472 AGRICULTUPvAL APPROPRIATION BILL, 1924. 



(The statement referred to is as follows :) 



GENERAL STATEMENT' OF WORK. 



The Federal Horticultural Board is the agency for the administration of the Federal 

 plant quarantine act of August 20, 1912. This act has for its objects: 



(1) The prevention of entr>' into the United States of new and important insects 

 or plant diseases injurious to agriculture, horticulture, and forestry. 



(2) The ])re\ention of spread in the United States of any such pests which may 

 have gained more or less limited foothold. 



(3) The control and, if ])racticable, the eradication of such pests, either directly 

 or in cooperation with the bureaus concerned. 



To give such protection now involves the administration and enforcement of some 

 22 foreign and 15 domestic (quarantines. 



A somewhat detailed record is given of these activities in the annual report of the 

 board now in press. This special report for the information of your committee covers 

 the subjects of more general interest and of immediate importance. These are: 

 (1) Control of important new plant pests, such as the pink boUworm, corn borer, 

 pine blister rust, etc., and (2) the port inspection service for the enforcement of the 

 various foreign quarantines. 



CONTROL OF IMPORTANT NEW PLANT PESTS. 



The Department of Agriculture is now attempting to prevent the spread and in 

 some instances to eradicate a number of important introduced pests which still have 

 a rather limited foothold. These include, among insect pests, the pink bollworm 

 of cotton, the I^uropcan corn borer, the gipsy and brown-tail moths, the Japanese 

 beetle, and a number of minor enemies. Among plant diseases similar control is 

 being attempted in the c:ise of the potato wart, white-pine blister rust, citrus canker, 

 and certain diseases of small grains. The present status of the more important of 

 these will be briefly summarized. 



The pink bolhrorm. — This is probably the worst known enemy of cotton, and had 

 gaine I limited fo()th"ld in Texas, Louisiana, and New Mexico. The possilnlity of 

 eradicating this pest is better now than ever bef )re. No infestation by it was found 

 in 1921 in l.ouisiana, nor has there been any reappearance determined so far this year, 

 and Louisiana may be looked upon as substantially, if not entirely, freed from the 

 pest. 



In Texas, as to the older infestations in eastern Texas, but a single infested boll 

 containing a single larva of the pink bollworm was found in the large Trinity Bay 

 distrii t in 1921. There has been no return of the pest in the Ilearue distrii t since 

 the original cleanup in 1917, and this area may now be released as absolutely free 

 from the pest. In the western areas of infestation in the Pecos \ alley and in the 

 Rio Grande X'alley near El I'aso, noncotton zones have never been estaUished, and 

 the pink l)nllw(irm reappeared very scatteringly in 1921, as was to have 1 een expected. 

 As 1 mg as the outcome in eastern Texas was uncertain, neither the iilanters nor the 

 State auth )ritie8 have been willing in these western areas to abandon the growth of 

 cott >n in an effort to comi)letely eradicate the pest, but if it can be held to these 

 western areas, which are separated by wide and uncultivated and fairly desert tracts 

 frim eistern cotton cultivation, they will present very little greater risk than occurs 

 fn^ra the pink IjoUworm in Mexico. 



The situation in New Mexico in the Rio Grande Valley and in the upper Pecoe 

 Valley is similar to that in western Texas. 



The only new outiir(!aks.l)y the jnnk l)ollworm during 1921 were two very incipient 

 infe.statiniis in Ellis and (iraysnn Counties in northern Texas, originating from shijv 

 inents <>t sac. 1 from ('arlsbad, N. Mex., made j)rior to the determination by the de| art- 

 nuMit iif infestatinn at the latter i)oint. These new outl)reaks were immediately 

 and vigorously taken hold of by the i^tate and Federal autlu)ritie8 and thoroughly 

 cleane 1 up, and noncotton and surrounding regulated zones estal lished for 1922. 

 No infestation of the crop of 1922 noar these (loints has so far developed. They present 

 a situation no more serious tlian was liearnc in 1917, which was coini)letely eradicated 

 with one year's cleanup. 



Up to < )ctt»lier 1, l!>22, the only recurrences of the i>ink bollworm which have been 

 •letermined have been in three fields on the Rio Grande in the Great Bend district. 

 .Noicssarily in this area, with the possibilities of reinffstation from Mexict), the jnnk 

 bollworm may lie ex|i("teil to occur in greater or l(\s.s nnml ers any year. Fortunately, 

 thi.4 urea is a very unini|>oitant cotton district and is isolutod from other cotton regions. 



Ah a ba-MiH for the knowledge of the prestuit status of this post, very intensive in8i)ec- 



