The only adverse feature, therefore, is the cotton unlawfully planted in zone No. 2 in Texas. Responsibility for possible failure to exterminate the pink bollworm in Texas, should such failure ultimately result, must rest upon the comparatively few interested parties who have been responsible for misleading a number of farmers and encouraging them thus to violate the Texas statute. The individuals who have thus planted cotton in violation of the law are known, as also the acreage planted and the probable amount of the crop produced, and, under the State law, they must bear the expense of cleaning and disinfecting the cotton in such manner as the commissioner of agriculture of the State shall direct.

TEXAS BORDER QUARANTINE SERVICE.

The regulation of the entry into the United States of railway cars and other vehicles, freight, express, baggage, and other materials from Mexico and the inspection, cleaning, and disinfection of such cars and freight, etc., have been continued during the year to prevent the accidental movement of cotton and cottonseed from Mexico into the United States. This inspection service covers the ports of El Paso, Del Rio, Eagle Pass, Laredo, and Brownsville, and now involves the services of 11 inspectors. During the year 25,257 cars have been inspected and passed for entrance into the United States, divided among the border ports as follows: Brownsville, 1,635; Eagle Pass, 3,836; El Paso, 6,787; Laredo, 12,999.

No cars or freight fouled with cotton seed are permitted entry until such seed has been entirely removed. This necessitates, in many cases, the transfer of freight to clean cars on the Mexican side. In addition, as a condition of entry, all cars and freight which come to the border containing such seed are disinfected with hydrocyanic-acid gas. At the beginning of this work this disinfection was only given to cars or freight which had either been found to contain cotton seed or which had originated in regions where the pink bollworm was known to be present. The general presence of cotton seed in cars and freight later necessitated the fumigation of practically all cars and freight entering from Mexico, with the exception of certain cars concerned in the shipment of ore and lumber chiefly offered for entry at the port of El Paso, and which, under arrangement with the importing companies, were thoroughly cleaned of cotton seed at point of origin before loading and so certified.

The system of disinfection of cars and freight with hydrocyanicacid gas by means of generators placed within the cars has been the best available means, but is unsatisfactory owing to the poor condition of the cars and also to the fact that it gave no security against any insects which might be resting on the exterior of the cars or their motive parts. To meet these defects it seemed highly desirable to provide for the disinfection of cars and freight in specially constructed houses capable of containing one or more cars at a time.

The erection of such fumigation houses was authorized toward the end of the fiscal year 1917-18, and plans were drawn, bids secured, and contracts let for the construction of five fumigation houses at the ports above mentioned. The construction of these houses is now well under way. Their size has been adjusted to the needs of the

traffic, and they have the following car capacity at the different ports of entry: Laredo, 15 cars; Eagle Pass, 8 cars; Brownsville, 6 cars; and El Paso, 1 car. At Del Rio no railroad line crosses the border, and a house is being constructed to take care of traffic in wagons and motor trucks. Each of these houses is provided with a system of generators in which hydrocyanic-acid gas is produced and distributed to the house.

The cost of this disinfection will be assumed by the Department of Agriculture and a charge will be made to cover the actual labor, other than supervision, and the chemicals used. The moneys so received, under the law, must be turned into the Treasury of the United States. This will result in a very considerable depletion of the funds available for this border quarantine service, and it will, therefore, probably be necessary to ask Congress to reimburse the fund thus expended. These houses will probably be completed and in use by the end of October, 1918, and will add very much to the efficiency of the border quarantine service.

THE SITUATION IN MEXICO.

The pink bollworm situation in Mexico, as determined by surveys conducted during the last two years, seems to confirm the limitation of the pink bollworm infestation to the Laguna district and to two other isolated areas of small extent opposite Eagle Pass, Tex. This situation indicates a much more favorable outlook for possible future. extermination of the insect in Mexico than had been anticipated. The Mexican Government issued a decree on November 15, 1917, restricting transportation from the Laguna district of cotton or cotton. seed to other parts of Mexico, and preliminary arrangements have been made in cooperation with the Mexican Government and the planters concerned, which may ultimately lead to the prohibition of the growth of cotton in the Laguna and in the other infested districts for a series of years and the substitution therefor of other crops.

The experiment station to study the pink bollworm and to conduct field experiments with the growth of crops in substitution for cotton established last year in the Laguna district by this department has enabled us to secure much needed information relating to the habits and food plants of the insect. This information may be of great future service in determining the most efficient means of preventing spread and maintaining field control. As to substitute crops, the wheat and corn crops of the Laguna this year have been extraordinarily successful, and the peanut and castor-bean crops have given good promise.

PROVISIONS FOR PINK BOLLWORM WORK FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 1919.

To provide for the continuation of the pink bollworm work, the Secretary of Agriculture submitted to Congress an estimate for a special appropriation of $800,000, to be included in the Agricultural appropriation bill for the fiscal year 1919. The House and Senate ultimately approved an appropriation for this purpose of $500.000. The items of work provided for under this appropriation are as follows:

(1) To prevent the movement of cotton and cotton seed from Mexico into the United States, including the regulation of the entry into the United States of

Approved October 1, 1918.

railway cars and other vehicles, and freight, express, baggage, or other materials from Mexico, and the inspection, cleaning, and disinfection thereof, $50,000. (2) To make surveys to determine the actual distribution of the pink bollworm in Mexico and to exterminate local infestations in Mexico near the border of the United States, in cooperation with the Mexican Government or local Mexican authorities, $25,000.

