DANGER OF SPREAD OF GIPSY AND BROWN-TAIL MOTHS. 9 
The situation in the District of Columbia is probably the worst 
in the United States, inasmuch as there is no law whatever which 
authorizes the examination or inspection of nursery stock imported 
into the District. Examination of stock imported by local depart- 
ment stores, by nurserymen, and that sent for auction, as noted above, 
can be made only by officials of the Department of Agriculture 
through the courtesy of these different receivers of such stock. Very 
often such courtesy is scant, or refusal is made to open up the stock 
or separate it so that it can be properly examined. Such stock, 
when reported, has, however, been as thoroughly inspected as con- 
ditions permitted. It is sold to a multitude of purchasers, many of 
whom reside in near-by points in Virginia and Maryland, and thus 
finds entry into these States without the knowledge of the State 
officials. 
NATURE OF INSPECTION AND LIKELIHOOD OF LOCAL 
INFESTATION. 
As already indicated, the principal function of the Bureau of 
Entomology has been to get as complete information of importations 
as possible and transmit this information to the State inspectors, 
where such existed, of the several States. In some instances, 
where no local means of inspection was available, the imported 
material was inspected directly by agents of this bureau. In most 
of the States receiving infested goods the inspection made was con- 
scientious and thorough. In some instances, however, the inspection 
was undoubtedly indifferent or worthless. This is illustrated by the 
fact that material received by a-large Missouri nurseryman, and on 
his own statement ‘‘carefully inspected,’’ was reshipped by him to 
Maryland, still infested with the brown-tail moth. 
The condition of the imported nursery stock is such as to make 
inspection difficult and also to render it practically impossible to 
be absolutely sure that the inspection has resulted in the detection 
and destruction of all larve. The nests themselves are sufficiently 
prominent to be easily seen if the masses of thousands of plants 
in a case are properly separated so that each can be given indi- 
vidual examination. This means, however, a lot of time and abso- 
lute conscientiousness on the part of the inspector. 
Many of the nests, however, in the process of packing and unpack- 
ing become broken and the minute larve are scattered more or less 
through the seedling stock and also in the packing material. Under 
these conditions, the chance of larve being overlooked by the 
inspector is very great. Jt by no means follows, therefore, that 
even where material is located and inspected the brown-tail moth 
and perhaps other pests have not been introduced. Furthermore, 
87582°—Bull. 453—11——2 
