(24). Two weeks later, on November 12, Spencer Cosby informed James 

 Wilson, Secretary of Agriculture, that a shipment of 2,000 cherry trees 

 was to arrive in Seattle on December 10 from Yokohama, Japan, on 

 board the steamship Kaga Maru. He also welcomed the Secretary's coop- 

 eration in expediting the shipment to its destination in Washington, D.C. 

 (25). 



On November 13, Secretary Wilson notified W. D. Benson, special 

 agent, Bureau of Plant Industry Office in Seattle, of the incoming ship- 

 ment of cherry trees. At the same time, he explained to Cosby the 

 importance of the Department thoroughly inspecting this shipment upon 

 its arrival in Washington "... in order to ascertain whether they [2,000 

 cherry trees] are free from insect pests new to this country or from other 

 possible diseases" (26). Noting the lack of both quarantine and inspection 

 laws in the District of Columbia, Wilson stressed the need for cooperation 

 between the Superintendent of Public Buildings and Grounds and the 

 Department (27). 



On November 24, Secretary of Agriculture, James Wilson, informed the 

 Secretary of State, Philander Knox, of the arrangements that were being 

 made to handle the inspection of the 2,000 cherry trees upon their arrival 

 in Washington (28) (fig. 6). Spencer Cosby in the meantime was keeping 

 in touch with President and Mrs. Taft. He and George Burnap began 

 work on a tentative diagram plan for replacing the recently planted elms 

 with the cherry trees along the new Potomac Drive (29) (fig. 7). Any sur- 

 plus cherry trees would be planted in various parts of the city as an 

 enduring reminder of the friendship between the two countries (30). 



Time passed quickly during the next month for those involved in 

 making the necessary arrangements. On December 10, the much-awaited 

 shipment of Japanese flowering cherry trees arrived in Seattle. The cherry 

 trees were given a preliminary inspection there, after which they were 

 transferred to temperature-controlled railroad cars for shipment to Wash- 

 ington, D.C. (31). The train left Seattle on December 24 and arrived in 

 Washington on January 6. The trees, then, were immediately transported 

 to the Department of Agriculture's Garden Storehouse on the Monument 

 Grounds to be examined by a team of top Department scientists (fig. 8). 



On January 8, 1910, David Fairchild found that the trees were quite 

 large and their roots severely pruned, thereby making them imminent 

 potentials for high losses. Fairchild recommended to Colonel Cosby that 

 the tops of the trees also be severely pruned as a possible solution to 

 saving the trees (32). On January 10, Cosby informed Mrs. Taft of these 

 developments (33). 



On January 19, C. L. Marlatt of the Department's inspection team sent 

 his report to Secretary Wilson, noting among other things the serious 

 infestations of insect pests such as the Chinese Diaspis (Diaspis pen- 

 tagona), the San Jose scale ( Quadra sp idio tus perniciosus), and the wood- 

 boring lepidopterus larvae. He recommended that the trees be burned 

 immediately. Marlatt stated in his report that this shipment of trees was 



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