PROTECTING THE UNITED STATES FROM PLANT PESTS 



200 



I* i 





A BIG DRUM IN WHICH PLANTS ARE FUMIGATED 



The inspection and disinfection to which plants imported by the Office of Plant Intro- 

 duction of the Department of Agriculture are subjected has during the last year been extended 

 to most of the commercial importations. The room shown in this illustration is equipped 

 with a cylinder for fumigation under vacuum conditions, and with other disinfecting 

 chambers and apparatus. 



many hundreds of lesser importance, and 

 their board and lodging, as just noted, 

 costs this nation nearly a billion dollars 

 annually. 



THE COST OF SOME INDIVIDUAL, LODGERS 



The San Jose scale, which was intro- 

 duced with flowering peach from China 

 some 40 years ago, is now costing this 

 country at least $10,000,000 a year for 

 the spraying of orchards and in reduced 

 output and value of fruit crops. Very 

 conservatively estimated, this means an 

 unnecessary food bill of $200,000,000 

 which we have paid out during these 40 

 years, upon the basis of one-half the an- 

 nual charges for the last 20 years. 



Similarly, citrus canker, introduced 

 with Japanese trifoliate orange stock some 

 13 years ago, has cost in actual expendi- 

 tures of Federal and State moneys in 



control work approximately $2,130,000, 

 of which $1,273,000 were appropriated 

 by Congress, and in value of orchards and 

 nurseries which have been burned to the 

 ground in the effort to exterminate this 

 disease in Florida and other Gulf States, 

 $11,063,000, or a total of $13,193,000! 



Furthermore, this estimate makes no 

 account of the losses chargeable to re- 

 duced orange and other citrus crops on 

 account of the disease and orchards de- 

 stroyed. That is paying very dearly for 

 a few plants of trivial value which in fact, 

 easily and without risk, could have been 

 grown from seed. 



The oriental eruit worm came with 

 the japanese cherry 



The Oriental fruit worm, brought to 

 this country with flowering Japanese 

 cherries about 191 1, when a widespread 



