STATEMENT OF MR. J. L. PHILLIPS, ENTOMOLOGIST OF THE STATE OF VIRGINIA. Mr. PHILLIPS. While I am entomologist of the State of Virginia, I am also secretary of the Fruit Growers' Association there, known as the Shenandoah Valley Fruit Growers' Association. This association had a meeting early in the winter before this which is just past; that is, the winter of 1908-9, and we had then just learned of the large importations of the browntail moth into New York. This matter was thrashed out there and was at once taken up through myself, the secretary, and the president of the association, with Secretary Wilson, Doctor Howard, and the members of the Committees on Agriculture, both of the Senate and of the House of Representatives, to get this matter started, and very soon after that the bill of last session was introduced. The members of this association were very urgent that something be done, and I am sure if they lad gotten word or knew about this hearing they would have had a special representation here besides myself; but the matter has been so well thrashed out that I do not think Virginia can add much to what West Virginia has said on the subject. Mr. RUCKER. Just one word to supplement what West Virignia said. What was the date when you say you first took this matter up with these gentlemen down in Virginia? Mr. PHILLIPS. I can not give you the exact date. Mr. RUCKER. About what time was it? Mr. PHILLIPS. It was just before the bill was introduced at the last session of the House. Mr. RUCKER. Then you immediately came to see the Secretary of Agriculture? Mr. PHILLIPS. We at once took it up by correspondence with the Secretary of Agriculture. Mr. RUCKER. And have pursued such course as you thought wise to secure national legislation since then? Mr. PHILLIPS. Yes. Mr. RUCKER. What effort did you make with your state legislature last year? Mr. PHILLIPS. Last year? We thought we had sufficient law to take care of what came into the State, and we simply consideredMr. RUCKER. Do you get all the appropriation you need? Mr. PHILLIPS. No, sir; we would like to have a good deal more. Mr. RUCKER. Did you ask the legislature for any additional appropriation? Mr. PHILLIPS. We have asked them several times in the last few years, but they have not added anything to the appropriation. We hope they will do so soon. We get a fairly liberal appropriation; we have $8,000 a year. The CHAIRMAN. Are there any other gentlemen here who want to be heard? Mr. HAWLEY. We want to hear from the seat of war before we close. STATEMENT OF MR. T. D. SYMONS, ENTOMOLOGIST OF THE STATE OF MARYLAND. Mr. SYMONS. I just want a moment, sir. I want to ask the indulgence of you gentlemen first to correct a statement made by Mr. Pitkin, the nurseryman, this morning. I would have made this suggestion at the conclusion of that meeting had I not expected Mr. Pitkin to be present this evening. He remarked that this bill which was presented for the record was indorsed by the Association of Horticultural Inspectors. I would ask the amendment of that remark, to the effect that the bill that was presented was not considered by the inspectors, but a bill drawn along those lines was presented, and the principles of the bill indorsed, the details to be worked out by a committee from the Nurserymen's Association in conjunction with the Bureau of Entomology. In other words, the Association of Horticultural Inspectors have not had an opportunity to consider the different measures presented in the present bill before Congress, and of course, as chairman of the committee of that association, I would not assume this action, but from a knowledge of the men, and the work in which I am engaged, generally, we are, as I have stated, in favor of these general sections, and the main point of objection, namely, the quarantine, is for you gentlemen to decide. I would also add somewhat as an explanation as to the remarks made with regard to the Maryland inspection work and the Maryland bulletin, and for explanation to the gentleman from West Virginia, for whom I have the greatest regard and to whom I have not had an opportunity to explain this. You will remember that I referred particularly to the issue of the bulletin from the experiment station. Mr. HAWLEY. Mr. Chairman, if the gentleman will state who he is and what business he is in and whom he represents, I think it would be well. The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Symons addressed the committee this morning. He is entomologist of the State of Maryland. Mr. SYMONS. I would add that I represent the growers as well as the nurserymen, as I said yesterday. I am speaking for all the interests in a certain way, as we consider it. Upon the importation of these seedlings and the finding of the brown-tail nests, we considered it a duty in Maryland to advise the people at large that there was a possibility, last January, of private importations coming in, by several parties, and the possibility of the insect escaping in any particular locality, and that called for the issue of a bulletin stating what