BOARD OF HORTICULTURE 173 



assistance, when a bill was introduced and approved February 25, 1889, which 

 has heeii repeatedly amended up to date and this brings us to the topic assigned 

 to me, 



"The Functions of the State Board of Horticulture." 



The Law Creating the Board : 



An Act to create a State Board of Horticulture, and appropriating money there- 

 fore. is published in füll in this report. 

 Be It Enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the State of Oregon : 



Section 1. That there is hereby created a State Board of Horticulture, to 

 consist of six members, who shall be appointed by the Governor, one from the 

 State at large, and one from each of the five horticultural districts. 



The follo\A-ing horticulturists were named by Governor Pennoyer to act on 

 the Board : J. R. Cardwell, President, commissioner for the State at large, Fort- 

 land ; James A. Varney. insr>ector of fruit pests, commissioner for the 4th district, 

 The Dalles ; R. S. Wallace, treasurer, commissioner for the 2nd district, Salem ; 

 Henry E. Dosch, commissioner for the Ist district. Hillsdale ; J. D. WTiitman, 

 commissioner for the 3rd district, Medford ; James Hendershott, commissioner 

 for the 5th district, Cove; E. W. Allen, secretary, 171 Second street, Portland. 



Our first function was one of education in which we were quite successful ; 

 in my own district of seven counties, considering the limited funds at my 

 disposal. I took my horse and buggy and traveled the highways and by-ways, 

 stopping wherever I saw an orchard or even a few trees around a home place; 

 old settled districts as well as new Settlements, where with two exceptions I 

 was received most cordially, and found fruit growers not only willing but eager 

 to learn and redeem their orehards. Few of the orchardists knew anything of the 

 insects and diseases. By way of Illustration, permit me to quote a case in band. 

 My usual plan in visiting a neighborhood was going from orchard to orchard, 

 so I eould see the owners personally and persuade them to do their duty in this 

 line. The case in question was up the valley, where I visited an old gentleman, who 

 emphatically stated. that he had no insects in his orchard. and that if I insisted 

 on going into his orchard he would take his shotgun and see who was master. 

 Now as the law did not provide. that any of the commissioners should become 

 targets for "mossljackism", I quietly handed him a copy of the law, referring to 

 sections 7 and 8, requesting him to read it, which would explain his duty and 

 mine. Having finished reading he became very angry saying. "they might as well 

 pass a law to compel him to plow his fields". and I said "such a law would cer- 

 tainly prove very beneficial". He looked at me in blank astonishment, and I 

 finally persuaded him to accompauy me in a visit to his orchard. which he 

 reluctantly did. all the time protesting that he had no insects and nobody could 

 teach him anything about farming ; when we rounded the barn and came in 

 füll view of his old dilapidated orchard I smiled, as it was so infected with 

 wooly aphis that it had the appearance of having recently passed through a 

 heavy snow storm, and had no difficulty in convincing him that the trees were füll 

 of insects by scraping the little brown insects from the trees in the palm of his 

 hand. lively and kicking. when he exclaimed "Well. I swan". This man soon 

 became a most enthusiastic supporter of the law. 



This educational function has been continually kept up and the present state 

 of our orehards with few exceptions shows the beneficial results. 



The board made it its business to meet with every horticultural society 

 meeting and took part and gave instrvTction as to the eradication of the insects and 

 diseases, and pul)lislied spray Inilletins and reports for general distribution. 

 In addition to looking after orehards and berry patches. I took it upon 

 myself to study market conditions. and wrote hundreds of letters to our consuls 

 all over the world year after year where our frv;its could be placed and published 

 the results of this research so orchardists could take advantage of it from which 



