The Sentinel=record., 1914-04-12

farmers and stock have been import ed from abroad, many of course by accident in the course of commercial shipment but some brought in delib- erately by misguided enthusiasts or thoughtless travellers.
 The classic instance of misguided enthuiasm is the introduction in 1869 of the destructive gipsy moth by a scientists named Thouvelot, a French by birth, an Astronomer in Harvard ; unfortunately he was also an ardent entomogist who had devoted much of his leisure time to consideration of the silk worm industry. In an evil hour he conceived the idea of breeding harder worm which might withstand the diseases which were then ravaging rearing establishments In France, and in pursuit of this pur- pose imported some gipsy moths,, in tending to cross them with some of the native species found in the U. S. It so chanced, however, that he left the window of his study in Medford, Mass,open one day. When he re- turned a mass of eggs laid by the gipsy visitors had disappeared, ap- parently it had blown out the open window At this point Trouvelot' s experiments stopped. Their results did not, They are still with us and have cost the country millions of dol lars. For twenty years the gipsy moth attracted no attention. The people of Medford may have wonder ed at the destruction of their trees, but the damage remained local and the outside world knew nothing of it. In 1SS9 however, the pest suddenly became prominent. Since that time bitter warfare has been waged against it, but the victory is not yet won.
 Strangely enough, the automobile has proven an ally of the moth. Not only does it stir up currents of air which scatter the fallen and infected foliage but it actually carries insects many miles into districts which have hitherto be immune. And on one oc. casion some vars ago there is ever reason to believe that a deliberate attempt was made to spread the pest. Eggs said to have been found in Cal. ifornia were sent to the Department of Agriculture for examination and for time it seemed certain that in some unaccountable way the pest had travelled across the entire continent. Investigation revealed the fact, how. ever, that the man who forwarded the eggs had previously been employ ed in fighting the moth in Massachu- setts Upon the arrival of a scientist attached to the Department, he left his home and remained without ad dress until the investigator had de parted There was no further re- ports of the gipsy moth in California.
 In this case the probable motive was a visionary scheme to profit in some way from a Government appro- priation to stamp out the pestilence But ignorance can do as much harm as malice. Travellers with the most innocent intentions in the world de light in bringing back with them souvenirs of their travels and few have any conception of the case with which disease is spread among plants and animals. Because of it's traffic with China, Japan and the South Seas, San Francisco in par ticular is a favorits port of entry for strange and obnoxious insects-or would be if the various exotic seeds, fruits and plants which have attract ed their attention in the orient and the Tropics were not ruthlessly talk en from the incoming tourists. In one instance, for example, some strange looking beans were found to be swarming with weevil. The indi- vidual from whom this precious prize was taken may have resented the Governments action as a piece of petty interference with a personal hobby, but the Government saw Tn the beans not a hobby but very vital danger to the vegetable gar dens of the country.
 More enterprising travellers have at various times attempted to bring in as a curiosity the Australian Fly ing Fox. Unknown in this country this overgrown bat, which at it's largest, measures more than live feet across the tips of it's wings, is one of the great pests of Australia. In their camps" in the dense scrub of gullies and swamps, they may De seen by the thousands, crowded so thickly on the trees that branches are frequently broken by their weight Their nightly raids in search Of food oovar considerable distances and