THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 237 



to my attention during ray stay at Honolulu. Passengers pass freely 

 on to the docks and into the ships carrying with them "whatever they 

 see fit. I was not interrogated myself nor were any of my belongings 

 investigated upon entering either the docks, or the vessel upon M^iich 

 I returned, nor did I see any other passengers at the different sailings 

 treated in a dissimilar manner. 



It is hardly to be expected that the Hawaiian people, or perhaps 

 even their officials, would advertise or give undue publicity to the 

 grievous calamity that has fallen upon most of their favorite fruits. 

 This will always remain the function and unpleasant duty of the 

 Federal Government. 



SEALED BAGGAGE. 



There is no inspection whatever of the baggage of passengers leav- 

 ing Honolulu and sailing for points in the United States on board 

 vessels that have called at foreign ports during the voyage. All such 

 baggage is delivered to the United States customs officials, who, without 

 searching tlie same, bind it about with a cord and attach a leaden seal. 

 These facts I learned from the customs officer in charge of such work 

 at Honolulu. This same baggage, if found upon arrival at United 

 States ports of entry to have these seals unbroken, is immune from 

 inspection either b}' the customs or horticultural officers. 



In the past it has been argued and the theory held that passengers 

 would not place host fruits of the fly in such baggage, due to the fact 

 that the same would inevitably decay during transit and disfigure, 

 perhaps damage Ihe other contents of the trunk. Findings at quar- 

 antine at San Francisco have proven that certain hosts of the fly 

 carry the larvoe when in such a state of dryness that they may be 

 packed in any material or in any location and carry to the mainland 

 in security. Kamani nuts are the seeds of an exceptionally beautiful 

 ornamental tree; they are also a much preferred host of the Mediter- 

 ranean fruit-fly. One hundred and five larvfe have been recorded as 

 obtained from the pulp surrounding a single nut. During my visit 

 I found the ripened nuts to be universally infested. A case occurred 

 at quarantine in San Francisco where a quantity of dry Kamani nuts 

 were found in the pocket of an overcoat of a passenger arriving from 

 Honolulu. Upon being c[uestioned he frankly admitted that it was his 

 intention to plant these in southern California. Of their condition he 

 was ignorant. Removal of the dried skin from one of these nuts 

 revealed eleven matured larvfe of the Mediterranean fruit-fly. These 

 same maggots were within twenty-four houts of being planted in the 

 ground among the citrus trees of the San Gabriel Valley. Such find- 

 ings are almost uncanny; they savor too much of miraculous good 

 fortune, and suggest possibilities that are not pleasant for a quaran- 

 tine officer to think of. 



I have given a good deal of thought to this matter of passengers' 

 pockets, of trunks in the hold and of sealed baggage, in hopes of 

 devising some way of controlling the same. It has occurred to me, 

 and I am respectfully suggesting the same for consideration, that this 

 situation could be greatly improved by devising and putting into 

 effect a simple form of declaration similar to the one employed at 



