36-1 THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



HORTICULTURAL LAWS AND THE NURSERYMEN. 



By Geo. C. Roeding, Fresno, Cal. 



Our laws as I understand them are created for the purpose of doing 

 the most good to the greatest number of our people and are not enacted 

 for the benefit or the injury of any of our citizens in the legitimate 

 pursuance of their vocation. 



It must be admitted that a business is developed as a result of certain 

 demands which may exist in a community, or as a result of the 

 exigencies of trade which may cause that business to cover a wide scope 

 of territory. 



A man engaged in business endeavors to exert his powers and his 

 intelligence to keep abreast of the times and be in touch with those who 

 desire to purchase the product which he raay manufacture or produce. 



I am going to speak of California first, in the discussion of this sub- 

 ject, for if there is any one state in the Union in which our horticultural 

 development has surpassed in its extent and along modern and pro- 

 gressive lines, it is this most resourceful State of ours. It is due to the 

 intelligence of a certain class of men that these remarkable strides have 

 been made, and I do not think I am making any grave exaggeration 

 when I say that our nurserymen are largely responsible for placing the 

 fruit business on the high plane on which it stands today. It is through 

 their foresight, and their realization of what could be accomplished that 

 they have introduced so many valuable fruits, and ornamental trees and 

 shrubs which has placed California in a class by itself. 



The burning question which arises in their minds now. is, shall they 

 go on putting forth the best that is in them to supply fruits; finer and 

 a greater variety of ornamental trees and plants; or -will they cpiit 

 altogether and engage in other pursuits from which they can derive a 

 living without being constantly harassed by laws whose main purport 

 seems to be to throttle them. 



It is useless to deny that this is the condition of affairs as they exist 

 to-day, and with every succeeding year they are becoming more drastic 

 in their application. 



Every railroad company and every citizen of this State foresees the 

 great possibilities that lie before us, and in attracting immigration to 

 this coast, it is done with the purpose of inducing settlers to buy small 

 tracts of land and develop them, more so in horticultural products than 

 in any other one thing. 



Those who have been merely casual observers, are impressed with 

 the fact that our development in horticulture is still in its infancy and 

 that there are great possibilities before us. There are thousands of 

 acres of land in this State open for development, and the strides which 

 are being made in hydroelectric power and in our irrigation .systems 

 will eventually bring many of these lands into a high and intensive 

 state of cultivation. 



The advancement of our horticultural interests is dependent without 



