156 THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



GENERAL NOTES. 



IDAHO QUARANTINES AGAINST CALIFORNIA. 



Because of the infestation of California potatoes with the potato 

 tuber moth the State of Idaho has declared a quarantine against the 

 potatoes of our entire State. California will be permitted to ship no 

 potatoes into that state in the future until the authorities in Idaho are 

 assured and convinced that the tuber moth no longer infests our potato 

 fields and store houses. 



Idaho has also placed an embargo on all shipments of nursery stock 

 from twenty-one of our counties, as follows: San Benito, Merced, Stan- 

 islaus, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Mateo, Alameda, San Joaquin, 

 Sacramento, Placer, Sutter, Yolo, Solano, Contra Costa, Napa, San 

 Francisco, Marin, Sonoma, Mendocino, Lake and Colusa, this because 

 of the ravages of the pear thrips in the orchards of California. 



This is a vivid illustration of the necessity of keeping our fields and 

 orchards pest-free ; only by so doing can we safeguard our products 

 and our markets. There is no reason to think that Idaho has any motive 

 only that of her own safety in declaring these quarantines. Each state 

 must protect its own people and its own industries. It must also be the 

 judge of the necessities in each case. 



In the case of the pear thrips our investigations incline us to believe 

 that the embargo was unnecessary. It is very doubtful if the insects 

 are in the soil in nurseries. If they are ever in the ground where young 

 trees are grown, the thorough washing of the roots, which could be 

 required, would doubtless remove all possible danger. — A. J. Cook. 



NEW SOUTH AMERICAN POTATO WEEVILS. 



A very important article by W. Dwight Pierce of the U. S. Bureau 

 of Entomology appears in the new publication, "Journal of Agricultural 

 Research," Vol. 1, No. 4, p. 347 which deeply concerns not only Cali- 

 fornia potato growers, but also those of the whole Pacific Coast. 



This article describes two small weevils, Rhigopsidius tucumanus and 

 Premnotrypes solani, the first 9 mm. and the second 7 mm. long, so 

 small — about one third of an inch in length — that they are not easily 

 observed in the whole potato and are very apt to be overlooked by 

 shipper and consignee alike. This article is beautifully illustrated, and 

 from the illustrations of the injured tubers these weevils would seem 

 to rival the tuber moths as potato pests. 



Our quarantine officers are urged to be on the sharp lookout that any 

 importations from South America which may harbor these weevils, one 

 or both, may be discovered and intercepted. 



The weevils are known to exist in places in Chile, Bolivia and Peru. 

 Happily the Federal Horticultural Board has acted to aid in keeping 

 these pests from the United States. — A. J. Cook. 



