158 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



Besides the addresses given by the Demonstrating and Inspecting 

 force, the Economic Zoologist, himself, has delivered forty-five ad- 

 dresses in the State of I'ennsylvania during the past year, many of 

 which have been illustrated with original lantern slides. We are 

 now fortunate in having with us in the oltice as Artist, Mr. John O. 

 Smith, who is particularly proficient as a photographer, and who is 

 able to make, from our OAvn photographs, slides A\hich are especially 

 interesting and useful. 



5. INSPECTION OF NURSERIES 



The work of nursery inspection has continued as usual, with Mr, 

 E. B. Engle as Chief Nursery Inspector, assisted by such members 

 of the office and field force as were available for special service when 

 needed. A full report of the Nursery Inspection work for 1011 is 

 published in the Bi-monthly Bulletin of the Bureau of Zoology for 

 January, 1912. This shows that there were 200 nurseries inspected 

 in the State of Pennsylvania during last year, comprising 3,130 acres. 



As these nurseries are inspected twice per year, during midsummer 

 and again during the latter part of the winter, it can be seen that 

 this work is a great task, but it is certainly efficient in insuring far 

 better and healthier nursery stock than could be expected without 

 it. 



It is my great pleasure to report that the attitude of the nursery- 

 men has, in general, been very favorable in regard to the nursery 

 inspection. Instead of feeling that the law is one which was es- 

 tablished solely for the benefit of the tree grower, and against the 

 nurseryman, they have come to see that it is of mutual advantage, 

 and the people of this State now know that they can buy good, clean, 

 healthy trees in this Commonwealth, and that no others are per- 

 mitted to be grown, sold, or shipped, and they are rightly buying and 

 planting home-grown trees and rea])ing the advantage thereof. In 

 fact, as a result of our campaign in nursery inspection and against 

 fraudulent tree agents, we are hearing less and less of the rank frauds 

 formerly practiced among our agricultural people by the travelling 

 tree agent or jobber. 



6. INSPECTION OF IMPORTED PLANTS, SEEDS AND FRUITS 



Not only are the nurseries carefully inspected to prevent the dis- 

 semination of pests from them, l)ut it is likewise essentially impor- 

 tant that all plants and seeds brought into this State for propaga- 

 tion purposes shall be free from obnoxious or injurious pests. Thus 

 the inspection of imported plants is something of great value to our 

 growers in all parts of the State, and it has been pushed with all 

 vigor and faithfulness possible. 



The people of this State will scarcely realize the wonderful extent 

 of the plant inspection that is done by this office. For example,, 

 during the spring of this year we received a report that nine car- 

 loads of imported ]>lants were coming to one of our large Eastern', 

 nurserymen. When these immense boxes contained tens of thousand? 

 of small trees and shrubs were opened, we had several inspectors, 

 present, and all were inspected with a thoroughness, efficiency andi 

 expediency that was rem,^^l^:^ble and stratifying. 



