CoMMISSIONEK OF AGRICULTURE 191 



SHIPMENT INSPECTION 



In 1910, an amendment was made to the law, and this for two 

 reasons: the inspection authorities of the State of Massachusetts 

 announced that they would not commit themselves in their certifi- 

 cates of inspection to nurserymen or give any assurance that the 

 nursery stock shipped from Massachusetts would be free from egg 

 masses of the gipsy moth, the reason given being that the winter 

 form of this injurious insect was so obscure that certain evergreen 

 trees on which the egg masses are located could not be adequately 

 inspected. The same year consternation prevailed among the 

 nurserymen of the State owing to the fact that shipments of 

 nursery seedlings and stocks from abroad were arriving in this 

 State badly infested by the winter nests of brown-tail moth. 

 Neither of these pests have become established in the State of New 

 York, and extreme measures were taken to prevent their coming 

 and to avoid their distribution. 



The amendment to the law provided that all nursery stock 

 coming into the State should be examined at point of destination. 

 To carry out this provision, the Commissioner of Agriculture was 

 authorized to issue orders relative to injurious insect control and 

 the control of deleterious fungous diseases of trees and plants. 

 Under this authority orders were issued requiring all persons who 

 received nursery stock from points outside of the State of New 

 York to hold it packed or unopened until an inspector could be 

 present to examine the shipments. This particular line of work 

 is rather expensive although it has been justified many times by 

 the discovery of infested stocks of trees and plants which surely 

 would have caused the establishment of deleterious pests within 

 our borders. It may seem unnecessary to go some distance to ex- 

 amine small packages of nursery stock, but it is through the care- 

 less introduction of small packages that great injury may accrue. 

 Owing to the short time in which nursery shipments are re- 

 ceived in the State, it is not strange that occasionally some 

 packages may be overlooked. In two cases this has occurred, and 

 the eggs of the gipsy moth were brought into the State of New 

 York and became established in limited localities. In one case 

 the cost of eradication may have been as much as five thousand 

 dollars : and in another case, where the gipsy moth had a little 



