February, '16] WEISS: RECENTLY ESTABLISHED PESTS 215 



day. In other words, ordinary inspection will not keep out all for- 

 eign pests and extraordinary inspection would not be tolerated by 

 importing firms or paid for by state governments. Therefore the only 

 other way in which the danger from foreign insects can be reduced 

 to a minimum is by a federal law prohibiting the importation of all 

 nursery stock. This was suggested at last year's meeting of this body. 



In order to determine how such a ruling would be received by New 

 Jersey importers of nursery stock, most of them were interviewed 

 along this line during the course of inspection work the past year and 

 the majority were in favor of it or indifferent. This opinion, however, 

 applies only to the importation of ornamental stock as very few im- 

 ported fruit stocks enter New Jersey and very little fruit stock is 

 grown. Their reasons for favoring such a measure were not by any 

 means entomological but purely commercial. Some of the firms 

 interviewed have built up organizations capable of growing their 

 own stock and are therefore to a certain extent independent of foreign 

 growers. Many said that they were forced to import certain plants 

 because everybody else did and that they could not afford to stop 

 even though the profit in such plants was small. Others complained 

 of foreign shippers who, after supplying the regular trade, unloaded 

 stock on the auction houses where it was sold considerably cheaper 

 than they could import it for thereby making it possible for ''fly 

 by night" nurserymen and firms with no overhead charges to sell 

 cheaper than they. Others spoke of the inferior goods imported by 

 some department stores and sold to the unsuspecting public, a pro- 

 cedure which no reliable nursery firm could afford. Others were 

 indifferent as long as all firms alike would be prohibited from importing 

 stock. 



All were agreed in that the sale of native plants would be accelerated, 

 that the prices of certain plants would advance due to increased ex- 

 pense in growing them and that stock which could not be grown here 

 on account of adverse climatic conditions, labor, poor soil, etc., the 

 public would simply have to do without or take a substitute, also 

 that it would be impossible to obtain plant novelties or new things. 



The minority in favor of importations being continued consisted 

 of firms not equipped to grow certain kinds of stock, department stores, 

 men who depended upon auction houses for their supply of imported 

 plants, and others who have been making a profit by importing and 

 reselling stock. Thus, whether an importer was in favor of or against 

 further importations hinged upon — would he lose money, could he 

 grow the stock here profitably, could he grow something else to take 

 its place? It is to be regretted, of course, that some persons would 

 be seriously handicapped if further importation was prohibited, but 



