stored grain insects and forest products, stored tobacco insects, and peaweevil in warehouses. We have other divisions that are working on the crops that those insects affect in the field, so that it seemed more logical to have the direction of all the work on those particular crops in their respective divisions. So that one division was broken up, and this one was moved out of Fruit Insects to Forest Insects. Mr. SANDLIN. The work is being conducted, but by another division, as I understand. Mr. STRONG. That is right. The shade-tree insect work is not to be conducted. That was wiped out. Mr. THURSTON. You are not asking for any appropriation to eliminate or control the pests that affect shade trees? Mr. STRONG. We had a specific item in this one division of some $11,000 for work on insects other than the Japanese beetle that affect shade trees, and that is eliminated. Mr. THURSTON. We had a chestnut drive throughout the country a few years ago? Mr. STRONG. The chestnut blight; yes. Mr. THURSTON. Is there any item to cover that work? Mr. STRONG. That would be in the Bureau of Plant Industry, and I think they are doing some work on that. P.W.A. FUNDS Mr. SANDLIN. I notice you have $14,450 from the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works. Mr. STRONG. That was for the construction and repairing of a greenhouse, storage sheds, and insectaries at Moorestown, N.J., in connection with investigations on the Japanese beetle, and we are also using some of that, on parasite work in connection with the fruit moth. Mr. ROHWER. That is the Civil Works part of it. JAPANESE-BEETLE CONTROL Mr. SANDLIN. The next item is for Japanese-beetle control: For the control and prevention of spread of the Japanese beetle, $203,010. Your estimate for 1935 is $203,010, and your appropriation for 1934 is $349,837. Mr. STRONG. The following justification is presented for the record: Decrease, Budget 1935, compared with estimated obligations, 76, 020 The reduction of $146,827 in the 1935 estimate of $203,010 below the appropriation of $349,837 for 1934 consists of: Impoundment of 6% percent of 15 percent pay cut. Curtailments in 1934 working funds. -$17, 625 -53, 182 Further reduction in working funds for 1935, as follows: Supervision of nurseries and greenhouses.. Nursery and greenhouse scouting -$17, 381 - 42, 930 -4, 807 Trapping Trapping control. Quarantine enforcement, vehicle inspection.. Quarantine enforcement, farm-products inspection__ Soil treatment.. 5 percent salary restoration. Total..... - +1, 358 - 13, 663 -7, 971 $-85, 690 +9, 670 146, 827 The reduction of $85,690 in working funds for 1935 includes: (a) A decrease of $17,381 for supervision of nurseries and greenhouses.-In the last 4 years 233,021,180 nursery plants, many of which had roots in soil, and 39,703 car lots of sand potting soil and its constituents were certified for shipment outside the regulated area. These nursery plants originated from the 1,654 nurseries located within the regulated area and were shipped to every State and the District of Columbia. The sanitary measures employed under Federal supervision which served as a basis for certification form the sole protection against the distribution of the Japanese beetle with these materials. The reduction in this appropriation will necessitate a corresponding reduction in the amount of supervision given to sanitary measures required in these nurseries as a basis for this Federal certification. (b) A decrease of $296 for nursery and greenhouse scouting.-Classification of nursery and greenhouses in the quarantined area is based on the determination by Federal inspection as to the presence or absence of the Japanese beetle in the individual premises. The certification for movement out of the quarantined area involves the different procedures depending upon this classification. The reduction in this item will involve a decrease in the amount of inspection to determine whether or not the nurseries and greenhouses contain the Japanese beetle. (c) A decrease of $42,930 in trapping.-The use of trapping for determining the presence or absence of Japanese beetle in a given area supersedes the use of other forms of scouting. The determination of the area to be placed under regulation and the information furnished to the various States as to the boundaries of infested areas is obtained by the use of traps. In order to meet the reductions it will be necessary to discontinue this program for 1935. (d) A decrease of $4,807 in trapping control.--Discontinued. Trapping for control of the Japanese beetle in isolated areas was reduced to a very small basis in 1934 because of reduced appropriations. This item is now being discontinued. The area in which most work had been done was Erie, Pa., where a cooperative program with the State of Pennsylvania had been carried on for some years. (e) An increase of $1,358 for quarantine enforcement, vehicle inspection.