February, '12] ENTOMOLOGISTS' PROCEEDINGS 9 



once passed out of the hands of the common carrier and were on the 

 premises and in the possession of the owner at point of destination. 

 In other words, the federal government's authority only extended to 

 the goods before they had been freed from customs or while in inter- 

 state transit. While it would perhaps be possible to accomplish the 

 result in other ways, inasmuch as most of the states already had 

 machinery for inspection, and in some of these the inspection was fully 

 as efficient as it would be under federal control, it was deemed a better 

 arrangement to leave the inspection entirely to the state authorities, 

 the federal government standing ready to render such assistance as 

 might be necessary or to act in an advisory capacity as at present. 

 The bill, however, is strengthened by the provision for a complete 

 system of notification, both by requiring a permit previous to impor- 

 tation and by subsequent advices to be furnished by the customs 

 officers, the broker, or first receiver of the stock, and the common 

 carrier transporting it. This will enable the Department of Agricul- 

 ture to secure promptly or in advance full information concerning 

 every bit of imported living plant material, and make it possible to 

 transmit complete information to the officials in the different states. 

 Any special foreign dangers which can not probably be controlled by 

 inspection are still covered by the section providing for foreign quar- 

 antine. The features of domestic quarantine remain as before, pro- 

 viding a federal means of preventing the spread and stamping out if 

 possible of points of infestation by new pests or diseases. 



This bill is now before both houses of Congress, and in this long 

 session there should be ample time for its full discussion, and presenta- 

 tion on its merits. The outlook for favorable action is therefore good. 



T. B. Symons: Mr. President, I think we should have a very frank 

 discussion of this matter, because, if there is one set of people that 

 should agree on any matter, we entomologists should agree on the bill 

 we want to get behind, and if you have objections to the bill it seems 

 to me that now is the time to present them, so that the Association 

 can get behind a bill that is agreeable, if this one is not desirable. 



Secretary A. F. Burgess: Mr. President, it has occurred to me 

 that, as this inspection matter is one with which the Horticultural In- 

 spectors will have more to deal with than the entomologists, and, as the 

 Horticultural Inspectors will hold a meeting Thursday evening and 

 will probably discuss the matter, that it might be well for us to let our 

 formal action on it go over until Friday morning, after the Horti- 

 cultural Inspectors have had a chance to discuss the matter, and 

 probably we would agree with their findings, and they could, perhaps, 

 discuss it better and save time for us. 



It was so moved and carried. 



