PROCEEDINGS OF THE ANNUAL MEETING 15 L 



stock for free trausporhitiou. Some of the largest Atlantic nurseries 

 Lave become so infested by the scale that it has not been safe to purchase 

 stock there for the past four or five years. Though these facts have been 

 published repeatedly, and discussed in horticultural meetings for years, 

 yet we are astonished at the large number of Michigan customers these 

 nurseries have. We were very fortunate in stopping a large shipment 

 of infested stock, last spring, and as the circumstance will make a 

 good illnsti'ation at this time, I will relate it. 



Near the close of our last spring's packing season, a fruitgrower living 

 north of our city came to the packing-yard wishing to purchase a bill 

 of trees. We could furnish most of the varieties he desired, but, on 

 account of the lateness of the season, all of a few varieties had been 

 sold, and we knew they could not be had at that time of any reputable 

 firm, and told him so. We tried to furnish him what we had, but he 

 replied that if we could not furnish all we could not have the order. 

 This man went at once and selected his varieties from the catalogue 

 of an eastern concern, enclosed a draft for |40, and waited for the stock. 

 About a week later, while at the freight house, we noticed a large box 

 and bale consigned to him. Our suspicions were aroused when we dis- 

 covered on the tags attached the name of an infested nursery. Parting 

 the straw on the bale, we found that it contained cherry trees and San 

 Jos^ scale. When the purchaser came we told him not to move it, but to 

 investigate the results of setting such stock. A sample was sent to 

 the Agricultural college, whence reply was made that it was badly in- 

 fested by San Jose scale, and they wished to know where it came 'from. 

 By the time we heard from the college, the purchaser concluded he did 

 not want the stock; but, as the Eastern concern had his money, he did 

 not know what to do. He notified them at once that he would not accept 

 the stock, and sent affidavits to prove that the whole lot was alive with 

 scale, but the company absolutely refused to refund the monej' and 

 they never have done so up to date. To the credit of the planter, I wish 

 to say that he took the stock, box, and packing and burned them all 

 together, near the freight house. But for our timely discovery of this 

 case, this man would never had known that he had the scale, perhaps, 

 imtil his whole farm had become infested and his business ruined. 



In the absence of a nursery and orchard inspection law, if this lot 

 of trees, which is the same, we are afraid, -as many lots delivered in this 

 state — I say, in the absence of law, if this lot of trees had been set 

 beside vour orchard, therebv threatening vour business, what would 

 you have done about it? If he furnishes scale enough to destroy thou- 

 sands of dollars' worth of your orchards, and completely ruins you, you 

 could not help yourself, you could not reach the nursery that sold the 

 stock, and to destroy the trees, without your neighbor's permission, 

 would be to incriminate yourselves. 



We as nurserymen have realized that a small fruitgrower, who only 

 wished a half dozen trees or plants, is likely to purchase them of an 

 infested nursery and plant them beside our nursery, thereby endangering 

 and possibly ruining our industry. 



The men who are the most likely to import infested trees or plants 

 are the ones who are looking for the cheapest stock, and when it is 

 received and planted out they let the pigs, cows, sheep, and horses 

 cultivate and prune them. They use weeds for fertilizing them, and 



