TRANSIT INSPECTION

Mr. BUCHANAN. The next item is:

Transit inspection: For the inspection in transit or otherwise of articles quarantined under the act of August 20, 1912 (U. S. C., Supp. V, title 7, secs. 161, 164a), as amended, and for the interception and disposition of materials found to have been transported interstate in violation of quarantines promulgated thereunder, $30,229.

Mr. STRONG. The following statement is presented:

A reduction of $2,171 on account of continuation of legislative furlough.

WORK UNDER THIS APPROPRIATION

While every effort is made to enforce at point of origin the domestic plant quarantines promulgated under the plant quarantine act, carelessness and ignorance of quarantine regulations on the part of employees of shippers of plants and carriers of plants constitute a continuous source of danger to the uninfested portions of the country. In order to most effectively check on the violations of the domestic quarantines it has been found necessary and feasible to place inspectors at certain transfer points in the United States through which the greater portion of plant products and other products move by parcel post, expresss, and freight. Through the cooperation of the postal authorities and express and railway officials it has been possible to work out a system whereby the few inspectors employed in transit inspection work are enabled to observe at these transfer points a substantial percentage of the plant products which move through and obtain a check on the violations of the quarantines. Information thus gained is of value in bringing to the attention of the violators the fact that there is a check being made, and this results in greater care being exercised in the movement of plant products.

During the fiscal year 1932, 3,151 violations of the Federal quarantines were noted and appropriately disposed of by transit inspectors at some 31 transfer points.

Mr. BUCHANAN. Let me have something about this transit inspection. That is always a little doubtful in my mind.

Mr. STRONG. The transit inspection is designed to supplement the inspection at the point of origin for the enforcement of such quarantines as the Japanese beetle and gypsy moth quarantine and quarantines of a similar nature.

While the nurserymen in most instances, I will say in almost every instance, endeavor to comply with the quarantine, sometimes through the ignorance or carelessness of their employees, they ship out something in violation of a specific quarantine. If that violation is going to a point where there is a State inspector making inspections to help us enforce the quarantine it is caught and rejected and turned back or otherwise properly disposed of, but if it is going to a point where there is no State inspection it is delivered and there is any infestation there it can establish itself. It is sort of a check inspection at some of the larger transfer points, such as New York, Chicago, Boston, and other places and, through the cooperation of the United States Postal employees and freight and express employees, any packages that obviously contain plants that are not certified are held out and turned over to the inspectors. We then take whatever action is necessary to meet the requirements of the quarantine and we are

enabled then to communicate with the nurseryman who violated the quarantine and advise him that his package of plants was intercepted

en route.

This is of material assistance in securing compliance with the interstate quarantine. We do not by any means have enough men to cover all the points.

We have two men for 12 months each at Boston; two men for 12 months each at New York; one man for 10 months, one for 12 months, one for 6 months, and one man for 7 months at Chicago; one man for 51⁄2 months at St. Paul; one man for 2 months at Omaha; one man for 6 months at Kansas City; one man for 7 months at Seattle; one man for 4 months at Spokane, and one man for 7 months at Portland.

The way these shipments move will be indicated by this map, which indicates something of the method.

This shows the violations of the Japanese beetle quarantine moving out of two States, Connecticut and New Jersey. For instance, these blue lines are violations that start here in Connecticut and here in New Jersey. We have transit inspection at Omaha and the package is caught there and turned back. Those were going to Texas and Oklahoma, and over here to Texas and clear to the coast. If those packages had not been intercepted here, they would have moved to destination and if caught by a State inspector, all right, but if not, there was a possibility of infestation taking place.

These [indicating] moved on out to St. Paul and were caught there. The same way all the way through. This is just for the violations of the Japanese beetle quarantine moving from two States, New Jersey and Connecticut.

If you picture that for the whole Japanese beetle area there are a mass of lines which could not be distinguished at all when they come together at these transfer points.

We are not spending much money on this service and it is of material assistance.

Mr. BUCHANAN. Have you found any infected shipments in this transit inspection?

Mr. STRONG. I think there must have been a good many. I can not recall any offhand that were actually infected, but they were all moving in violation of the quarantine, and probably some were infected. There is no reason why they should not have been, but we do not have time to make inspections for infestation and simply return the shipment as a violation.

Mr. BUCHANAN. This decrease in this appropriation is due to the furlough and economy bill.

Mr. STRONG. Yes, sir.

