_9- 



"been dropped as far as imported potatoes are concerned, as it 

 seemed too much like encouraging the disease. 



I may here point out that in order to carry out inspection 

 at all it is necessary to maintain a staff of men, one of vi^hich 

 at least should be a trained official, at each port of entry. 

 The salary of these, wages for manual lahor, travelling esqpenses, 

 compensation for destroyed vegetation - notwithstanding all these 

 precautions, the ever prominent danger of failing to recognize an 

 infected shipment - this sort of thing will not he found worth 

 the whole of the Importations in years when potatoes are less 

 scarce. Whether this effort v^ill pay in years when potatoes 

 are scarce, will he shown only a fter a year's work has been 

 done; concerning the control of this disease, should it hecome 

 estahlished, the cost of all this should, of course, be added to 

 the expense of maintaining inspectors, including compensation for 

 destroyed thlpments, and may he counterhalanced by the total value 

 of all potatoes imported. It is very douhtful if the balance will 

 he found on the right side. 



I j:ave pointed out by the foregoing examples, besides the in- 

 efficiency of inspection - however' thorough it may be belived to 

 be, also indirectly the folly of a q.uarantine in a case like this, 

 and, fina.lly, the serious consequence of compensation - none of 

 which adequately serve their purpose. Compensation may be a 

 matter worthy of consideration, when dealing with a crop destroyed 

 within a country's borders, but to grant it for the destruction of 

 iioported matter is nothing short of encouraging, or at any rate 

 facilitating tie importation of destructive diseases. 



Without going into further details there cannot be any doubt 

 that these measures are exceedingly inefiicient, if not unwise, 



