118 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
The total of 29,347,609 plants which has been authorized entry 
and the 12,945,206 plants which have been actually entered to 
date, would seem to indicate that the so-called “prohibited 
plants” are receiving at least some recognition from the Fed 
eral Horticultural Board. The discrepancy between the num¬ 
bers of plants authorized and the numbers imported is due 
largely to the fact that the permittees have not been able to 
secure abroad the quantities of plants which they were author¬ 
ized to import—and this was especially true in the first two 
years of the quarantine. In many instances, such permits were 
reissued the year following. In the case of permits issued for 
the current year, the importations are for the most part not yet 
made. 
IMPORTATIONS OF NEW ROSES UNDER QUARANTINE 37 
As indicating more clearly the possibilities of entry of new or 
unavailable plants under this quarantine, the story of rose im¬ 
portations is fairly informing. During the period of the Quaran¬ 
tine, a total of 148 permits has been issued for the importation 
of new roses or roses not available in the United States. These 
permits have authorized the entry of 54,742 rose plants, repre¬ 
senting 1,148 different varieties, and under these permits 41,211 
rose plants have already been entered, representing 459 differ¬ 
ent varieties of roses, for the most part new varieties. 
In connection with these rose importations, it is interesting to 
compare certain records given in the 1921 American Rose An¬ 
nual, published under the authority of The American Rose So¬ 
ciety. In this very creditable volume under the title “The New 
Roses of all the World” there are listed a total of only 146 rose 
varieties for the twelve months’ period covered by this Annual. 
This Annual also gives an “Official List of American Roses,” 
which includes all varieties of roses which have been originated 
in the United States from the very beginnings of rose culture, 
and the number is 592. Contrasted with these fairly modest 
numbers, it would seem that 459 varieties of roses, mostly new, 
already entered under Quarantine 37, is a fairly sizable number 
to be assimilated in a period of a little over two years, to say 
nothing of the authorizations outstanding which may very short¬ 
ly double this number. 
Similar analyses could be given for the other classes of plants 
listed in the table, but I think the record of rose importations 
is adequate to indicate that new varieties of ornamentals and 
other plants can be and are being brought into this country in 
fairly adequate numbers under the quarantine. 
MANY PLANTS AND PLANT PRODUCTS NOT LIMITED AS 
TO ENTRY 
In a discussion of the entry of these so-called “prohibited 
plants” it should not be forgotten that under Regulation 3 of 
Quarantine 37 certain important classes of plants are open to 
unlimited importations under continuing permits, upwards of 
6,000 of which have already been issued. These permits cover 
nearly 90 per cent of the bulbs hitherto imported, fruit and rose 
stocks, and all seeds of fruit, forest, and ornamental trees. Un¬ 
der Regulation 2 also certain other classes of seeds are free 
from all restrictions, even the taking out of a permit, namely, 
field, vegetable, and flower seeds, and also all fruits, vegetables, 
and cereals, and other plant products imported for medicinal 
food, or manufacturing purposes. 
These provisions, together with those already discussed for 
the entry of the so-called “prohibited plants,” cover all plants 
and seeds whatsoever for propagation or other uses and indi¬ 
cate the purpose of the Department under this quarantine to 
provide for the entry of any necessary or useful plant in quan¬ 
tities sufficient to meet all reasonable needs. 
EUROPEAN EMBARGOES AND RESTRICTIONS 
In contrast with this liberality of entry from Europe and other 
foreign countries are the restrictions against entry of American 
plants, particularly, enforced by the countries of Europe. These 
began fifty years ago in connection with the grape Phylloxera, 
an American pest, and some twenty-five years ago were extend¬ 
ed by important European countries to a practical embargo on 
account of the San Jose scale. For example, Holland, France, 
Germany, Austria and Switzerland prohibit the entry of all liv¬ 
ing plants from America, and other countries—Belgium, Italy, 
Spain, Turkey and Russia—are closed in lesser degree. Even 
such countries as Great Britain, Norway and Sweden have re¬ 
strictions against certain classes of plants, and our fruits and 
fruit products get into some of these countries only under bur¬ 
densome restrictions. These conditions still obtain and no one 
questions the right of European and other countries to thus 
protect their own cultures. 
