86 STATE HORTICULTURAT. SOCIETY. 



cate presents "a visual picture of the exact condition of the shipment at 

 time of inspection." With the shipment officially inspected the inter- 

 ested parties have learned all that it is practicable to know about its 

 condition and grade and many causes of later disputes are removed. 

 It removes much of the worry and uncertainty and narrows the market 

 question down chiefly to a matter of salesmanship. When the exact 

 quality and condition of the product is known the buyer and seller can 

 get together regardless of distance. The same certificate which is used 

 for sales purposes is often used as a basis for settlement in case of dis- 

 pute between the original shipper and receiver. These certificates serve 

 a double purpose and are very useful to all parties concerned. The 

 quantity of woik performed in inspecting cars in transit for sales pur- 

 poses has shown a steady growth during the past year and has become an 

 important feature of our service in a number of markets. 



Our certificates have been criticised because we named the disease 

 and did not simply call it a rot. I have heard men argue that it did 

 not make any diffeience what kind of a rot it was, one is as bad as another 

 if it destroj^s the product for commercial purposes. Perhaps that is true 

 but if we name the disease, we may help to locate the cause of the trouble, 

 whether the disease originated in the field or developed in transit. We 

 feel that it is of the utmost importance to give the name of the disease 

 and by so doing the shipper may be in better position to understand why 

 his shipment arrived in poor condition. If it was due to careless hand- 

 ling, he would no doubt improve his methods by having this matter 

 called to his attention. If it was an orchard disease he could take con- 

 trol measures to prevent its recurrence during the next season. We sel- 

 dom know the purpose for which a certificate is to be used and for this 

 reason we have adopted the polic}' of stating all the facts which are 

 necessar}^ to furnish a complete description of quality and condition. 

 Our certificates should recite all the facts so that they will go back to the 

 producer and by so doing assist in improving the methods of handling 

 perishable products which is one of the things for which we are working. 

 Railroads are now using the service to a large extent in order to obtain 

 all the information necessary to arrive at a fair settlement in the event 

 of a claim for damages. Therefore, we must examine the product and 

 state all the facts relating to quality and condition, without considering 

 whether it is to the advantage of any particular interest. The certificate 

 can be useful in so far as it recites the exact truth as nearly as it can be 

 stated and in the ond this is the type of service that will be helpful to 

 everj^bod}-. 



The inauguration of the Food Products Inspection Service has de- 

 veloped a phase of plant pathology which hitherto has been touched only 

 casually by pathologists. This is the field of market pathology as con- 

 trasted with that of production or field pathology. Those who were in 

 charge of the work in the beginning saw the desirability and necessity of 

 cooperative work between the Bureau of Markets Inspection Service and 

 the pathologists of the Bureau of Plant IndustrJ^ This cooperative 

 work provided the opportunity for pathologists to survey conditions in 

 all of the larger markets of the country and to study diseases economically 

 important in fruits and vegetables, after the harvest, whether in the 

 field, in the packing house, in transit and in storage. One of the out- 

 standing developments of this cooperative investigation is a surprising 



