipments inspected during the period previously stated, C>22 originated 

 outside of the state, of which number 342, or 55 per cent, arrived via parcel post. 

 While these figures were taken from one county I believe that they could be proven 

 to be typical of most of the counties of the state. 



With 25 per cent of the total shipments and 50 per cent of the interstate shipments 

 of horticultural material requiring inspection arriving via parcel post, the care with 

 which the postmaster, the man charged with the safe and proper delivery of such 

 parcels, observes the provisions of the order providing for their inspection, merits a 

 great deal of attention. Here lies the very fault of the system. The law has thrown 

 the responsibility of carrying out its provisions on the very person least able to bear 

 the same, meaning the country postmaster. The postoffice is a side issue with him. 

 He is so busy measuring off calico or drawing kerosene that he does not have time to 

 read the postal guide, or if he does, apparently does not attempt to remember the 

 numerous and complicated regulations therein. As long as the mail gets to the proper 

 address he feels that he has faithfully fulfilled his duties. This does not hold true 

 with regard to inspection centers and other offices of such size that the postmaster 

 has no outside business and devotes his full time to postal work. He is familiar with 

 all of the regulations and he feels responsibility in seeing that they are properly 

 carried out. The attention of postmasters to the order requiring them to return 

 parcels of horticultural material to the nearest inspection center for inspection, in 

 San Diego County, may be briefly expressed in the following statistics covering the 

 same period used before. During this period of twelve months the 25 per cent of 

 total shipments and 50 per cent of interstate shipments, inspected, were returned from 

 only 23 per cent of the postoffices in the county. In other words 77 per cent of the 

 offices were either receiving no parcels requiring inspection or were disregarding the 

 regulations. You suggest the former as being the more probable and that this 77 

 per cent constitutes the smaller offices of the county. Outside of the inspection 

 centers the largest number of parcels returned for inspection came from one of the 

 smallest offices in the county. Among this 77 per cent an office having a tributary 

 population of 3,500 reported not one parcel received during the mouth of April, 1017, 

 requiring inspection, while an adjoining office with a tributary population of 1,500 

 returned 24 parcels for inspection during the same period. During this same mouth 

 there were traced to addresses 23 shipments which had been delivered through 14 

 offices without being returned for inspection. Unfortunately for this article, though 

 fortunately for the state, no pests were intercepted on these shipments, but as our 

 source of information concerning such shipments included only a small per cent of 

 the parcels passing through an inspection center, the possibilities of a one-hundred 

 per cent bill of health were very small. Each of the negligent offices was notified 

 following the first violation, following which, one office repeated the offense three 

 times and one, twice. Considering this it can hardly be said that the postmasters 

 are giving the order the attention which it must have if it is to be considered 

 efficient. 



