Improved transportation has facilitated the international movement of crops and livestock, but has placed greater burdens upon our inspection and quarantine system. Roots of the Department of Agriculture's involvement in this area are imbedded in more than a century of its history. Implementation of legislation has also involved the U. S. Postal Service, the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Defense, and other agencies to a lesser degree. Scientists in the Department of Agriculture have worked closely with their counterparts in the States and private industry.