Y. M. C. A. is placing county secretaries in the rural counties of many states. The boys' scout movement is beginning to include the country village and even the boys in the consolidated rural district in the open country.

dertaken to eradicate the hookworm with other lines of advancement. The disease from southern rural commu-| nities; and the general movement to place home economic education in all schools attended by girls from the farm are doing much to build up the farm and to make for rural social betterment. There is a vigorous movement on foot to study the condition of the country church, which has not kept pace in its development

Periodicals devoted to farming and home making are obtaining new subscribers by the hundreds of thousands

from New England sections infested by the gypsy moth and the browntail moth. A Federal law covering this phase of nursery-inspection work was defeated last winter owing to disagreements between interested parties. It will probably be enacted in a modified form at the present session. Canada has greatly strengthened her quarantine service during the past season, with the special object of excluding gypsy and browntail moths and similar pests from the Ontario fruit region.

most states recognizing those granted | ulations have been enforced for the by officials in other commonwealths; inspection of nursery stock shipped some eighteen requiring nurserymen from outside the state to file a certificate from the local authorities before they are permitted to do business. A number of states, in addition, prohibit the entrance of stock without fumigation with hydrocyanic-acid gas. The county system is strongly favored in the west, while the eastern and central states administer the law through a state official. The latter may be a general agricultural or horticultural officer, an entomologist, or an entomologist and botanist. The determination of the legal requirements is usually directly or indirectly in the hands of an entomologist. Only the more injurious insects, such as codling moth, San José scale, gypsy moth, brown-tail | moth, and the dangerous plant diseases like peach yellows, are discriminated against. Specific proscription by legislators of dangerous insects and fungus diseases, with sundry attempts to designate treatment by law, is giving way to more general enactments, placing larger discretionary power in the hands of an executive. There is a strong tendency to make the provisions of the various state laws, so far as they relate to interstate commerce, as uniform in their requirements as practical.

The peril of introducing serious insect pests and dangerous plant diseases has been recognized abroad. Certain European countries have for years insisted upon the inspection of living plants to prevent the introduction of phylloxera, an American insect which has proved a most serious pest of the European grape. Australian and South African authorities have been very progressive in nursery-inspection work, some even going to the extent of excluding plants likely to be infested with serious insect enemies or fungus diseases.

The rigid quarantine maintained by several southern states against the destructive cotton boll weevil, though not strictly germane to this topic, deserves mention, since the same principles apply. Such is also true of recent local restrictions enforced for the purpose of freeing towns, counties, or even states, from the cattle tick or Texas fever tick, a most serious check upon animal industry in the South.

The presence of numerous winter nests of the brown-tail moth on seedling trees from Europe last winter, and the preceding, emphasized the inadequacy of the quarantine in our eastern ports against injurious insects, since individual states have no jurisdiction over interstate com- The Federal insecticide act of 1910 merce, not to mention international (S. 6131), modeled upon the puretrade. Fortunately, through co- food law, is destined to have a prooperation with Federal officers, it was found influence on the constantly possible for state inspectors to as- increasing trade in insecticides. It certain the destination of the infested establishes standards for a number stock, the pests being destroyed on of the better known insecticides enthe grounds of the consignee. A tering into interstate commerce and number of states adopted special rul- provides that the label on each packings to meet the danger. Arrange- age give clearly the essential conments have also been made for the stituents. New York State and inspection of this stock prior to its Colorado have already enacted legisshipment to America. Stricter reg-lation along similar lines.