(3) To investigate in Mexico or elsewhere the pink bollworm as a basis for control measures, $25,000.

(4) To conduct surveys and inspections in Texas or in any other State to detect any infestation and to conduct such control measures, including the establishment of cotton-free areas, in cooperation with the State of Texas or other States concerned, as may be necessary to stamp out such infestation, to establish in cooperation with the States concerned a zone or zones free from cotton culture on or near the border of any State or States adjacent to Mexico, and to cooperate with the Mexican Government or local Mexican authorities, or otherwise, by undertaking in Mexico such measures for the extermination of the pink bollworm of cotton as shall be determined to be practicable from surveys showing its distribution, $400,000.

The bulk of the appropriation falls under the fourth item and is essentially an insurance fund to cover such clean-up work in relation to the crop of 1918 as was conducted in the infested cotton areas of Texas with relation to the crop of 1917. It also includes the Federal cooperation with respect to quarantined areas and border cottonfree zones in Texas and other States adjacent to Mexico, and similar cooperative work with Mexico.

COTTON IMPORTATIONS.

The restrictions placed on the entry of foreign raw cotton are to prevent the entry of the pink bollworm and other dangerous cotton insect pests with the seed that is contained in greater or less amount in all such cotton.

The rules and regulations governing the importation of cotton into the United States were revised, effective August 1, 1917, the revision incorporating the amendments that had been promulgated since the issuance of the regulations as revised January 25, 1916, and several other changes. For the convenience of permittees and licensees a compilation and revision was also made of the numerous circular letters of instruction and explanation issued by the board since the promulgation of the original cotton regulations. This compilation was issued in pamphlet form in April, 1918.

The revised regulations leave it optional with the board whether the screening of mills in which disinfected foreign cotton is used, or of warehouses in which such cotton is stored, shall be required. The method of disinfection now in force at northern ports is believed to be normally thoroughly effective. The board has, therefore, removed the screening requirements for all northern mills and warehouses. In the case of cotton mills located in or near the cotton belt, the screening of all storage houses and other places in which foreign cotton is kept, and of rooms in which it is handled and cleaned prior to the carding process, will be continued, as an additional safeguard.

Early in the calendar year 1918 two vacuum fumigation plants were established at Seattle, Wash. Cotton and such cotton waste and burlap as require disinfection may, therefore, now be entered at the ports of Boston, New York, Newark, San Francisco, and Seattle, at all of which ports facilities are available for the

disinfection of the above-mentioned material. Card strips and other grades of cotton waste resulting from and subsequent to the carding machine, if covered with wrappings which conform to the requirements of the cotton regulations, and bagging which has never been used to cover cotton, or American cotton bagging, commonly known as coarse gunny, which has been used to cover only cotton grown in the United States, may be admitted without disinfection at any port at which the board maintains inspection service, including, in addition to the ports mentioned above, Philadelphia and New Orleans.

In the latter part of the fiscal year 1917 the inspector of the board at San Francisco discovered that articles from Japan packed with a low grade of cotton waste containing seeds were being imported through that port. Investigations by inspectors at other ports developed the fact that Japanese and Chinese bric-a-brac, chinaware, crockery, etc., were frequently packed with cotton or cotton waste. The Secretary of State was requested to warn Japanese and Chinese exporters, through the Consular Service, to use packing other than cotton or cotton waste for goods intended for the United States. The board also secured the names of the American importers of such merchandise in this country, and these were requested to instruct their foreign exporters to discontinue the use of such packing for goods consigned to this country. Arrangements have been made with the Treasury Department for the notification of the board by collectors of customs upon the entry from any country of any articles for which cotton waste is used as packing.

All permits for the importation of cotton and all licenses authorizing the use of cotton, issued since July 1, 1916, are valid until revoked. In addition to the permits and licenses issued during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1917, which are still effective, 501 new cotton permits and 119 new cotton licenses were issued by the board during the past fiscal year.

The following table indicates the number of bales of cotton, cotton waste, and burlap imported during the fiscal year, showing country of origin and port of entry:

Cotton, cotton waste, and burlap imported from July 1, 1917, to June 30, 1918, in running bales, showing country of origin and port of entry.

Cotton, cotton waste, and burlap imported from July 1, 1917, to June 30, 1918, in running bales, showing country of origin and port of entry-Continued.

In addition to the cotton shown in the table, 196 packages of samples of cotton and cotton waste were imported during the fiscal year. While a comparison of the above table with the importations shown on the board's report for the fiscal year 1916-17 indicates a considerable falling off of importations of Egyptian cotton, due no doubt largely to the shortage of available tonnage, it shows also a marked increase in importations from practically all other countries shipping cotton to the United States.

NURSERY STOCK IMPORTATIONS.

PROPOSED ADDITIONAL RESTRICTIONS.

The need of additional restrictions or prohibitions, particularly with respect to the entry of certain classes of nursery stock and other plants and seeds on account of exceptional risks involved, has been