336 
There  are  various  scale  bugs,  which  we  fortunately  have  not 
yet  and  which  elsewhere  inflict  severe  damage  to  the  fruit  industry 
and  which  may  reach  us  at  any  moment  from  across  the  ocean 
in  consequence  of  the  fact  that  we  do  not  exercise  any  surveil- 
lance in  our  ports  over  plants  and  fruits  imported  from  foreign 
countries. 
It  is  necessary  to  establish  a rigorous  service  of  inspection  and 
disinfection  in  our  principal  ports  and  to  prohibit  absolutely  in 
others  the  entrance  of  living  plants  and  fresh  fruits  otherwise 
Aspidiotus  perniciosus,  so  widely  spread  in  the  United  States,  will 
before  long  expose  our  entire  fruit  production  to  serious  danger 
and  the  same  may  be  said  of  many  insects  which  possibly  in  their 
original  home  cause  little  or  no  damage  while  in  our  country 
they  might  become  real  scourges. 
Special  surveillance  should  be  exercised  over  plants  imported 
by  nursery  men.  These  are  the  principal  if  not  the  sole  intro- 
ducers of  injurious  insects  and  fungi  even  from  the  most  distant 
regions  as  they  are  also  the  principal  propagators  of  such  mis- 
fortunes in  one  and  the  same  region.  In  fact,  in  order  to  be  able 
to  offer  to  their  customers  new  varieties  of  species  of  fruit  or  oran- 
mental  plants,  these  people  frequently  send  for  small  plants  to 
any  country  and  with  these  they  may  introduce  diseases  which 
are  really  unknown.  In  the  nurseries  then  the  insects  (or  fungi) 
find  an  environment  congenial  for  their  development  and  multi- 
plication and  when  the  little  plants  are  sold  their  enemies  go  with 
them. 
Therefore  a law  would  be  necessary,  which  besides  imposing 
the  disinfection  of  imported  plants,  would  require  that  each  nur- 
sery man  should  be  visited  once  or  twice  every  year  by  an  en- 
tomologist and  that  in  case  any  plants  should  be  found  infected 
by  a new  disease,  they  should  be  destroyed,  or  if  a certain  disease 
should  already  exist  in  Italy  but  not  in  all  the  provinces  it  should 
be  forbidden  to  send  plants  to  the  immune  provinces. 
With  this  last  wish  for  an  inspection  and  disinfection  of  plants 
imported  from  abroad,  which  I formulate  after  the  example  of 
that  which  I have  seen  vigorously  enforced  in  the  ports  of  San 
Francisco  and  Honolulu  I have  finished  my  account  and  take 
t leave  of  you,  thanking  you  for  having  listened  with  such  great  in- 
dulgence and  recommending  that  you  may  keep  in  mind  that  in 
order  to  safeguard  the  agricultural  industry  of  Italy  it  is  neces- 
sary that  applied  entomology,  as  well  as  plant  pathology  should 
be  held  in  the  highest  esteem  because  to  improve  or  innovate 
methods  of  cultivation  is  of  no  value  if  a better  knowledge  of 
plant  enemies,  which  would  permit  of  finding  proper  means  to 
defend  the  greatest  wealth  of  our  country,  does  not  keep  even 
step  with  it. 
The  example  of  the  United  States  of  North  America  may  serve 
us  as  a guide  and  stimulus ! 
