Abstract
THE Colonial Office has performed a useful service to growers and exporters of plants and also to the British Colonies, by the issue of a digest of the legislation on plant introduction in force at the end of December 1936 (London: H.M. Stationery Office, 1937 ; Is. net). Introduced pests and diseases have occasionally done much damage: instances cited are ‘brown hardback’ (Phytalus Smithi), causing serious losses to the sugar planters in Mauritius; the ‘wither tip’ disease, largely responsible for the ruin of the lime industry in Dominica; and the ‘witchbroom’ disease of cacao, now causing so much havoc in Trinidad. Since then, in 1876, Malta first instituted an ordinance “to prevent the introduction of diseases affecting agricultural produce", enactments have grown in number and diversity, and there is now real need for their comprehensive survey, such as is rendered possible by this publication, with the view of gradually simplifying procedure and introducing where possible more legislative uniformity.
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Introduction of Plants into British Colonies. Nature 140, 1055 (1937). https://doi.org/10.1038/1401055a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1401055a0