DANGER OF SPREAD OF GIPSY AND BROWN-TAIL MOTHS. 7 
filled with the one-fourth grown larve. Moreover, one shipment of 
nursery stock frem Belgium to Louisiana contained an egg mass of the 
gipsy moth. 
All of this imported European stock was again followed up as far 
as possible in accordance with the arrangement of the previous year 
with the customs officers and by agreement with the railroads, and 
all reported shipments were inspected at their destination. 
Of the shipments of 1910 not less than 291 different lots were 
found to be infested with nests of the brown-tail moth. These went 
to the following States: Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, 
Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, New Jersey, New 
York, Ohio, and Virginia. 
BROWN-TAIL MOTH NESTS IMPORTED IN 1911. 
As a result of a thorough investigation of European conditions, 
which will be described later, a much better effort during the last 
year has been made, notably in France and Belgium, to improve the 
conditions of export stock, and as a result the importations of the 
present season of 1911 so far have shown a very notable improvement 
in amount of infestation. Nevertheless, the imported stock still 
shows occasional infestation, and such infested stock is being widely 
distributed. The danger as the infestation becomes less general is 
perhaps just as great or even greater from the very natural lessening 
of care or greater haste which will be given to examinations, and one 
overlooked nest or egg mass is quite sufficient to establish these pests. 
RECORDS OF DISTRIBUTION OF THE IMPORTED NURSERY 
STOCK INCOMPLETE. 
Nursery stock imported by dealers and sent direct in bond to des- 
tination is probably all reported and subsequently examined. Much 
of the imported nursery stock is, however, handled by customs 
brokers or receiving agents in New York, and the different packing 
cases are so marked that these distributing agents know where to 
send them, and they are distributed widely over the country, often 
in bond, without being examined in New York, and often without any 
record being made of such shipment or final destination. As pointed 
out by Dr. Howard in his testimony before the House Committee on 
Agriculture, much of such nursery stock which enters at the port of 
New York and is thence distributed in original packages the Govern- 
ment has been able to trace through the courtesy of the railroads, 
in addition to the regular arrangement with the customs office to 
advise the Department of Agriculture on the receipt of such stock. 
Nevertheless, the information gained from the customs office is evi- 
dently incomplete, as very often the railroad companies report the 
handling of stock of which no advice has been gained by the customs 
453 
