FORTIETH ANNUAL REPORT. 85 



perieuce with one of them. For instance, it is reported that when en- 

 tomologists proposed legislation in the Texas State Legislatnre to pre- 

 vent the growing of cotton for a year or two in that region of Texas 

 where the cotton-ball weevil had obtained a foot-hold in order that the 

 progress of the insect might be" diecked, the Entomologist and those 

 proposing snch a i>lan were ridicnled and langhod at, bnt we feel cer- 

 tain that had such measures been adopted millions of dollars would 

 have been saved to this country in the cotton crop. Had the Federal 

 Government the power and the money available at that time to imme- 

 diately take steps for controlling the pests, it is possible that several 

 of our insects which are now recognized as of prime importance could 

 have been stami>ed out in their incipiency. Dangerous insects are un- 

 restricted by state lines in their forward-march and distribution and on 

 this account it seems that laws and control measures should likewise 

 be unrestricted by state lines and that the Federal Government should 

 be empowered to take up immediately the control of any threatening 

 and dangerous insect jiest. Esi>ecially should this be true when the 

 insect is one which is likely to become a national menace. 



As a friend and believer in horticulture, may I state that in my opin- 

 ion, there is no greater pest to horticulture than a dishonest nursery- 

 man, that A\ill put out stock untrue to name or misrepresents his goods. 



I might interpolate here very frankly some experiences which I 

 have had during the past summer since taking up the Nursery Inspec- 

 tion Avork in Wisconsin. Our law^ requires that all nui*series whether 

 located within or without our state shall secure a license for the con- 

 duct of their business in our state. In ansAver to a large number of 

 complaints received at the office from fruit growers and farmers in sec- 

 tions of our state, I took it upon myself to personally investigate the 

 charges made by these people against a certain nursery firm located in 

 Illinois. The result of this investigation showed a condition somewhat 

 as follows: 



A man accompanied by three assistants, purporting to be agents of 

 the Home Nui'sery Company of Bloomington, Illinois, took large num- 

 bers of orders in the nortlieastern part of Wisconsin for two varieties 

 of cherries known as the "Northwest" and the '^Ostheim." These cher- 

 ries which we knoAX^ as inferior soi-ts, were misrepresented by these 

 agents in various ways. First, they were claimed to be superior in every 

 Avay to the old recognized A^arieties, the "^lontmorency" and the ''Early 

 Richmond." Again, they in })laces guaranteed the i)€ople that these 

 were the varieties of cherries Avhich Avere returning such large and val- 

 uable yields in our AA^ell known Sturgeon Eay cherry section. Thirdly: 

 In some places they rei)resented that their company had handled the 

 entire cherry output of the Sturgeon Bay region, all of Avhich statements 

 are distinctlv false and misleading. 



The plan of sale Avas sometliing like this: The agent after represent- 

 ing these two varieties of cherries to be the most valuable AA^hich money 

 could purchase and representing that the trees were all grafted on Rus- 

 sian roots, asked the prospectiA'-e buyer fl.lO per tree. If the buyer 

 demurred on this price and refused to buy, an agreement Avas offered 

 whereby the farmer might secure these A'aluable trees at the extreme 

 low rate of •IH.'i.OO per hundred, ]iroviding he would give to the nursery 

 company one-half of his 1915 crop. In a great number of cases the buv- 



