THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



317 



quarantine officers. An average of 7 ships and 650 passengers arrive 

 from Honolulu and Hilo each month. The handling of these passengers 

 and their baggage is a task that admits of no procrastination, and the 

 question of the larger ships with a full complement of passengers is 

 the crux of the inspection situation and one that must determine the 

 number of inspectors needed at the port. Up to this time we have been 

 able to meet the situation, but it is fast outgrowing the abilities of the 

 I)resent force of inspectors to handle this phase of the ciuarantine work 

 M'ith the safety and dispatch that the importance of the work demands. 

 In connection with this matter of maintaining a quarantine on fruit 

 fly material at all ports of entry on the Pacific coast, and the intercep- 

 tion and inspection of all horticultural imports entering the State, I 

 wish to digress a little at this point. On the statute books of the 

 State of California are two laws, the purpose of which is more or less 

 parallel — the State quarantine law and the Fish and Game law. The 

 general scope uf these laws is to protect and improve the condition of 

 these two industries. For the purpose of putting into active execution 

 all the police regulations of these two acts we find the following force 

 of officers available for service : 



Fish and Game. 



Game wardens 73 



Special deputies 400 



Kanucrs 300 



773 



Uorticulture and Agriculture. 



Quarantine officers 9 



Quarantine j;uardians 44 



County inspectors 144 



197 



Proper digestion of these simple statistics can not fail to engender 

 a feeling of marked respect for those whose interest, energy and deter- 

 mination brought about this splendid organization in the interest of 

 the fish and game of this State. Having decided to accomplish a 

 certain purpose, and having obtained legislative sanction and provision 

 for the same their efforts were continued until adequate means for 

 enforcement were provided. Such persistent and successful effort to 

 protect their special interests is not alone worthy of consideration bu^. 

 of emulation on the part of all those interested in the agricultural and 

 horticultural productions of this State. 



Keviewing the foregoing laws, rules and regulations, the actions of 

 the Federal Horticultural Board, the authority conferred upon the State- 

 Commissioner of Horticulture and the drastic pro\asions of our statj 

 quarantine law, as also the numerical strength of the inspection force 

 available for putting into execution all of the same, it would appear 

 that California had effectually closed or guarded every opening available 

 to the entrance of insect pests and diseases, but such is not the case. 

 Notwithstanding all this legislation, all this diligence and thought, ever}'' 

 quarantine officer in California knows that outside of his jurisdiction, 

 beyond his control, yet freely available to every man, woman and child 

 in the State, there are 1,937 avenues of entrance standing with wide 

 open doors through wiiich these pests may freely pass every day in 

 the year. These are the United States post offices. A great deal of 

 energy and ingenuity has been expended in attempting to gain control 

 of horticultural material reaching California points by this method of 

 transportation, for the purpose of examining the same, yet little of 

 permanent value has so far been accomplished. In San Francisco and 



