BUREAU OF ENTOMOLOGY AND PLANT QUARANTINE 69 
Mail Inspected 
The threat to our agriculture from pests arriving in the mails was 
demonstrated repeatedly. Among the more destructive forms taken 
were a weevil pest of apples, the golden nematode, the Mediterra- 
nean fruit fly, the olive fly, the oriental fruit fly, a weevil attacking 
filberts, and an important disease of citrus. Of the 2,062,600 foreign 
parcel-post packages examined, 3,000 contained unauthorized plant 
material and 4,600 packages of plants and plant products were 
released under permit. In Hawaii 367,700 packages were examined 
prior to dispatch to the mainland, 143,260 of which were opened for 
inspection. A total of 96,000 packages destined for the mainland were 
examined in Puerto Eico ; 6,825 of them were opened for inspection. 
Imported Plant Products Inspected 
Importations of plants and plant products under permit continued 
heavy throughout the year; 258,932,200 crates, boxes, bales, bushels, 
bunches, and other units were inspected at ports of entry and treated 
or otherwise safeguarded when pest conditions warranted. Importa- 
tions included nursery stock, plants, seeds, fruits, vegetables, cotton 
and cotton products, cereals, and fibers. In addition, millions of small 
lots of plant material imported from Mexico were inspected and safe- 
guarded, if necessary, but not recorded. There was an increased 
interest on the part of the trade in importing under treatment fruits 
which otherwise would be prohibited because of fruit -fly risk. Large 
quantities of deciduous fruits were entered from South Africa and 
Argentina subject to cold treatment and a large volume of citrus 
fruit was imported from Mexico after vapor-heat treatment. 
A total of 784 shipments of plants, seeds, and other propagating 
materials were imported by the Department for scientific and experi- 
mental purposes. They were examined and treated, when required 
by pest conditions, at the inspection house in Washington, D. C. Cer- 
tain plants considered capable of harboring pests that could not be 
detected at the time of importation were grown for a period under 
quarantine, during which they were regularly examined. Final 
inspection prior to release was made of 39.170 exotic plants and 7.420 
budsticks and cuttings grown by the Department under quarantine 
conditions. 
Plant Material Grown Under Postentry Quarantine 
Field inspections of imported plants being grown under postentry 
quarantine demonstrated the importance of keeping certain classes 
of plants under surveillance long enough to determine whether they 
are infected or infested with pests not detectable at the time of entry. 
An injurious whitefly and a scale insect, neither of which is known to 
occur in the continental United States, were found on Jasminum 
plants from the Philippines being grown under quarantine. The 
plants were promptly ref umigated. Postentry inspection also uncov- 
ered five important virus diseases, including two of hops, one of 
Lobar a a in vosii, one of flowering cherry, and one of Daphne mezer- 
eum. The infected plants were either destroyed or rogued and held 
under quarantine for further observation. 