COOPERATIVE CONTRIBUTION OF STATES

The contributions of cooperating States during the fiscal year 1933 amount to $19,617: Arkansas expending $500; California, $12,000; Florida, $2,000; Georgia, $600; Illinois, $500; Iowa, $200; Minnesota, $667; Missouri, $700; New York, $750; North Carolina, $200; Oregon, $500; Tennessee, $100; Washington, $700; and Wisconsin, $200. Mr. BUCHANAN. Have you anything else on that?

Mr. STRONG. No, sir.

PINK BOLLWORM

Mr. BUCHANAN. The next item is:

Pink bollworm: For the control and prevention of spread of the pink bollworm, including the establishment of such cotton-free areas as may be necessary to stamp out any infestation, the erection and repair of necessary inspection stations, and for necessary surveys and control operations in Mexico in cooperation with the Mexican Government or local Mexican authorities, $379,804: Provided, That the cost of each such station shall not exceed $500, and that the total amount expended for such stations in one year shall not exceed $2,500.

Mr. STRONG. The following is presented in justification of this item:

(a) $25,000 for additional use of gin trash machines at gins in and out of the regulated area to enable the department to obtain a more comprehensive knowledge of the pink bollworm conditions throughout the entire Cotton Belt. A recent finding of a rather heavy infestation of pink bollworm in wild cotton in southern Florida has opened up the possibility that pink bollworm may have been spread from this area, and makes it necessary that there be more gin trash inspection throughout the southeastern part of the United States.

Gin trash inspection during the present season has brought to light an infestation in north Florida in cultivated cotton which places this insect on the border of the main Cotton Belt. The infestation thus far discovered is a light one, but its existence, close as it is to the Georgia line, emphasizes the need for intensive work in north Florida and adjoining States at the earliest possible mement.

The finding of heavy infestation of pink bollworm in wild cotton in southern Florida, and its presence in cultivated cotton in north Florida places all other Southern States under suspicion of infestation. This is especially true of Georgia because of movement of seed cotton and cottonseed from the locality of the north Florida infestation to Georgia for ginning and milling. It is necessary that there be an increase in the field scouting work throughout the southeastern part of the Cotton Belt in order that any incipient infestations may be promptly eradicated. There is need for additional work in connection with supervision of oil mills because newly discovered areas infested or near to infestation make necessary the adoption of precautions with which the average miller is not familiar. Additional work in connection with supervision of sterilization of cottonseed at all gins in the regulated area is needed as in the case of the oil mills, to acquaint ginners with the purpose of precautions and how to observe them with which they have not heretofore had occasion to become acquainted. Sterilization of cottonseed at the gins is of particular importance, especially in lightly infested areas, since it is a safeguard against establishing new infestations through the movement of infested cottonseed from the gins. It is essential that there be even closer supervision of this sterilization work than has been the case in the past.

Heavy floods, one occurring in late September and one in early October in the Rio Grande, caused extensive overflow of that stream in and near Presidio, Tex., where the heaviest infestation of pnik bollworm exists. Approximately, 4,500 acres of infested cotton were submerged by one or both of these floods. Picked cotton then piled in the fields was swept away besides a quantity, as yet unestimable, of cotton plants. A survey of the flooded areas from Presidio on downstream must be made to determine distances to which living worms may have been carried in débris as it is known the insect is capable of living under water for some days.

(b) Apparent increase of $100 by transfer from "Salaries, office of the Secretary," which has been correspondingly reduced, as pro rata of supply handling charges for 1934.

(2) $20,296 reduction on account of continuation of legislative furlough.

WORK UNDER THIS APPROPRIATION

The funds appropriated under this item are used for the purpose of determining the extent of any infestation of pink bollworm which may be present in the United States and preventing spread of this insect to uninfested areas of this country. This work includes (1) scouting to determine the limits of any infestation found, and scouting outside the infested areas to determine whether or not the pink bollworm is present; (2) inspections to determine degree of infestation at points within the regulated area so that control measures and quarantine operations may be intelligently conducted; and (3) enforcement of such quarantine and regulatory measures as the supervision of sterilization of cottonseed and fumigation of cotton lint and linters where necessary, the supervision of compression of cotton lint, the supervision of oil mills and maintenance of certain road inspection stations for the inspection of vehicular traffic which may carry infested articles out of the regulated area.

