No. 4.] STATE NURSERY INSPECTOR. 185 



been eliminated and imports can be successfully covered here- 

 after. During the year 2,991 cases of imported stock have 

 been inspected, and all infested plants found have been de- 

 stroyed or so treated that the insects or diseases present have 

 been eliminated. Probably during the spring some ship- 

 ments escaped examination, no information of them being 

 received, but during the fall and hereafter this will not be 

 likely to occur. 



Quai'antine Provisions. — At the time the meetings of the 

 United States officials and nurserymen were held the Mas- 

 sachusetts nurserymen, at least, received the impression that 

 none of the pests present in New England would be con- 

 sidered as coming under the provisions of the bill, being too 

 widely dispersed. This was also the understanding of the 

 situation received by the inspector. In October, 1912, how- 

 ever, notice was received that a hearing would be held at 

 Washing-ton October 30, to consider quarantining all parts 

 of ISTew England in which the brown-tail and gypsy moths 

 occur. This, of course, came as a surprise for which the 

 ISTew England nurserymen were entirely unprepared, and 

 the inspector was deluged with letters and telegrams re- 

 ferring to the matter. It seemed desirable that Massachusetts 

 should be officially represented at the hearing, and His Ex- 

 cellency, Governor Foss, appointed the inspector and Mr. 

 John Farquhar as delegates for that purpose. 



A conference the day before the hearing disclosed that 

 the general policy of the government had already been to 

 a large extent determined upon, and that so far as nursery 

 stock within the infested territory was concerned, this was 

 to be inspected by United States inspectors and shipped 

 under permits issued by them. With this as a basis, a 

 determination of the policy the State inspection service 

 should adopt became important. It was evident that so far 

 as the State inspection was concerned the government inspec- 

 tion would have neither any value or significance, for it 

 could touch only stock entering into interstate commerce, 

 and as no nurseryman can tell until the stock is dug, in fill- 

 ing one order after another, which plants will have to leave 

 the State and which remain in it, any government inspection 



