1054 PEOCEEDINGS OF THE THIRD ENTOMOLOGICAL MEETING 



danger of the introduction into India of insect pests, more particularly 

 through the importation of plants from foreign countries, and rec]uesting 

 Government to take the matter into serious consideration and to adopt 

 early measures for the protection of the staple agricultural ])roducts of 

 India. The Government of Bombay thereupon referred the matter to 

 their local Agricultural Department and to the Inspector General of 

 Agriculture and obtained from Ceylon information regarding the 

 measures adopted there. Correspondence then followed between the 

 InsjDector General of Agriculture and the Imperial Mycologist and 

 Imperial Entomologist regarding the pests and diseases likely to be 

 introduced and the best means of preventing their introduction into 

 India, and the two latter Officers in July 1910 prepared a combined 

 schedule of dangerous plants the importation of which into India 

 should be controlled, and this combined schedule with the jOTevious 

 corresjjondence was circulated by the Government of India to Local 

 Governments and Administrations for their opinions on the proposals 

 made. These opinions were on the whole favourable and it is interest- 

 ing, on reading over them, to note the cases in which examples are 

 given of piractical experience of receiving insect pests on imported fruit- 

 trees. A Committee was then appointed by the Government of India 

 to consider the whole subject and to make recoinmendations. It met 

 at Pusa in November 1911 and consisted of Messrs. B. Coventry 

 (Inspector-General of Agriculture), E. J. Butler (Imperial Mycologist), 

 A. Howard (Imperial Economic Botanist). T. Bainbrigge Fletcher 

 (Imperial Entomologist), A. T. Gage (Director, Botanical Survey), 

 R. F. L. Whitty (Customs Department, Bombay), and R. D. Anstead 

 (Planting Expert. South India). This Committee recommended (1) 

 that plant imports likely to introduce insect pests should be fumigated, 

 (2) that importation of plants from foreign countries should be permitted 

 at the seven principal ports only, (3) that all living plants, excepting 

 only culinary vegetables or fruits intended for consumption and 

 seeds and a few other specified exceptions, should be fumigated 

 with hydrocyanic acid gas at the place of entry, (4) that the Govern- 

 ment of India shoidd address Foreign Governments and Native States 

 owning sea-ports in India on the subject of introducing restrictions 

 similar to those applied in British India, and (5) that no action need 

 be taken with regard to the land frontiers of British India other than 

 those of Foreign Governments and Native States owning sea-ports in 

 India. 



It was supposed that the importation of plants could be regulated 

 under Section 19 of the Sea Customs Act (VIII of 1878). but it was found 

 that the Sea Customs Act co\ild not be used in the manner proposed 



