THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 93 



QUARANTINE h2 ,« S DIVISION 



REPORT FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER, 1913. 



By Frederick Maskew, Chief Deputy Quarantine Officer, San Francisco, Cal. 



With this I'oport for the month of Decenibor ends a very ])nsy year 

 for the Quarantine Division. I carefully tabulated tlie statistics of the 

 five coast stations to show the diversity as well as the totals eind results 

 of this work for the past year, but after much deliberation decided not 

 to otfer the same for publication. The activities of the horticultural 

 quarantine officers at the i)urts of entry on tlie California coast line are 

 too numerous to be presented in the form of a column of dry statistics. 

 In perusing an agglomeration of numerals all color and definition is 

 lost to the average reader, and I doubt very much if any fruit grower 

 would take the pains to analyze the mass and deduce from them their 

 actual meaning even if the same were i)u])lisliod. AVhat is it all about, 

 is perhaps the substance of the remarks the array of figures would 

 engender, and for the benefit of any one interested in the work of the 

 horticultural quarantine service which has for its prime purpose the 

 maintenance of land values in California, it is here set forth that an 

 itemized record has been kept of each transaction, and tlie same is 

 readily available to all parties interested. To those intimately 

 acquainted with each detail of the work a resume of last year's results 

 brings out in strong relief a few items of interest concerning in parti- 

 cular the San Francisco station. 



At this point the volume of business increased to the extent of 35 

 per cent more parcels intercepted and inspected than during the pre- 

 vious year. 



The amount of material denied admittance into the State of Cali- 

 fornia as a result of insect pests aad diseases compared with the total 

 imports decreased from .33 of 1 per cent in 1912, to .31 of 1 per cent 

 in 1913. 



The number of parcels intercepted in the baggage of passengers and 

 members of the crews of vessels arriving at San Francisco from foreign 

 ports increased from .37 of 1 per cent in 1912, to .42 of 1 per cent in 

 1913. or a gain of 1.530 parcels. 



That we have been able to attend to this increa.se of one third more 

 business with the same number of inspectors is due to their assimilation 

 and practice of the system which has been put into the quarantine 

 service. That we have been able to intercept for inspection this 

 increase is due to the policy of the office in dealing with the transporta- 

 tion companies and enli.sting their capable co-operation on the basis that 

 the fundamental principle of the horticultural quarantine law is a 

 matter that vitally concerns carriers and consumers equally with 

 producers. 



