PROTECTING AMERICAN CROP PLANTS 79 



During the six years of its existence, the Board, by its eminently 

 fair attitude toward the industries affected and the painstaking 

 way in which it has met and handled the various problems pre- 

 sented to it, has gained the confidence of the public. Its work 

 necessarily had to be evolutionary. It must continue so because 

 hard and fast lines can at no time be drawn in such matters. After 

 very careful investigation in each case, the Board issued a number 

 of special foreign and domestic quarantines which unquestionably 

 have done much to protect the country from alien plant enemies 

 and the further spread of some of those we are so unfortunate as 

 to have already with us. 



The Board has developed a system of organized inspection, 

 which beyond doubt is the best of its kind anywhere in the world. 

 The results secured by its trained corps of workers are such as to 

 make practicable the ability to detect many of the serious enemies 

 by rigid and intensive systems of inspection. The very fact that 

 so much has been accomplished along these lines has shown the 

 inadequacy of the usual inspection methods and points to the need 

 of more effective protective action in the exclusion of the host 

 plants themselves. 



During the past two or three years the need for plant exclusion 

 has been more strongly felt. Public sentiment demanded action 

 and has been quite insistent on greater protection. As evidence 

 of this, various organized agencies have taken action. Such bodies 

 as the state departments of agriculture and horticulture, state 

 nursery inspectors, state entomologists, American Association of 

 Forestry, American Phytopathological Society, and various other 

 organizations have voiced their opinion as to the need for action 

 which would meet the situation. The Federal Horticultural Board 

 gave all these matters careful consideration. Hearings were held 

 from time to time and many discussions took place with repre- 

 sentatives of horticultural interests and other workers in this 

 country. 



While these matters were under consideration by the Board, 

 certain legislative action of a very drastic nature was proposed. 

 Bills were introduced which were referred to the Department and 

 which upon the recommendation of the Board were left unconsid- 

 ered. It was believed that the Federal Horticultural Board had 



