THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
133 
sped to suggestions made at the hearing of May 28, 1918, 
and the evidence presented at or in connection with the 
hearing held October 18, 1918. 
Third: Objections involving amendments to, or sub¬ 
stitutes for, portions of the quarantine order. 
(a) That, instead of naming the particular bulbs 
which, when free of earth, would he allowed under pre¬ 
scribed regulations provision should be made for the en¬ 
trance of all bulbs, when freed of earth, except such as 
were particularly named for exclusion. 
It is easy to see that the effect of such a form of state¬ 
ment would be precisely the same as that now embodied 
in the quarantine order as issued, while it would require 
a very much longer statement to specify, with any kind 
of completeness, the entire list of those that should be 
excluded, 
(b) That bulbs do not necessarily have to be wrapped 
in living earth, that they can be wrapped in earth which 
has been specially prepared and sterilized, and that bulbs 
so prepared for import should not be excluded. 
It was promised that this matter would be further con¬ 
sidered and such further consideration has resulted in 
the issuance, on February 12, 1919, of an amendment to 
Reg. 3 of the quarantine, which reads as follows: 
“Provided: That the requirement as to freedom from 
sand, soil, or earth shall not apply to sand, soil, or earth 
used for packing the articles enumerated in Item No. 
1 of this regulation when such sand, soil, or earth has 
been previously sterilized in accordance with methods 
prescribed by the Federal Horticultural Board under 
the supervision of a duly authorized inspector of the 
country of origin. Such sterilization shall be certified 
to by the duly authorized inspector of the country of 
origin.” 
(c) That provision for more thorough inspection should 
have been made instead of a quarantine excluding plants 
grown in such countries as Holland, Belgium, England, 
France, and Ireland. 
As already stated, there are many instances of diseases 
and pests which are not discernible by any practical 
method of inspection yet known. This seems to be abun¬ 
dantly established by the testimony of technical men and 
scientists based upon experience and thorough investiga¬ 
tion. It was voiced at the hearing of May 28, 1918, by 
Mr. J. G. Sanders, Secretary of the National Hortieul- 
tural Inspectors’ Association. It was his opinion that, 
in certain well known cases, inspectors, even when they 
do their best, are “absolutely helpless” in surely pre¬ 
venting the introduction of pests and disease. 
It is acknowledged that Holland has one of the best, 
if not aetually the best, of the inspection systems of the 
foreign countries from which plants are imported and 
yet, since the enactment of the Plant Quarantine x4ct in 
1912, the Department has incontestable proof of more 
than 148 species of injurious insects found in nursery 
stock imported from Holland and many of these were 
entirely new, so far as this country is concerned, thus 
bringing with them the possibility of new dangers to 
forest, farm, and garden. 
It is well established by the testimony of investigators, 
in and out of the Department, that the chestnut blight, 
which came to us from the Orient, the white pine blister 
rust and the poplar canker, which came to us from 
Europe, can not be discovered even by the most expert 
plant pathologist, in certain stages of these diseases, be¬ 
cause, at such times, they are absolutely invisible from 
the outside. 
The inadequacy of inspection, therefore, as a sure pre¬ 
ventive of the introduction of plant pests and plant di¬ 
seases is apparently not open to serious question. 
(d) That, instead of the drastic form of exclusion em¬ 
bodied in Plant Quarantine 37, individual nurserymen be 
permitted to establish a portion of their nurseries as 
quarantine stations, under federal supervision. 
It is apparent, however, that it would be decidedly un¬ 
wise and dangerous to place these stations all over the 
country, and that, merely from a selfish point of view, no 
nurseryman could afford to have such an experiment 
carried on in his nursery. Diseases and pests would, of 
course, come in, since no kind of inspection can abso¬ 
lutely keep them out and since, indeed, that would be the 
purpose of having such a quarantine station, namely to 
receive plants with their recognized diseases and there 
stop them and eradicate them. In a short time, some 
dangerous infestation would surely be found which 
would make it necessary for the federal inspector to 
close the whole nursery, with the result that all the bus¬ 
iness of that nursery would absolutely eease, at least 
until the infestation was eradicated. 
Fourth: Objections to particular features of the quar¬ 
antine order. 
(a) That there is no reasonable ground for excluding 
finished rose plants when the quarantine allows the im¬ 
portation of rose stocks for propagation. 
This distinction is based on the fact that, while there is 
danger in the importation of either class, the danger is 
not equal in both cases. Bose stocks are brought into 
the country by nurserymen and importers in large quan¬ 
tities, they are handled for propagation under supervision 
and inspection, and they are again handled by experts 
for distribution. On the other hand, the finished rose 
plants are older and more developed than the rose stocks 
and therefore more likely to be infested. They are often 
brought in by importers who do not have any nurseries, 
or even a foot of glass, and may be shipped, at once, all 
over the country to customers who have neither the fa¬ 
cilities nor the knowledge for giving them such attention 
as will prevent the spread of any disease or pest they 
may be carrying. 
It is recognized also that rose stocks must come in if 
the country is to have anything like an adequate supply 
of roses. It ,is believed, in the circumstanees, that the 
injuiy resulting from the entire exclusion of rose stocks 
would outweigh the consideration of the smaller risk 
attendant upon such importations. 
(b) That ornamental stocks and seedlings should he 
allowed to come in if fruit stocks and fruit seedlings are 
permitted. 
As already stated. Plant Quarantine 37 was issued 
because, and solely because, the Department is convinced 
that a more comprehensive restriction on plant importa¬ 
tion than any of the quarantines now in foree is neces¬ 
sary to secure adequate protection to the forests, farms, 
and orchards of the United States. Complete safety can 
probably be attained only by absolute exclusion of all 
plants and plant products, since it is known that no form 
