April, ’23] 
marlatt: work of federal horticultural board 
.139 
Discussing the growth of the work, it was stated that this work 
now involves the services of 150 technical men and some 75 State 
collaborators, and appropriations which will total for the current 
fiscal year $820,430. It was noted also that the Board is concerned 
in the enforcement of various quarantines and regulations thereunder 
on appropriations made to the Bureaus of Plant Industry and Ento¬ 
mology, which, together with the appropriations made directly to 
the Board, make a total of upwards of $2,000,000 expendedBn plant 
regulatory and special pest control work. The present status of the 
important subjects of such control was given. 
The importance of the port and border control work was explained 
at some length, the character of the organization—State and Federal 
—and the effort which was being made to strengthen and increase 
this service which now involves a Federal expenditure of some 
$200,000, including the Mexican border work, and a State expendi¬ 
ture of perhaps $100,000. 
A brief general discussion was given of the 22 foreign and 15 
domestic quarantines being enforced under the plant quarantine 
act and of the present status of Quarantine 37, and particularly of 
the very much improved public reaction toward this quarantine in¬ 
volving its hearty endorsement now by practically all of the State, 
National, and regional associations related to plant production. 
A brief discussion was also given of the proposed restrictions which 
are being considered in relation to foreign fruit and vegetable imports 
to prevent the entry into the United States of the many important 
fruit and vegetable flies which are prevalent in most foreign countries 
and which so far, fortunately, the United States is free from. 
Mr. T. J. Headlee: May I add a word on the Japanese beetle 
situation. From the time of its first discovery in 1916, to and including 
1921, the economic damage done by this insect was so slight as to 
fail to convince perhaps the majority of the people, living in the most 
heavily infested portion of the district, that the insect was sufficiently 
injurious to merit an attempt to bring it under control. In 1922 the 
economic damage was sufficient to cause almost a complete reversal 
in sentiment. It is significant, however, that even in 1922 orchards 
thoroughly sprayed were not in any case seriously injured. 
The ability of the Japanese beetle to do serious harm depends 
upon its abundance, and even when it becomes sufficiently .abundant 
to do harm, crops may be protected by thorough spraying. It does 
not seem likely that further increases in numbers will reduce the 
