been effective in raising the standard of health of 
the imported plants without seriously interfering with normal trade. 
This method of safeguarding the plant industry has been adopted by 
most European countries without involving undue interference with trade 
conditions. ; ; 
It can be fairly said that the proper perspective of the pathological 
problem as compared with the cultural problem has been accepted by 
Britain, and proper provision made to secure that the health of the 
plants raised, not only for planting in the country, but for export to 
other countries, may be regarded as reasonably safe. Realizing all that 
is being done in England to control diseases and to raise clean nursery 
stocks, and the measures taken to prevent, the export of anything but 
the best, and the fact that the Department of America have admitted 
that the States have little fear of English pests, it would appear that 
the risk involved in admitting a number of categories of British plants 
is extremely small if not non-existent. 
In 1918 the U. S. A. Department admitted this, but stated that Eng. 
land had taken no steps to keep out pests from plants imported from 
other countries and that such plants on reshipment to America might be 
a serious factor, and so England must be grouped in with others. Such 
trade may or may not have been in operation prior to 1918, but the po- 
sition is entirely altered now, since by the passing of the D. I. P. Order 
in 1921 effective measures have been adopted by Britain for keeping out 
all plants other than those certified to be healthy, and inspection of im- 
ported plants by the English service would indicate that the measures 
are effective. Moreover, plants could not be shipped from England to 
the U. S. A. in the absence of a health certificate, and it is not the inten- 
tion of the English Pathological Service to issue certificates for any 
plants other than those which have been actually grown in the country. 
On these grounds the Federal Horticultural Board can rest assured 
the English Service is very alive to the seriousness of the introduction 
of pests from abroad and is safeguarding the home industry quite as en- 
ergetically as America though under a different policy. If there was 
an attempt in the near future to establish such a trade the States would 
be helped by England either in stopping it or in seeing that it was only 
carried on under conditions involving no risk. The law of self-interest 
surely would be the driving force in this instance. Fears, then, as to 
evil consequences on the transshipment from England of plants grown 
in other countries need not for one moment be entertained. 
safeguards taken have 
Mutual Risks from Imported Pests 
It is evident that any country which has a considerable plant in- 
dustry cannot continue to receive imports of plants from other countries 
without due consideration of the risks involved through the possible in- 
troduction of insect pests and plant diseases which, if able to establish 
themselves may cause great disaster to the plant industry. 
In recent years the importance of the pathological side of plant in- 
dustry has become increasingly evident, and most countries have in fact 
considered this matter, and have been forced by dire experience to con- 
sider and to devise measures for dealing with it. The whole problem 
has been threshed out both by America and by England, and to some 
extent it has been reduced in each country to definite issues In this 
connection it may be well to set out the various pests in England which 
the Americans may view with alarm, and also the particular American 
pests with which the English pathologists are concerned having regard 
to the particular categories of plants imported by each country 
16 