-This increase is due to a mathematical error in distribution of the subappropriation 5 percent salary restoration item among the projects. (f) A decrease of $13,663 for quarantine enforcement, farm products inspection.-During the last 4 years 27,072,997 packages of fruits and vegetables subject to Japanese beetle infestation were certified for shipment. Actual inspection is made of these products, certification being refused if infestation is found, in which event local market outlets must be used. The reduction in this item will bring about a proportionate decrease in the inspection facilities. (g) A decrease of $7,971 for soil treatment.-Soil treatment-i. e., poisoning of soil to prevent the development of Japanese beetle larvae has been employed in cooperation with various States to control or eradicate isolated infestations in areas not hitherto known to be infested. This work will be discontinued. With the discontinuance of this item the control program which has been carried on in the States of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island will be terminated. WORK DONE UNDER THIS APPROPRIATION The money appropriated under this item is used for the enforcement of the quarantine to prevent spread of the Japanese beetle. 14 eastern States and the District of Columbia. the grub stage in soil in the roots of nursery stock. The beetle is present in The insect is carried in One of the important means of prevention of spread, therefore, is the inspection and certification of plant products moving out of nurseries in the infested area. More than 34,000,000 plants were thus inspected and certified during the past fiscal year. It is necessary in many instances to treat such nursery stock and this treatment is supervised by the Department. Repressive measures are carried on at certain isolated points where incipient infestations are located. Scouting is necessary to determine the presence of the beetle in localities outside the regulated area so that quarantine measures may be properly invoked. Other products besides nursery stock are regulated and supervision of fumigation of certain fruits is required, together with inspection and certification of farm products such as sweet corn and similar articles. Nearly four million packages of such products were inspected and certified during the last fiscal year and sterilization as a basis for certification was applied to 4,000 carloads of sand and earth destined for use in nurseries. P.W.A. FUNDS APPLICABLE UNDER THIS HEADING The following amounts of money were allotted for physical improvements on the Japanese beetle project, from Public Works emergency funds: Federal project no. 3. Repair roof on warehouse of Japanese beetle projest at New Cumberland, near Harrisburg, Pa.. Federal project no. 4. Resurfacing road from property line of U. S. Army Federal project no. 5. Reconstruct concrete loading platform at ware- Total... Work on all four of these projects has been completed. $7, 400 2,500 2,000 200 12, 100 Mr. STRONG. I think everyone here is familiar with the Japanese beetle. The Asiatic beetle is a related insect, which does not cover as much territory as the Japanese beetle and does not affect quite so many plants. Our work there is to continue to introduce and distribute parasites that will cut down the population of the Japanese beetle and to perfect sprays; and there again the spray residue matter comes into the picture, because the early fruits that are badly affected by the Japanese beetle would have to be sprayed pretty heavily in order to do anything in the way of control. Then we are working to bring about more complete measures in the elimination of the grubs from the soil, both in nursery stock and in lawns and golf courses and similar situations. The insect works on foliage and on fruits and flowers in the adult stage, and on the roots of grasses and nursery stock as a grub. It spends about 9 to 10 months of the year in the soil as a grub. Mr. HART. Have you had any success in importing these "anti” bugs? There Mr. STRONG. Yes, sir; there is a certain measure of success. is no complete control by parasites in the Japanese beetle or the corn borer or any of these major pests. In the gipsy moth, in certain areas the introduced parasites have done a whole lot in the way of control, but on the Japanese beetle so far there is no material reduction in population. It is not real control by any means. Mr. HART. Is the Japanese beetle prevalent in Europe? Mr. STRONG. No, sir. It is in Japan, but it is not a serious pest in Japan because of the work of native enemies there-parasites that are native to Japan. Mr. HART. There is hope, then, of reducing it? Mr. STRONG. Yes, sir. Mr. THURSTON. You get a good many of those in Washington, do you not? Mr. STRONG. Yes; there is quite an infestation of them out here a little way. Mr. HART. The corn borer is prevalent in Europe? Mr. STRONG. Yes, sir. Mr. HART. And they have never found any other parasite that would attack the corn borer, have they, in Europe? Mr. STRONG. Yes, sir; there are parasites that attack it. I do not know whether that is