Mr. White to Mr.
Sherman.
Embassy
of the United States,
Berlin, April 24,
1898.
No. 392.]Sir: Referring to former reports on the
imperial decree against the importation of American fruits into Germany,
I have the honor to report the receipt of a note and inclosure from the
foreign office, translations of which are herewith inclosed, from which
it will appear that the imperial chancellor, by virtue of the power
conferred upon him in section 2 of the above decree, has, in accordance
with the opinion of experts, divided live plants into three groups—(A)
those absolutely prohibited, (B) those admitted unconditionally, and (C)
those admitted upon being found free from the San José scale after
examination.
note verbale.
The foreign office has the honor to inform the embassy of the United
States of America that the imperial chancellor (imperial department
of the interior) has, by virtue of section 2 of the imperial decree
of February 5 last, by which he is authorized to make exceptions to
the prohibition of importing live plants or fresh waste of plants
(Pflanzenabfälle) from America, placed the question before experts,
for them
[Page 333]
to ascertain
whether certain categories of plants on which the San José scale is
not to be found, or only in a degree not to be considered dangerous,
are to be excluded generally from the prohibition of importation or
after an examination has taken place.
The investigation has led to the drawing up of the inclosed list,
according to which the plants are divided into three groups, namely:
- (1)
- Plants which must under all conditions be excluded from
importation (A).
- (2)
- Plants which may be imported because they are regarded as
not being dangerous without any previous examination having
taken place (B).
- (3)
- Plants which may be imported after an examination has
demonstrated the nonexistence of the San José scale
(C).
As a result of this examination, the imperial chancellor (imperial
department of the interior) has decided to permit the importation of
plants mentioned under 2 unconditionally, and those plants mentioned
under 3 whenever the experts, after examination, have found them
free from the San José scale, The exceptional privileges, however,
apply exclusively to plants belonging to one of the two groups (B)
and (C). Shipments consisting of plants of different groups will be
treated in accordance with the regulations which apply to the group
undergoing the more rigid examination. Only such experts may be
intrusted with examinations who have been thoroughly instructed in
the microscopical characteristics of the San José scale.
The Government of the Confederated States has been requested by the
imperial chancellor (imperial department of the interior) to furnish
the frontier customs offices with appropriate instructions.
- A.
- The following are to be unconditionally excluded: Living trees
and bushes of all kinds, also parts of such (cut branches and
the like); further, seedlings, scions,1
shoots,2 cuttings, and the like of said
categories of plants. The following especially come into
consideration: Fruit trees and fruit bushes of all kinds, as
apple, pear, quince, cherry, plum, apricot, peach, almond,
walnut, pecan nut (Carya oliræformis),
date plum3 (Diospyros virginiana), Kaki plum (Kaki
pflaume), Kaki figs or Chinese persimmons (Diospyros kaki); further, useful and ornamental trees
and bushes or shrubs (Stäucher) of all kinds, especially linden
trees, elms, alders, willows, acacia (Akazien), osage
orange,4 and
coniferous trees; further (bushes of) raspberries, blackberries,
currants, gooseberries, and related growths, grapevines of all
kinds, Euonymus white thorn,5 Hagedorn,6 roses, spiräen (Spirœa ulmaria), Cotoneaster
(dwarfmedler, Pyrus chamœmespilus),
Japanese quince (Cydonia
japonica).
- B.
- Importation is unconditionally permitted of aquatic plants of
all kinds and parts of such; further, of all subsurface-growing
parts of plants—as, for instance, onion bulbs—and
subsurface-growing stems (Rhizomes), also when these bear
developed stalks (Triebe), provided that they do not belong to
plants of the species included under A.
- C.
- The importation of living land plants and parts thereof, as
well as of seedlings, shoots, and the like, which do not belong
to group A is permitted when an expert examination gives
satisfactory results.
