contamination by pest organisms. The same is true of plant materials 
carried by or in the baggage of persons entering the country. Thus, the 
record total of 186 milliontravelers entering the United States represents 
not only more people and baggage to be inspected but an associated 
increased pest risk. Some of the other more significant increases may 
be summarized as follows: 
Carriers Inspected: 
The total number of carriers inspected at land, sea, and air 
ports of entry was up 8 percent over fiscal year 1964. 
Leading in the increase were aircraft, with 179,018 
arrivals,or 11.7 percent more thanin the previous year. 
Vehicles inspected on the Mexican border rose from 
27, 764, 088 in 1964 to 29, 857, 226 in 1965, an increase of 
7.5 percent; while the number of railway cars inspected, 
69,807 and 75, 790 respectively, represents a gain of 8.6 
percent. Among the carriers, only the number of ship 
arrivals declined from 64,129 to 61, 313, or 4. 4 percent; 
but the total for 1965 exceeded that of any year prior to 
1964. A prolonged maritime strike on the Atlantic and 
Gulf Coasts is believed to have been the principal cause 
for this drop. 
Volume of Cargo Inspections: 
The number of entries of agricultural materials under 
permit rose by 4 percent, from 81, 734, to 85,110. Of 
even greater significance, however, was the 17.9 percent 
increase in man-hours devoted to miscellaneous inspec- 
tionand the 13 percent increase in the number of packages 
treated or cleaned. Air cargo requiring plant quarantine 
inspection totaled 979, 909 pieces, or 4.6 percent more 
thanduring 1964. Theriskof pest introductionassociated 
with materials entered under permit is less than in the 
case of the nonagricultural and general cargo items 
represented by the figures formiscellaneous inspections, 
packages treated or cleaned, and air cargo. This is due 
to the controlafforded by the permit system, that tends to 
eliminate or minimize risk at source and to impose 
restrictions and safeguards as contitions of entry. 
Major Pest Interceptions: 
The following table reflects gains in the numbers of inter- 
ceptions of some of the more important plant pests and 
indicates the continued effectiveness of the pest inter- 
ception effort: 
