FEDERAL HORTICULTURAL BOARD. 515 



STATE AND FEDERAL CONTROL WORK. 



Following the determination by the Massachusetts authorities of 

 the establishment of this insect in that State and the efforts on the 

 i:)art of the department of agriculture of that State to cope with 

 the insect, the Federal Government was called upon to assist the 

 State authorities by establishing a Federal quarantine and by aid- 

 ing in control and, if possible, exterminative work. In response to 

 this request, following a formal hearing on the subject, a quarantine 

 was promulgated, effective August 1, 1918, covering the then known 

 infested area in Massachusetts and prohibiting the movement there- 

 from interstate of corn fodder and cornstalks, whether used for 

 packing or otherwise, and green corn, roasting ears, corn on the cob, 

 or corncobs. 



The discovery of the new important areas in New York in the fall 

 of 1918 was followed by a second hearing, February 2C, 1919, for the 

 purpose of bringing witliin the scope of this quarantine this newly 

 disco\ered infested territory. As a result of this hearing it w\^s de- 

 cided to defer taking additional Federal quarantine action until a 

 more accurate determination had been made of the spread of the 

 insect. This decision was based on the fact that both of the infested 

 areas were entirely within the States involved, and on the definite 

 understanding wliich was expressly given by the representatives of 

 these two States that effective quarantine control w^ould be exer- 

 cised over the infested districts within their borders so that there 

 would be no possibility of interstate movement of infested products. 

 Quarantine orders were shoi-tly thereafter issued by the commis- 

 sioners of agriculture of New York and Massachusetts covering the 

 invaded areas in each of these States. The Massachusetts order was 

 based on a new quarantine law enacted by that State April 11, 1919, 

 having particular reference to the Euroj^ean corn borer. The Massa- 

 chusetts order issued under date of May 1, 1919, prohibited the move- 

 ment from any point within the areas infested by the corn borer sur- 

 rounding Boston of the coiui and corn products enumerated in the 

 Federal quarantine. The New York order prohibited movement 

 from any point of the area infested with the European corn borer 

 in that State to any point outside of the quarantined area of corn 

 and also of a large series of truck plants and ornamental and flower- 

 ing plants. Both of these States made appropriations whicli ulti- 

 mately amounted to $100,000 each for the cleaning up of the infested 

 cornfields. The enforcement of these State quarantines was co- 

 operated in by the Federal authorities. 



In view of the further spread of this insect in Massachusetts and 

 elsewhere and the large number of food plants which in New Eng- 

 land had not been brought under control by the State quaran- 

 tine, a third hearing on the subject of this corn borer was con- 

 ducted August 15, 1919. This hearing w^as held at the statehouse, 

 Boston, to give opportunity for local truck growers and commission 

 merchants who would be largel}- affected by the quarantine to par- 

 ticipate in the discussions. It was apparent from the information- 

 developed at this hearing that the territory invaded by this insect in 

 Massachusetts, and perhaps elsewhere in New England and in New 

 York, was so inadequately determined as to make a quarantine cover- 

 ing merely the area then known to be invaded in those two States thor- 



