52 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 194 4 
DISINFECTION 
The amount and type of plant material treated under supervision 
of inspectors and collaborators of this Bureau reflect the wartime 
character of commerce in restricted plant products. The number of 
bales of cotton, Iinters, and bagging treated was 195,971, an increase 
of 12 percent. The total of 30,570.074 pounds of cottonseed cake and 
meal treated was more than twice the 1943 volume. Weevil-infested 
vetch contaminating straw jackets around liquor and wine bottles 
presented a difficult problem in pest protection. Effective steps were 
taken to bring about the use of unobjectionable packing materials, but 
239.148 cases of these products were fumigated in the meantime. Only 
39,905 plants, cuttings, bulbs, roots, and other plant -propagating mate- 
rials were treated; in addition, 19.051 pounds of seeds were safe- 
guarded by treatment. A total of 4.214 samples of cotton lint, Iinters, 
etc.. and 18,943 containers of other restricted plant products were 
fumigated or otherwise treated. 
AIRPLANE INSPECTION 
The rapid expansion of air-borne commerce presented a major 
plant-quarantine problem during 1944. The inspection of airplanes 
now arriving in a continuous flow, after only a few hours on the 
way from many different foreign countries, has become an activity 
of first importance. As this type of commerce developed, studies 
were made to appraise the pest risk involved in it and to determine 
the means available to meet the situation. During the year 21.557 air- 
planes were inspected at 27 ports of entry, including 2 airports pre- 
viously without plant-quarantine protection that were temporarily 
staffed for the last part of the period. There were 8,464 more inspec- 
tions than in 1943, an increase of 65 percent. Prohibited plant mate- 
rial was found in 3,031 of the airplanes inspected. 
In connection with airplane inspection 1.281 interceptions of insects 
and plant diseases were made. While many of these pests, including 
mosquitoes, were stowaways that might menace public health, plant 
pests of economic importance were found in plant material carried in 
baggage, cargo, mail, and stores. Among the insects found were the 
Mediterranean fruitfly, the Mexican fruitfly and two other species of 
A nastn pha, one of them probably .<?< r/M ntina Wied., t lie citrus blaektly, 
and the East Indian bean pod borer (Maru-ra testtddlis (Geyer)V 
Over half of the 44 interceptions of 26 plant-disease organisms were 
found on orchids, including 1 undescribed rust. The gravity of the 
pest risk associated witli air commerce is emphasized by the speed with 
which a plant pest can be transported by this means. 
FOREIGN PARCEL-POST INSPECTION 
The Inspection of parcel post from foreign countries developed in 
it'll into a plant-quarantine problem of materially increased import- 
ance, which will continlie until after the return of the armed forces now 
ov< i The millions of American men and women in uni form who 
air stationed abroad enjoy CU8tomS and postal privileges that place 
their mail in a class apart from peacetime international mail. Be- 
cause 6f its Volume and of the customs and postal procedures involved 
in handling it, tlii- foreign parcel-post traffic creates difficult problems 
in providing plant-quarantine protection against pest entry. A total 
of 1 IV. 1 1 7 foreign parcel-post packages were inspected, an increase of 
1*7 percent over L948. Of these, 717 were refused entry, in whole or in 
