112 



Dr. L. H. GOUGH (Chief, Entomological Section, Ministry of 

 Agriculture, Egypt) : Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen The pre- 

 vious speakers have not referred to Egypt. In Egypt the 

 present regulations are an extension of the legislation of ten 

 years ago which totally prohibited the importation of cotton 

 seed. Cotton seed and growing cotton plants are still totally 

 prohibited, and, in addition, all other plants entering the 

 country have to be fumigated. An amendment of the law is 

 under consideration permitting the importation without fumi- 

 gation of plants arriving with satisfactory inspection certificates. 

 Such certificates cannot, however, always be trusted, and fumi- 

 gation may yet have to be imposed, if the plants to which the 

 certificates refer are found to be infected. In spite of the total 

 prohibition of cotton seed, a small quantity of seed has been 

 imported in badly ginned cotton from India, and in this way 

 the pink boll worm has reached us. I should not like to see 

 Egypt give away its right to fumigate, or to examine and 

 reject plants, which, although properly certificated, are found 

 by us to be diseased. 



Sir JAMES WILSON : Mr. Chairman I was one of the Dele- 

 gates representi>ng Great Britain at the Conference at Rome 

 which the Chairman mentioned in his opening speech, so that 

 I may claim some knowledge of this question. I am glad of 

 the opportunity of saying a few words with reference to what 

 has been said by some of the previous speakers. There is no 

 doubt that, in spite of the wording of the Draft Convention, 

 each country will pay some attention to the adequacy of the 

 agency which gives certificates. You cannot expect a certi- 

 ficate from one country which is known to be backward to be 

 accepted in exactly the same way as a certificate from a more 

 advanced and trustworthy country. The Draft Convention 

 itself retains to each country the power to do what it likes with 

 plants after they come to the country, and does not prevent 

 any country from having an inspection made of any particular 

 consignment regarding which it is not quite sure. I think 

 perhaps that has not been quite understood. I can mention 

 that the Hungarian Government has definitely notified its inten- 

 tion to adhere to the Convention, and from what I heard from 

 some of my fellow Delegates at the International Agricultural 

 Institute at Rome, it seems probable that a number of other 

 European Governments will adhere. On the other hand, I 

 understand the South African Government are not inclined to 

 adhere, because their present restrictions, they say, are greater 

 than those which the Draft Convention proposes to require, 

 and they are afraid that if they adhere to the Draft Convention 

 they will have to relax their restrictions against certain coun-. 

 tries. I am inclined to think they are mistaken in that inter- 