REASONS FOR RESTRICTIONS ON ISSUANCE OF SPECIAL 
PERMITS 
Aside from the purely commercial interests who would like 
to import cheap foreign plants for a quick turn over and profit, 
the principal objection which is now raised to Quarantine 37 is 
that sufficient liberality of importation is not extended to plant 
lovers and enthusiasts, making it possible for such persons to 
bring in, for their personal use and the adornment of their gar¬ 
dens or estates, any new or old varieties which they may wish 
to secure. The Federal Horticultural Board and the Department 
of Agriculture would be only too glad to meet the wishes of such 
persons, and their name is legion, if it were not realized that 
this action would practically nullify the quarantine. Persons of 
this general type interested in plants are found in numbers in 
every town and hamlet in the United States, and to permit any 
or all of them to import plants for personal use in such condi¬ 
tion that they could grow them, would mean not only that the 
plants would have to come, in many cases, in earth ready for 
immediate planting—involving dangers of plant pest introduct¬ 
ions which can not be safeguarded by inspection or treatment— 
but that it would be absolutely impossible for this Department 
to handle the tens of thousands of small importations which 
would result, or to follow them up to destinations throughout 
the country with any subsequent safeguards. There would rare¬ 
ly be any public service of real value in connection with such 
importations, such as making the new plants generally available 
or utilizing them for breeding or other work. Some essential 
service of this sort should be the basis for the entry of the var¬ 
ious classes of plants which are not open to unlimited importa¬ 
tion. The mere personal gratification of hundreds or thousands 
of individuals who might wish to make their own importations 
would be small justification for the risk of carriage of new pests 
to every part of the United States—a risk which would be vast¬ 
ly greater than before Quarantine 37 was established. 
This situation led to the exclusion of importations for mere 
personal use or gratification, and to the limitation of the is¬ 
suance of special permits for the entry of new or unavailable 
plants chiefly to plant propagators who will agree to utilize the 
plants imported for the purpose of reproducing additional stocks 
for a period of one to five years, based on the time needed for 
such multiplication or reproduction. The immediate sale of 
plants thus imported is not permitted, but no restrictions are 
placed on the sale of the plants produced from the imported 
stock except that the importer will be expected to maintain a 
sufficient supply to meet his future needs. 
It is expected, therefore, that importations under Regulation 
14 will be largely by persons who will propagate the imported 
stock as a commercial enterprise and thus perform a public 
service by making such plants generally available. The only 
exceptions are the issuance of permits to provide for the needs 
of botanic gardens, agricultural colleges, experiment stations, 
and other similar public institutions, and to those few amateurs 
who are widely or nationally known as maintaining collections 
of real merit and open to the public or engaged in work of pub¬ 
lic benefit with the plants concerned. If such persons are not 
known to the experts of this Department, they will be required 
to furnish evidence of their status. 
In the event, however, that the authorized agencies, commer¬ 
cial or other, do not bring in varieties of plants which enthusias¬ 
tic plant lovers may wish, the Department has made special pro¬ 
vision for the entry through its Office of Plant Introduction of 
any neglected or overlooked new varieties and, incidentally, 
this Office has been undoubtedly the principal agency for the 
importation of new plants into the United States for the last 
twenty years. 
To recapitulate, the existing provisions for the entry of new 
or unavailable plants under Regulation 14 include (1) all the 
importations which any commercial grower is willing to make, 
and such commercial growers include persons of world-wide rec¬ 
ognition as plant specialists and breeders; (2) importations by 
botanic gardens and some hundred experiment stations and 
other public institutions with enthusiastic experts in horticul¬ 
ture and floriculture; (3) importations by the leading and recog 
nized amateurs of the country, and (4) importations through the 
Office of Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction of the Department 
of Agriculture. 
Under the plan, therefore, of Quarantine 37, it becomes 
necessary for persons who are neither commercial growers of 
plants, or amateurs who are recognized as maintaining collect¬ 
ions of real merit, or engaged in research or other work of dis¬ 
tinct public benefit with the plants concerned—in other words, 
the ordinary plant lover who wants the plants for his own gar¬ 
den or the adornment of his own estate—to secure new var 
ieties from home sources, and the Department has endeavored, 
through the means enumerated, to make available such new var¬ 
ieties of plants under methpds which involve the least risk to 
the horticulture and agriculture of the country. 
C. L. MARLATT 
Chairman, Federal Horticultural Board. 