the inspection service had done. It would seem that the West Virginia people did not receive this bulletin or observe it until last December, when it had been published eight months. They then took immediate action and became scared from purchasing nursery stock from Maryland. I mention this detail so as to show the need of national legislation, so as to explain these matters and prevent a discrimination, not intended so, but truly so. That is to say, these West Virginia gentlemen, or the West Virginia orchardists, were in fear of purchasing nursery stock of Maryland because I had found nests of the brown-tail moth on imported nursery stock. The CHAIRMAN. And had been frank enough to say so? But I will not Mr. SYMONS. And had been frank enough to say so. claim that honor alone. At least a dozen or fifteen other States had done likewise. But it happened that they did not get those bulletins, and they simply thought that it was from Maryland or possibly New York. Of course, there has been a general importation of these things, and there is just as much danger, if there was a danger, in getting stock from Michigan or Iowa or New York or Pennsylvania, or any of the Eastern States, as there was in getting it from Maryland; and, as I have tried to point out, the danger was greater from States where they did not have an efficient inspection service. So that the remark of the gentleman about receiving a shipment of trees with several caterpillars on it can be explained in this way: These nests come into the State on nursery stock. I inspect each tree and destroy all of the nests. There is no room for the insect to get out into the nursery, so far as possible. And if it should have gotten out there, I would find it in the nursery inspection the following summer; in other words, I would have found it this last summer. So there was no danger of importing the pest upon trees that were grown in the nursery. Mr. HAWLEY. Do you, as the state inspector, go to the nurseries and examine all the stock in the nurseries? Mr. SYMONS. Yes. Mr. HAWLEY. That is what I understood you to say. Mr. SYMONS. Yes, sir; that is our duty, annually-in fact, semiannually-in our State to inspect all the growing nursery stock, and issue a certificate to the nurseryman to sell trees. Now, it was not possible to receive the brown-tail moth on those trees that were grown in the nursery, because, in addition to the inspection of the seedlings in the beginning and destroying the nests, we had inspected the nursery later in the summer, when any possible outbreak of the pest would have become apparent by the caterpillars coming out and eating foliage in the nursery. Mr. HAWLEY. Do you know of other States that have inspection laws requiring a semiannual inspection of all nurseries in the State? Mr. SYMONS. Yes; the majority of the States have such laws. Mr. MILLER. Not all of them. Mr. SYMONS. But the inspection is not as efficient in some States as in others, due to different conditions, as has been stated here, such as the large number of nurseries, and lack of appropriation. So I simply mention this, that these gentlemen were honestly afraid of stock from Maryland, when if there had been a national law, they could have easily found out the exact status all over the country, and would have understood it more, and would not have discriminated against Maryland, when it was not fair to do so; because you could not get the pest upon trees that were grown in the nursery in any State having an efficient inspection service; because I would not for a moment grant a certificate to any nurseryman who had had the pests and in whose nursery they had become apparent the following summer. Mr. RUCKER. In this case the nest went from the nursery in the State, without having been set out in that nursery, as I understood? Mr. SYMONS. No; the gentleman from West Virginia stated that he had received a shipment of fruit trees from a Maryland nursery that contained a cocoon that was suspicious, or that looked to him 31735-VOL 3-10-38 suspicious, and the point I make is that we would have found the brown-tail moth in the nursery that summer, and the trees were shipped in the fall, and of course we would shut down on anything going out from that nursery; and I was simply saying now that there was no probability of that cocoon being that of a brown-tail moth, because the pest had never been established in the State, due to the thorough inspection and the killing and the destroying of the nests. But it points out that there should be a larger force to explain these matters and prevent any supposed discrimination between the States, when it was not justly due. Mr. HAWLEY. What is your opinion of section 8 of this bill? Mr. HAWLEY. Just as it stands? Mr. SYMONS. Just as it stands. Mr. RUCKER. That is the quarantine section? Mr. SYMONS. Section 8 is the quarantine section. Certainly we should have no apprehension that any unreasonable action would be taken by the Secretary of Agriculture, hurting any particular interest in this country, if it could absolutely be