SOME ENEMIES OF THE TREES 117 



years. For example, the terrible battle with the 

 gipsy moth which has cost the State of Mass- 

 achusetts alone millions of dollars, began when 

 a certain professor, who had imported some of 

 these creatures for silk-culture experiments, 

 carelessly allowed a half dozen or so of the 

 pest to blow from his desk out of the open win- 

 dow. Such haphazard experiments are not al- 

 lowed to-day. The Bureau of Entomology, un- 

 der the Department of Agriculture, has been so 

 organized that Uncle Sam is virtually the leader 

 of the world in the warfare against injurious in- 

 sects. We have strict quarantine laws cover- 

 ing insect importation, and there are several 

 field laboratories scattered over the country, 

 where expert workers give their time to the 

 study of insect control. 



The OfiBoe of Foreign Seed and Plant Intro- 

 duction looks after the matter of disease impor- 

 tations. The government has agents in all for- 

 eign countries continually on the lookout for 

 trees and plants which may be naturalized here 

 to advantage. Ornamental trees and new spe- 

 cies of fruit and nuts are especially in demand. 

 But don't imagine "the finds" are allowed to 

 enter as they please. No, sir. Uncle Sam has 

 four "Ellis Islands" for the plant immigrants. 

 These are located at Miami and Brooksville, 



