362 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



much time that the insect either died unchanged while on the 

 way, or was transformed into the next succeeding stage of its de- 

 velopment, and thereupon found conditions so unfavorable to 

 its existence in its new form that death followed the change. 

 Formerly, in the days of sailing vessels, insects might, for ex- 

 ample, be present in their larval or "borer" stage in logs 

 taken on such a vessel in some European port. The long 

 voyage, however, might result in their transforming into adults 

 before reaching the end of the journey, and they would die 

 without having found a place to deposit their eggs. At the 

 present time such a voyage would probably be completed and 

 the logs delivered before any such transformation would occur; 

 and all that would be necessary upon the emergence of the 

 adults would be for them to find trees of some suitable kind 

 growing in the vicinity, upon which to lay their eggs. 



With improved transportation facilities, including more ves- 

 sels, traveling more rapidly than was formerly the case, oppor- 

 tiniities for the introduction of foreign pests into this country 

 have increased, and it has been estimated that about 

 seventy-five of the worst one hundred pests now known in the 

 United States are of foreign origin. Importing large quanti- 

 ties of nursery stock has greatly increased the chances for 

 insects to come here, as many present on the plants when 

 taken for shipment w^ould remain on them, and not only reach 

 this country quickly but after arrival find themselves on the 

 very kinds of plants they fed upon in the country from which 

 they came. 



Laws intended to prevent undesirable human immigrants 

 from entering the United States have been in force for years; 

 but a similar attitude toward undesirable insect pests and plant 

 diseases has existed only for a very short time, though the losses 

 caused by these injurious immigrants have already run into 

 billions of dollars. If all the pests of other lands bad already 

 reached this country, such laws would be unnecessary, but as 

 there are still many very destructive forms which have not as 

 yet reached us, the inspection of all imported nursery stock is 

 not only desirable but of prime importance. 



Massachusetts ranks fourth in the amount of nursery stock 

 imported from abroad, and inspection of this is therefore par- 