Improvements have been made in the methods of scouting and inspection of such a nature as to enable us to do a larger amount of work, cover a larger area and secure more comprehensive knowledge of actual infestation conditions throughout the United States than has heretofore been possible. Certain mechanical contrivances have been perfected by those in charge of the pink bollworm work which make the inspection work much more efficient, and makes the application of the inspection work possible over a much wider area than was the case when only field scouts were used.

Mr. BUCHANAN. The appropriation under this item for 1934 is $379,804, an increase over the appropriation for 1933 of $4,804.

Mr. STRONG. The actual increase there is $25,000. The legislative furlough takes up practically all the difference between $25,000 nd the $4,804.

Mr. BUCHANAN. Is it an even $25,000 increase?

Mr. STRONG. That was $25,000 in the Budget, an increase of $25,000; yes.

I want to show you here a map of the present regulated area of the pink bollworm.

Mr. BUCHANAN. Was this increase caused by the infestation in Florida?

Mr. STRONG. It was caused for two reasons, the finding of the infestation in Florida and the fact of the floods that came over here from the Big Bend down the Rio Grande, and consequently all the cotton in the Big Bend area was under water and a whole lot of cotton was carried down the river. We do not know where that went, but we found several miles down the river in drift cotton bolls that were infested with the live pink bollworm after they had been in water for several days. That could throw this insect anywhere along the Rio. Grande River.

Mr. BUCHANAN. Throw it from the Big Bend country to the mouth of the Rio Grande River.

Mr. STRONG. Yes.

Mr. BUCHANAN. And, a good deal of cotton is grown down in that irrigated district?

Mr. STRONG. Yes; in these three counties.

This pink portion shows the area now under regulation for pink bollworm.

We had an extremely heavy infestation over here in the Salt River Valley in Arizona, and two years ago we declared, with the assistance of the State, a noncotton zone and it looks as though we had completely cleaned off the infestation there. During the past year we have not found any infestation at all in the Salt River Valley in field inspection or with the machines.

Down here in the Big Bend area there is an extremely heavy infestation of pink bollworm.

This year I know of one field down there, of between 30 and 40 acres, that the grower thinks would have made from a bale and a half to two bales per acre, judged by the bolls, that was 100 per cent infested with pink bollworms and the man is not even going to pick

the cotton.

I have two stalks of cotton down at the office, one a perfect specimen and one from the field with 100 per cent infestation, and there certainly is a contrast as a result of the work of the insect.

These green areas have been cleaned up and those areas released from quarantine during the past several years.

We had some heavy infestation in Texas and in southern Louisiana and up through here [indicating], all of which has been completely cleaned up and the area released from quarantine.

Mr. BUCHANAN. When you say "cleaned up" you mean "eradicated."

Mr. STRONG. Yes, but this spring we found some infestation in south Florida of the pink bollworm. Where that infestation came from or how it came in, no one knows. It may have come over from the West Indian Islands. There is quite a little bit of traffic back and forth there that is not completely supervised and that may have been responsible for it.

Mr. BUCHANAN. It could have come from the same storm that put infestation in Louisiana.

Mr. STRONG. Yes, it has no doubt been there for some few years. Mr. HART. Bootleggers could have brought it in.

Mr. STRONG. Yes, in wrapping glassware and things of that kind. We found it also here in north central Florida. We have put on a quarantine to regulate the movement of cotton products out of Florida so that $25,000 increase is to take care of any spread that may have resulted from this flood and to clean up this infestation in Florida.

Mr. BUCHANAN. You do not contemplate trying to clean up the wild cotton infestation?

Mr. STRONG. Yes.

Mr. BUCHANAN. Approximately what is the acreage involved?

Mr. STRONG. I do not know how many acres there are. It is spotted. It runs all the way to Key West, from south of Miami clear to Key West on all the keys. We have removed a good many thousand plants.

Mr. BUCHANAN. You do not have any idea that $25,000 would clean that up?

Mr. STRONG. Yes, once over. We made a pretty good job of cleaning up almost to Key West this summer.

Mr. BUCHANAN. In the first place, you would have to have a noncotton zone.

Mr. STRONG. We may have to have a noncotton zone for the domestic fields or we may be able to clear that up by cleaning up the fields, getting the voluntary cooperation of the farmers to clean up the fields and sterilize the cottonseed. That happened in the western extension. That was cleaned up with no noncotton zone at all.

We believe if it is not too widespread or too heavy we may be able to clean up through the cooperation of the farmers and ginners.