The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1912-09-06
PLANT QUARANTINE LAW
WOULD SAVE BILLION YEARLY
Inflicted Insect Pests Diseases Imported
Foreign Need of Regulatve Measures.

Naturally a great many plant diseases
and destructive insects are thus brought
in, but owing to the system of thorough
inspection nothing of harmful char
acter has ever escaped the vigilance of
the department scientists, furnishing
striking proof of the practicability of
avoiding the dangers of unrestricted,
importation.
That the importation of foreign, plants
is vitality necessary to the welfare and,
prosperity of the country is illustrated
by the fact that nearly all of its wealth
producing plants and crops are aliens in
the strict sense, having been introduced
IRON time to. time in the course of
national development. Hundreds OF
others will become of great value follow
ing their Importation and domestication.
activities of the Agricultural Department
batting pests which it is powerless to
| is being devoted to the safeguarding of
1.-TWO big crops of national Importance,
|alfalfa and sugar beets, because of their
unusual present and potential value.
Alfalfa is menaced by weevil imported
from Europe which has already done
much damage. The normal spread of
| this pest is thirty miles a year but
Vigorous measures are being adopted to
control and stamp it out and so preserve
the great forage crop of the West.
| The sugar beet is held to merit more
than ordinary attention for the double
reason that it is intrinsically one of the
most valuable crops ever brought into
| the United States and because of its
extraordinary effect in increasing the
lyield of other crops grown in rotation
with it. This increase as noted from
experience in this country and abroad
| is from twenty five to fifty per cent. In
Germany especially the sugar beet has
been the basis Of the wonderful agri-
cultural Improvement that has taken
place there and the energy Of the De-
Ipartnent of Agriculture is being directed
toward bringing about similar conditions
acreage yields of the great staple crops
equal those of their German cousins. So
important is this matter in the opinion Of
those authorities who are most closely in
touch with the agricultural problems ofthe
country that officials of such diverse views
as Secretary of Agriculture Wilson and
DR.. Harvey w. Wiley have joined in
urging Congress not to withdraw tariff
Iprotection from sugar beet growing,
"a step, they point out, which threatens
to damage the industry far more serious
l1y than insect enemies have been able to
| do. At present the sugar beet crop is
worth upwards of $7O,0O0000 annually,
but it is the contention of agricultural
scientists that by devoting to this crop
only one acre in two hundred of the area
adapted to it, the returns to American
Il industry from this source will amount
to $250,0O0,O00 year.
i Thousands of dangerous plant diseases
and insects with intellectually destructive
4 capabilities exist in foreign countries
with no bar to entrance into the United
States save fortunate circumstance. Until
some legislation is enacted centralizlng
the work of inspecting and quarantining
Imported plants and seeds, any day may
see the introduction of some scourge
which will beggar the depredations of even
the worst present pests. As this country is
already paying penalty of approx
mately billion dollars year for its
laxness in this respect, it is urged by
both commercial and scientific interests
that there is need of a public awakening
which will throw about the agricultural
interests of this country such safeguards
as already have been adopted by every
other great power.