Principal Ageictjltural Acts and Regulations. 357 



Potatoes. — Special restrictious apply to tlie introduction of 

 potatoes from oversea and from non-Britisli parts of South Africa, and 

 on request to the Division of Entomology full particulars of these 

 restrictions m^II be sent to any party interested- Any package in 

 which pathogenic bacterial disease is found will not be admitted. 

 The admittance of a consignment is conditional on the submission of 

 a sworn statement by the consignor, in which he declares the country 

 and the particular place or places thereof in which the potatoes were 

 grown, and gives data clearly identifying the consignment; and 

 further, except in the case of co]isign:nents from France, Belgium, 

 Denmark, British East Africa, and AVestern Australia, on furnishing 

 a certificate from a recognized official institution of the country of 

 origin in which the fungus malady Black Scab or Warty Disease is 

 certified not to have existed either in the district of origin or else 

 within five miles of the actual place of origin. 



Inspection and Fumigation. — All plants introduced into the 

 Union are subject to inspection on arrival; and if at the examination 

 any plant is found to be infected with an insect pest or plant disease, 

 the Department of Agriculture may cause it, together with its recep- 

 tacle and all articles therein, to be destroyed. Plants that arrive by 

 post are examined by the plant inspector at the port where landed, 

 or by a plant inspector elsewhere, accoi'ding to the post office arrange- 

 ments for the dispatch of oversea parcels to the place of destination. 

 Plants that arrive as cargo or that are brought by passengers are 

 ordinarily examined at the port of arrival, but any for Johannesburg 

 or Pretoria may be allowed to proceed there for inspection. 



It is not usual to destroy plants because of a slight infestation by 

 any pest that is already widespread in the Fnio)i, it lieing (;ustomary 

 to admit them after careful disinfection. Emit is rejected if it is 

 mucli infested with Fruit Fly, Codling-moth, or any other pulp-iufest- 

 iug insect, and is fumigated if it is infested to more than a trifiiug 

 extent with any scale pest or fungus disease. 



The consignee, if called upon to do so by the examining officer, is 

 under obligation to certify in writing* the name and address of the 

 consignor, the names, quantities, varieties, and grade marks of the 

 articles, the place of origin, and certain other particulars respecting- 

 the consignment, and also to open the coverings and to afford the officer 

 every facility for conducting the examination. Any article to which 

 a false or misleading name or description is given is liable to confisca- 

 tion, and the party responsible for a materially false certification to 

 conviction for an offence. 



The Department is empowered to have any plant, as alsO' its 

 packing material and coverings, " disinfected or otherwise treated "; 

 and in the ordinary course all icovdy i)l;ints are fumigated with hydro- 

 cyanic acid gas as a precautionary measure. Cotton seed is also sub- 

 jected to fumigation. The consignee must pay for any treatment the 

 fees and charges that are fixed by regulation. 



Fees. — Fumigation and sorling tecs aie the only .special expenses, 

 apart from conveyance charges in the case of consignments that have 

 to go to Johannesburg or Pretoria for inspection, that the Government 

 levies in connection with the importation of plants. 



