PESTS AND PARASITES 



343 



A VIEW IN FOREST PARK, BROOKLYN 



Seventeen thousand chestnut trees have been killed in this park by the chestnut-bark disease, 

 despite every effort made to save them. Photo by Haven Metcalf 



country has been long subjected — a new 

 bill was drafted and submitted to Con- 

 gress for action, the passage of which 

 would give this country great protection. 

 It is a compromise measure — compro- 

 mise in the sense that efforts have been 

 made to meet the objections of these im- 

 porting nurserymen. Its enactment will 

 undoubtedly give this country great pro- 

 tection, but not absolute protection, for 

 the simple reason that no inspection or 

 disinfection can be guaranteed to be per- 

 fect in its results ; and, in addition, there 

 is always the risk of carelessness or 

 venality on the part of inspectors. The 

 bill provides for the introduction of 

 foreign plants by permit only, for the 

 inspection and disinfection of such stock 

 at point of destination in this country, 

 and, in case of need, the quarantining 

 of foreign districts which may contain 

 pests or diseases not possible to be ex- 

 cluded by inspection and disinfection. 



Absolute prohibition of entry of nurs- 

 ery stock, except for the introduction of 

 plants new to the United States, through 



the agency of the United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, is the only perfect 

 means of preventing ultimate entrance of 

 dangerous insects, and this is the course 

 which has been adopted, as already indi- 

 cated, by most of the foreign powers in 

 relation to their own territory. The dan- 

 ger and amount of damage possible from 

 these new pests justify the recommenda- 

 tion of such prohibition, especially in 

 view of the small value of imported 

 nursery stock in comparison with the 

 risk and the fact that most of it at least 

 can be just as well produced at home as 

 abroad. 



The State of California for the last 20 

 years has enforced a quarantine at the 

 port of San Francisco, which is the only 

 port in this country so guarded. During 

 these 20 years a great many dangerous 

 insects and diseases have been detected 

 and stopped at this port, to the enormous 

 gain of the fruit interests of California, 

 and, indirectly, of the whole country. 



Some of our more recently developed 

 fruit districts in the great Northwest and 



