DEPARTMENT REPORTS. 127 



REPORT OF THE STATE INSPECTOR OF NURSERIES AND 



ORCHARDS. 



To the State Board of Agriculture. 



Gentlemen: The work of the past year has been considerably hamp- 

 ered by the lack of funds. Heretofore, the amount available has been 

 practically without limit, as the expenses were paid from the general 

 fund of the State, but the amount appropriated under the Budget System 

 for the use of the department from Juh' 1, 1919, to June 30, 1920, was 

 less by more than one thousand dollars than was required the previous 

 year, and it became necessary to curtail the work in several lines. 



ACTIVITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT. • 



The work which has been done may be classified under five heads: 1. 

 Nursery inspection; 2. Orchard inspection for the control of dangerous 

 insects and diseases; 3. "White pine blister rust inspection; 4. Common 

 barberry eradication; 5. Insx)ection of shipments of nursery stock from 

 foreign countries. 



INSPECTION OF MICHIGAN NURSERIES. 



We have felt that this portion of the work must not be neglected how- 

 ever much we must slight the inspection work in other lines. 



Owing to the low prices for which nursery trees have sold for the last 

 five years, as well as to the scarcity of help and other causes, there has 

 been a marked decrease in the acreage devoted to nurserv' stock and 

 especially to fruit trees. On the other hand, the acreage devoted to small 

 fruit plants and to ornamental trees and shrubs in general has shown a 

 marked increase. 



Although the cost and scarcity of reliable labor has reduced to a con- 

 siderable extent the care given to the nurseries in the way of cultivation, 

 they have in general never been in a more satisfactory condition so far 

 as dangerous insects and diseases are concerned. The trees were entirely 

 free from the San Jose scale and the number upon which the woolly 

 aphis and crown-gall were found was very small. When either crown- 

 gall or woolly aphis were found on the trees either when growing in the 

 nursery or after they were dug, the inspected trees were destroyed. 



Several of the canning factories in Michigan in order to increase the 

 supply of raspberries, especially the black-caps for their use, are aiding 

 the growers in securing a supply of plants and have contracted for large 

 numbers of plants at wholesale prices and have supplied them to their 

 patrons at cost. 



In order to make sure that the plantations thus made will be free from 

 dangerous diseases and insects we arranged to have these plants in- 

 spected. Under this arrangement several hundred thousand raspberry 

 and strawberry plants were inspected, mostly in Van Buren county. 



The vicinity of Bridgman, Berrien county, has a country-wide reputa- 

 tion for the many nurseries located there which ship millions of straw- 

 berry and raspberry plants each season. Many of the licensed nurseries 