avoided. The CHAIRMAN. Would you regard the bill as of any value if it should be passed without that section? Mr. SYMONS. Yes, sir; decidedly so. I would much rather have the bill without that section than to have no bill at all, because the stock is to be inspected, if you did not have that bill, and if it is impossible to have that section as it is, which as I say I believe is very desirable, it should be amended along the line of suggestions made by Mr. Pitkin this morning, which would hold it up in a very safe way; that is, to the extent of putting it in the bill, if the nurserymen are very desirous, to apply to such plants as may be affected, or letting the Secretary of Agriculture give such a permit and advising him that those trees would be destroyed when they come in. However, in my opinion there is no reason to anticipate entirely unreasonable action on the part of the government officials in quarantining a whole section, and cutting off the importation of seedlings of apples, for instance, when they want to prevent pines coming in. Mr. RUCKER. As you understand the bill, the Secretary could quarantine against pines without quarantining against other stock, or he could quarantine against apples without quarantining against pines? Mr. SYMONS. He could, in its present shape; but the nurserymen are afraid that if he wishes to quarantine against pines he will simply quarantine against the whole district and not allow them to ship anything out of it. That is the bone of contention. The other point that is mentioned here, the inspection at destination, is very necessary. In other words, I think the inspection at the port of entry is impracticable. Mr. RUCKER. Is it not utterly impossible? Mr. SYMONS. It is almost impossible. I would not say it was impossible, Judge, because when you say it is impossible that is a very broad term. But take what has come into our State. One nurseryman has imported 2,000,000 seedlings, and they have come in in a very short time. That was one single nurseryman who imported those 2,000,000 seedlings. All of that stock dropped on the New York port must be inspected within a reasonable time, that is to say, within a month, and it would take an enormous outfit of both men and buildings for any government to undertake to inspect it, because the European people, who are the packers, seem to be far superior to us in packing nursery stock. In other words, if we undertake to open up a box of seedlings containing 12,000, we can not get them back in two boxes. Mr. RUCKER. Two boxes of the same size? Mr. SYMONS. Yes; because they have unusual means of packing those seedlings. So that requires a place at their destination where you can let them out in a large warehouse, and clean everything around the place so that you can destroy everything and avoid any danger to the seedlings. Mr. HAWLEY. If the trees were inspected at the port of entry, would not they likely suffer danger to their vitality if the boxes were opened. Mr. SYMONS. That is the point I make, that in addition to the cumbersomeness of the job, there is danger from weather conditions which we have to consider in our own State. Take a particular nurseryman, and he would not want them handled more than once, because when you open up the boxes, you are exposing them to winds that dry the roots, and you are endangering the plants. Mr. STEWART. Would not the examination by the assistant of the Secretary at the nursery, if the original package was not disturbed, be constructively an examination at the seaboard; in effect would it not be the same thing? Mr. SYMONS. Yes; I agree with you; but you see, there was opposition. It was understood once that it was to be inspected at the point of entry. The gentleman from New York who spoke to-day made that point, a while ago. The CHAIRMAN. We are very much obliged to all of you gentlemen for the information you have given the committee. Mr. RUCKER. I would like to ask Doctor Howard one or two questions. Doctor, since you began your efforts to exterminate the gypsy moth or the brown-tail moth, up in Massachusetts, I believe, principally, has it spread over a large area, or is it confined? Mr. HOWARD. We have confined it pretty well. Mr. RUCKER. Your judgment is that it has been confined, and is not extending itself? Mr. HOWARD. The gypsy moth is extending very slowly northward. Isolated outbreaks have been discovered in two cases to the east, but no general advance along the western line. The brown-tail moth, flying rapidly, has spread quite rapidly through the northeast, up into Maine, in the direction of the prevailing winds at the season of the year when it is flying. Mr. HAWLEY. That is in June? Mr. HOWARD. Yes; in June. Mr. RUCKER. As I understand you, the brown-tail moth is spreading? Mr. HOWARD. In that direction, but not toward the west. Mr. RUCKER. Not toward the west or south? Mr. HOWARD. Yes. Mr. RUCKER. But toward the north and east? Mr. HOWARD. Yes. Mr. HAWLEY. As I understand, Mr. Chairman, it was the understanding at the session this morning that the representatives of the |