THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
99 
Elbert Hubbard once said something to the effect that 
“If a man makes a better mouse-trap or safety pin than 
his competitor, the world will beat a path to his door,” 
but I have always believed that if you let the world know 
about your mouse trap and where your door is, they 
will get to it a great sight sooner. 
A well-planned advertising campaign will do just ex¬ 
actly that for you. 
A QUARANTINE BUGABOO LAID TO BEST 
Several delegates to the recent National Agricultural 
Conference in Washington handed me and others mail¬ 
ed me, mimeographed copies of a document entitled “Are 
Our Fruit and Grain Exports in Danger?”, signed by 
John Kingdon Smith. We have been unable to secure 
any information as to the address or status of the au¬ 
thor. 
This document seems to be a phase of the now waning 
propaganda against Quarantine 37 started two years ago 
by a group of plant importers who wished to continue 
old-time unlimited importation of plants with all the old 
risks of entry of new plant pests. Quarantine 37 re¬ 
stricts the entry of foreign plants and seeds with the ob¬ 
ject of protecting the United States, so far as may be, 
from such entry of foreign plant pests and plant dis¬ 
eases. 
Mr. Smith’s chief fear seems to be that Europe will 
retaliate and cut off our grain and meat exports unless 
we open the door again to the practically unlimited en¬ 
try of European plants. As supporting this contention 
he makes various statements which, on examination, 
prove to be for the most part, either diametrically wrong 
or at least distinct misrepresentations; for example, 
with respect to the restrictions on the entry of our plants 
into Europe, he alleges that Europe now gives an open 
door to our plants. The facts are that leading countries 
of Continental Europe began the prohibition of Amer¬ 
ican plants in connection with Phylloxera some half a 
century ago and some twenty-five years ago made such 
prohibitions practically complete, following the general 
invasion of this country by the San Jose scale. During 
this latter period, many of the leading European coun¬ 
tries—Holland, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, 
have been closed to the entry of living plants from Am¬ 
erica, and others—Belgium, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Rus¬ 
sia—have been closed in lesser degree. Even Great 
Britain, Norway, and Sweden have restrictions against 
certain plants. Our fruits and fruit products, further¬ 
more, get into some of these countries only under bur¬ 
densome restrictions. These conditions still obtain, but 
no one has questioned the right and desirability of Eur¬ 
ope to thus protect her own cultures. 
By contrast, Quarantine 37 provides for the entry in¬ 
to the United States of vast quantities of plants from 
Europe and other parts of the world, and, in fact, makes 
provision for the entry of any plant whatsoever for 
which a real need in the interests of our horticulture or 
floriculture can be shown. 
As a mere side-light on the amount of plant importa¬ 
tions which are permitted from Europe under this quar¬ 
antine, which is allleged to cut off such importations, 
it may be stated that no less than 6,000 open continuing 
permits have been issued during the last two years for 
the introduction of certain important classes of plants 
and seeds, and the entry of these classes is not restrict¬ 
ed in any way as to quantity. These permits cover near¬ 
ly 90% of the bulbs hitherto imported, fruit and rose 
stocks, and all seeds of fruit, forest, and ornamental 
trees. 
Certain other classes of plants and plant products are 
permitted free and unrestricted importation, i. e., no per¬ 
mit is required and no control is exercised under this 
quarantine. These include field, vegetable and flower 
seeds, and all fruits, vegetables, and cereals and other 
plants and plant products imported for medical, food, or 
manufacturing purposes. 
Under Quarantine 37 all other classes of plants arc 
permitted entry in any necessary quantity for any real 
horticultural or introduction need. These are the so- 
called “prohibited plants,” but for the entry of such 
plans during the period of the quarantine since June 1. 
1919, there have been issued 1,428 permits authorizing 
the entry of 29,347,609 plants! As an indication of the 
liberality of entry under these permits, there have been 
issued a total of 148 permits for the entry of new roses. 
These permits have authorized the entry of 57.742 rose 
plants and under these permits upwards of 41,000 rose 
plants have already been entered. These entries include 
to date 459 roses nearly all new varieties, out of a total 
authorized entry of 1,148 different varieties of roses, 
again nearly all new. To a reasonable person it would 
seem that upwards of 400 new varieties of roses is a 
pretty sizable number to be introduced and assimilated 
in a period of a little over two years, especially in com¬ 
parison with the lists recently published by the Ameri¬ 
can Rose Society, indicating that only 146 new varieties 
of roses were originated in all the world in something 
over a twelve months’ period, 1920-1921, and that 592 
varieties represent the total number of new roses which 
have been originated in the United States from the very 
beginning of rose culture! It should be remembered 
that the rose is only one of many classes of plants which 
have thus been authorized entry under Quarantine 37. 
To recapitulate, Quarantine 37 places no restrictions 
whatsoever on the importation from Europe of all fruits, 
vegetables, cereals, and other plant products for food, 
manufacturing, or medicinal purposes, or of field, vege¬ 
table, and flower seeds: provides for unlimited entry 
under open continuing permits of five important classes 
of plants and seeds, and makes provision for the entry 
under special permits of all other plants, for the purpose 
of keeping the country supplied with new varieties or 
any necessary propagating stock. These provisions cov¬ 
er all plants and seeds whatsoever for propagation or 
other uses and indicate the purpose of the Department 
under this quarantine to provide for the entry of any 
necessary or useful plant in quantities sufficient to meet 
all reasonable needs. In the meantime the gates of 
many European countries remain closed, as they long 
have been, to the entry of American plants. 
The bugaboo of retaliation which Mr. Smith raises 
would seem to have very little basis and it is rather 
amusing that he should seize as an excuse for such re¬ 
taliation the “take-all” disease of wheat, which has very 
limited foothold in the United States and is under strict 
