Laws and Pests. 23 
this law, trees were allowed to pass if an officer certi- 
fied that he had examined them and had found no 
evidence of disease thereon, which is a very different 
matter from asserting that they are free from dis- 
ease, and which is a virtual acknowledgment that 
such provisions of laws really cannot be enforced. 
The best laws of this nature, and for the regulation 
of spraying and the like, are probably those which 
are not mandatory, but which provide a_ protection 
or a legal remedy in case any person considers him- 
self to be endangered or injured by the perverseness 
or the negligence of another; and it is a question 
if the common law does not’ provide ample redress 
for such grievances. There are instances, too, in 
which it may be wise to make a general effort to 
stamp out a pest when it first obtains a foothold in 
America, but this is a very different matter from 
the endeavor to control the spread of insects and 
fungi between the different parts of the country. 
The fact is, that most insects and diseases are beyond 
the reach of legislative fiats, and it is time that the 
fact were fully learned. The demand for functionary 
proceedings against the bugs sometimes recalls the 
laborious efforts of the Middle Ages. “At one time,” 
writes Fernald,* “a thoroughgoing procedure, accord- 
ing to all the rules of jurisprudence, occurred before 
the spiritual judge. The accused insects were sum- 
moned, and in case of non-appearance, which always 
occurred, unless the insects were moving to new feed- 
*C. H. Fernald, *The Evolution of Economic Entomology,” Proc. Eighth 
Annual Meeting Assoc. Econ. Entomologists, 1896. 
