UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Bureau ff Entomology arid Plant Quarantine Washington, D.C. B. E. P. Q,— 392 STATE PLAOT BONW PLANT IMPORTATIONS BY MAIL stx^-^W' April 13, ±366. Experience has shown that many packages containing plant ma- terial restricted as to entry by foreign plant quarantines are daily being received in the mails without permit authorization for such en- try, or in violation of a prohibition against the importation. Ob- viously, a large proportion of these packages are sent without any knowledge of the quarantine restrictions. At the same time an in- creasing tendency is noted tcward the use of the mails for authorized importations. A convenient means was established several years ago for the orderly entry under permit of restricted plant material by mail when provision exists for entry by this means. Special mailing tags are provided for the material under permit, and these tags are to be transmitted to the sender. Instructions in four languages for send- ing the packages accompany the tags. Packages addressed by these tags are routed direct to the inspection station indicated on them and, after the material has passed inspection, are released to go for- ward to destination without the payment of additional postage. Packages containing restricted plant material not sent forward in this manner are liable to be returned to the country of origin. How- ever, to accord a more sympathetic treatment toward the addressee who has a package containing material of^this character addressed to him but who has no permit for the entry or whose sender did not follow the instructions and use a special mailing tag, an opportunity will be given the addressee to apply for a permit to import such :of the material as may be entcrable by mail. Should the addressee fail to take advantage of this opportunity, disposition will be made of the package in accord- ance with existing postal, customs, and plant quarantine regulations covering the procedure. Persons importing seeds of woody perennial plants are cautioned to apply for and reoeivc a permit and mail tags and, in turn, supply the sender with these tags, if they are planning to import such seeds by_ mail. Field, vegetable, and flower seeds, when free from soil, unless prohibited or restricted entry by special quarantines, do not require a permit for importation. Flower seeds are defined as seeds of annual, biennial, or oven perennial flowering plants, which are essentially herbaceous, nr.mely, plants which perish annually down to, and sometimes including, the roots. LEE A. STRONG, Chief, Bureau of Entomo logy and Plant Quarantine, UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA illllHIH 3 1262 09241 7756