a real measure of control there or not. It does something in the way of cutting down the population, but it is probably controlled in some instances by climatic conditions and by cultural conditions, too, over there. We have introduced corn-borer parasites into this country from Europe. Mr. HART. And they have never been successful in Europe? Mr. STRONG. Well, it cannot be said that they have held the pest in complete control. Mr. HART. I think the testimony last year was that they had very little effect in Europe. Mr. STRONG. I think it depends on the locality. In some localities it is more effective than in other localities. But we have introduced them here and have colonized them and distributed them in the hope that they would be effective, and we have had quite a good many recoveries. REDUCTION IN ESTIMATE FOR 1935 Mr. SANDLIN. I see under Japanese beetle control you have quite a reduction in the estimate for 1935 as compared with the appropriation for 1934. Mr. STRONG. Yes, sir. Mr. SANDLIN. In this item of supervision of nurseries and greenhouses there is a reduction of $17,381. Mr. STRONG. Yes, sir. Our work under that item has been to attempt to prevent the spread of the Japanese beetle out of the present infested area, and in view of the fact that the larva, or the grub of the insect, is in the soil, we have had to certify for movement out of this infested area all of the nursery stock and plants that move out. A large part of them have had to be treated in one way or another, and we have worked out a system whereby plants can be planted in soil that has lead arsenate worked into it, which kills the grubs in this lead arsenate soil. Then we have had to make inspections to determine the limit of the infestations in order to know where to place our quarantine lines. Formerly that was done by the use of scouts who would go from place to place and see if the beetle was there. Then traps were developed, in which a bait is placed which is very attractive to the beetle, and we discontinued entirely, outside of the nurseries, the use of men for scouting; we now put out these traps. We had last year about 66,000 traps in several States, all the way through the South and through the Middle West, and also adjacent to the area that was known to be infested. This present year we used the same number of traps and found very little spread this year. Last year we found a whole lot of infested areas, but that was more likely due to the increased efficiency of the trap than to the fact that there had been during that year any great spread. This year we found almost none. But with this reduction in the Budget we will have to discontinue the trapping program and depend more or less on guesswork as to what the spread of the beetle is, and it is going to be very difficult to determine what line. the quarantine area should follow. If we are not able to effectively enforce the quarantine, of course we will have to take the Federal quarantine off, and that may result in State embargoes on this pest.. Mr. SANDLIN. Your statement on page 170 explains the decreases in these different items, I believe. Mr. STRONG. Yes, sir. Mr. SANDLIN. I imagine that is about the statement you would make now. Mr. STRONG. Yes; I would have to repeat that, probably. Mr. SANDLIN. The emergency funds under the different projects are explained on page 171? Mr. STRONG. Yes, sir. Those are for repairs, resurfacing a road, reconstructing a concrete loading platform, and so on. MEXICAN FRUIT-FLY CONTROL Mr. SANDLIN. I see we have our old friend the Mexican fruit fly: Mexican fruit-fly control: For the control and prevention of spread of the Mexican fruit fly, including necessary surveys and control operations in Mexico in cooperation with the Mexican Government or local Mexican authorities, $101,652. How are you getting along with that? Mr. STRONG. Not so good. Last year we found some 62 infested properties. The Mexican fruit fly, of course, as you know, is a fly that lays its eggs under the skin of the fruit, and then those eggs hatch into maggots. The following statement is presented for this activity: 4, 669 Increase, Budget 1935, compared with estimated obligations, 1934---- The reduction of $12,545 in the 1935 estimate of $101,652 below the appropriation of $114,197 for 1934 consists of: Impoundment of 6% percent of 15 percent pay cut- 5-percent salary restoration.. $6, 226 - 10, 988 +4, 669 WORK DONE UNDER THIS APPROPRIATION - 12, 545 The Mexican fruit fly was found in the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas in the crop season of 1927. Eradication measures were immediately undertaken by the United States Department of Agriculture in cooperation with the State of Texas. While these efforts were apparently successful, there have been recurring infestations, due possibly in some instances at least, to reinfestation which came into Texas from Mexico. This insect exists at the present time just across the Rio Grande River from Brownsville, Tex. The constant shipping to |