What the United States Fears in England 
The flowering plants which England can send into America are gen- 
erally free from dangerous or serious pests, and as it is only the roots 
from which the soil has been removed which are transmitted, the danger 
is therefore reduced to almost a negligible quantity. The bulbs probably 
fall into a different group of their own; but it is quite true that in 
England there are three bulb pests of importance, namely, the Narcissus 
fly, the small Narcissus fly, and the eel worm. It is quite probable that 
American entomologists have been viewing with alarm the possible in- 
troduction of these pests into the United States. The pests, however, are 
by no means confined to Europe, but are present also in America, so that 
their possible introduction cannot weigh as heavily as the introduction 
of a pest at present non-resident in America. The other class of plants 
which is exported to America in fairly large quantities is Manetti 
stocks, and in the state in which they are exported, the stocks are appar- 
ently only subject to two pests, namely, a sawfly (Emphytus cinctus) of 
which the larve burrow into any dead wood to pupate, and crown gall, 
which produces growths on the roots. These diseases cause no real dam- 
age in this country. Both diseases are easily recognizable, and arrange- 
ments have been made whereby reliable health certificates can be issued. 
American pathologists must give the fullest consideration to such a 
serious disease as the silver leaf of Plum (Stereum purpureum). This 
is a really deadly disease which not only reduces the crop, but ultimately 
kills the trees. It is a serious pest of a nature sufficiently deadly, in 
the absence of control measures, completely to destroy the whole Plum 
growing industry. The fungus is known, however, to exist in Canada 
from Nova Scotia to Vancouver, while Hester and Whetzel in their “Man- 
ual of Fruit Diseases” state that it is known in the United States on 
Apples. The Ministry of Agriculture of England would support any rea- 
sonable measures taken by the Federal Horticultural Board to prevent 
the further spread of this disease. 
It is true that in the southern part of Britain Rhododendrons are 
attacked by the Rhododendron bug (Leptobrysa [Stephanitis] rhododen- 
dri, Horv.) But this would appear to be an American pest which was 
introduced from that country into Europe. The position with regard to 
orchids perhaps is somewhat different. These are hothouse plants and 
subject to attack by the insects commonly found existing under such con- 
ditions. These insects are quite common the whole world over, and there 
would appear to be no single special pest of orchids in this country which 
is not already resident in the glasshouses of the States; so that the risk 
involved by orchid introduction has been exaggerated. 
It is clear, from the letter of Mr. Houston that the American Gov- 
ernment attaches great importance to the further possible introduction of 
plants carrying the brown tail and the gypsy moth. The risk of introduction 
on British grown plants is negligible for the gypsy moth has become ex- 
tinct, and repeated attempts at reintroduction by misguided entomolo- 
gists have been completely unsuccessful. The brown tail moth maintains 
a precarious existence on the southern and southeastern coasts of England 
where it feeds chiefly upon Sea Buckthorn. It seldom, if ever, penetrates 
more than a mile from the coast, and the Ministry has no record of its 
discovery in any nursery. 
What England Fears from America 
When the insect pests and plant diseases of America are considered 
by English pathologists in relation to the class of produce which America 
sends Britain, the position is a particularly gloomy one, and it can con- 
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