110 JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY [Vol. 7 



We should have ever in mind that quarantines must be based on 

 biological principles established through scientific research, that inspec- 

 tion and regulation are makeshift, although necessary, measures forced 

 upon us by the failure to prevent the original invasion of these pests, 

 and that it is our paramount duty to contribute out of our abundant 

 opportunity to fundamental investigations of means of preventing the 

 introduction and spread of insects and plant diseases. It is my con- 

 viction that we are not making the fullest use of existing opportunities. 

 Every state has inspectors whose official travel takes them to every 

 section of their territory, so that as a body they cover the whole of the 

 United States. Can we not enlist the aid of these men in other respects 

 than the examination of nurseries for scheduled parasites? and espe- 

 cially can we not organize a systematic and country- wide survey of the 

 injurious insects and plant diseases of the United States 'I The begin- 

 nings of such a survey have already been made in the Bureaus of Ento- 

 mology^ and Plant Industry, but the data available are distressingly 

 incomplete. The purpose of such a survey would be (1) to record the 

 geographic distribution of insects and diseases and their annual preva- 

 lence in each section of the country, (2) to estimate the losses suffered 

 each year in order that the economic importance of the subject may be 

 understood, (3) to discover at the earliest moment the introduction 

 into the country of new and possibly dangerous parasites, (4) to study 

 epidemics or unusual outbreaks in relation to weather, crop distribu- 

 tion and other factors, and to obtain a better knowledge of the con- 

 ditions governing the development, spread, and control of such 

 outbreaks, (5) to gather data respecting the resistance and suscepti- 

 bility of varieties to disease, for comparison of reports from different 

 sections and correlation with climatological records. 



I shall lay special stress on the plant disease survey because the state 

 inspectors are perhaps already duly watchful for insects, but we need 

 your help and that of all your assistants in collecting more data on 

 plant diseases. The Plant Disease Survey, as at present organized, 

 centers in the Bureau of Plant Industry, with the aid of collaborating 

 plant pathologists in each state. The opportunities for travel enjoyed 

 by the nursery inspectors are, as a rule, so much greater that they 

 could be of exceptional assistance in reporting on field conditions if 

 their interest can be enlisted. 



I mentioned a moment ago the need of basing our quarantines and 

 other procedures for disease and insect control on scientific investi- 

 gations. We are embarrassed at every turn by the lack of knowledge 

 on points of vital importance, such as the geographical distribution 

 of a fungus or an insect, its host plants or its full life history. A 

 multitude of details relative to the means of spread of parasites re- 



