474 AGRICULTURAL iU'PROPRIATION BILL, 1924. 



The effort during the current year to divide the cost of the work between the States 

 <?oncerned and the Federal Government has been only partially successful. Fairly 

 adequate support and cooi)eration has been obtained from ai^proxiniately half of the 

 States concerned and varyin<i gujiport more or less inadequate from the other States. 

 It becomes, therefore, a question to be seriously considered whether in a menace of 

 this kind, which affects the wliole country, protection should Ije jeopardized by con- 

 ditioning the neces8ar^■ fiuarantine and inspection work on the support of any State 

 or States out of a series": in other word.'^, the neglect or failure of any State may negative 

 both the efforts of other States and of the Federal Government. 



The situation is very similar to that in Texas 30 years ago when the boll weevil 

 first appeared, and when it wa.-^ neither pos.^ible to arouse the Texas Legislature nor 

 the farmers to take protective action whirh at that time would have been a fairly 

 easy and simple proceeding. In other words, it has repeatedly proved difficult to 

 get a State where an insect has not yet reached the stage of caiLsing material damage 

 ito become sufficiently interested to cooperate in funds and work. It would seem 

 clear that the necessary control measures should lie instituted in connection ■with 

 such State until stich time as the State has become fully aroused to the need by edu- 

 cational and other means. 



The Japanese beetle. — The .Jai)anese lieetle quarantine fund is also being admin- 

 istered by the Bureau of Entomology, the board cooperating in quarantine features. 

 It seems desirable here to emphasize the belief of the board that this pest is one of 

 the most dangerous insect introductions made in many years, and threatens large 

 future losses, particularly to fruit and forage crops, to the latter as a grub infesting 

 the soil. This beetle seems to be still limited to the original ai-ea of infestation, except 

 for the natural spread of some five miles a year. In the center of this area, where the 

 insect has become most abundant, the damage to foliage and fruit is very alarniing. 

 The ease with wliicli the insect may be carried with produce is also a very dis(juieting 

 feature: for exam])le. during ]!)21, out of some 200,000 baskets of sweet corn moving 

 out of the district and subject to insi)ection, upwards of .5,000 Ijcetles were removed. 

 The insect may be canied l^y almost any of the farm, garden, florist, or uurserj' 

 products moAdiig out of the district and in addition is a strong flier. 



The quarantine and control work against a pest of this kind can be justified only by 

 the repres.'sion of spread and lessening of damage secured. There is no question at all 

 but that this pest will in time spread throughout the United States. The prevention 

 of spread is of immediate value and gives a period during which the insect can be 

 studied and its means of control more fully determined, and more particularly affords 

 opportunity for the introduction from its original home of natural enemies. From 

 this point of view the department would seem fully justified in maintaining for the 

 present the quarantine and other control of this pest which is now in operation. 



The (jipty and brovn-tail moths. — -The quarantine control of the gipsy and brown-tail 

 moths is in cooperation with the Bureau of Entomology of this department. The 

 (piarantine on account of these two i)ests has been twice slightly modified during the 

 year. The quarantined area has been extended with respect to the gipsy moth, but 

 with respect to the brown-tail moth it has been possible to reduce very materially 

 the area quarantined on account of this insect. 



The new areas determined as infested in Xew Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania 

 in l!)20-21 remain as fi)rmerly under the control of State quarantines, no Federal 

 action having been taken, inasmuch as these State quarantines are beinj^ administered 

 in active cooperation with the officers of the Bureau of Entomology of this department. 

 The scattered points of invasion in Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey, which 

 resulted from the big central colony at Somerville, N. J., have been apparently eradi- 

 cated. The Somerville colony has been subjected to thorough clean-up and control 

 work now for two seasons, and the outlook is good for the eradication of this pest in 

 New Jersey. 



Two new points of infestation weie detemxined during the year on Long Island and 

 the c!ean-uj) of tliese areas is actively underway in cooperation with the State oHicials. 



Inspection of i)roducts likely to di.-<seminale the giii!<y moth has been continued in 

 New England and in New .Jersey in cooperation with the State authorities and ship- 

 ments have been safeguarded by careful examination. 



'J'hc pine hlixter rust. — The Federal riuarantines on account of this disease are being 

 adminiHlered in cooperation with the Bureau of Plant Industry. The ini|)0!tant 

 <le\ch(|)nienl in the while |)ine l)lister rusl situation was the discovery in the fall of 

 l'.)21 of tiie estal)lishmenl of this disease in .souihwestern Brilisli ('oiunibia and in the 

 Pugel Sound region of W'asiiinglon. Tlie department in cooperation with State and 

 Ciinadiun autliorilies look i)rompt action to determine the extent of the infected area 

 ami to control or eradicate this new outbreak. The condition of the infested pines 

 indicttteH that the disease must have been present in British Columbia as early as l!ll I, 



