THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 735 



UNIFORM HORTICULTURAL LAWS. 



By Frederick Maskew. 



During the past month a number of earnest men have again been 

 striving to bring about a system of uniform horticultural laws. The 

 writer of this was not present in this instance, but it has been his 

 fortune to have attended many such meetings during the past sixteen 

 years, at all of which much time, thought and discussion were devoted 

 to this same subject, yet little of a positive satisfactory nature was 

 accomplished. During all of this same period we have been almost daily 

 engaged in putting into execution the provisions of such horticultural 

 laws and regulations as were in force at the time, and have of a neces- 

 sity given much thought to the matter. As a result of this, it is our 

 opinion that the principal barrier to success is the ambiguous nature 

 of the certificates of inspection issued. When those interested in this 

 much needed standardization of interstate horticultural regulations can 

 bring it about that each certificate of inspection covering a consignment 

 of horticultural material shall be virtually an affidavit of known facts 

 and not a supposition, the foundation will have been soundly laid, and 

 the superstructure of design, acceptance, respect and uniformity of 

 interstate horticultural regulations will quickly follow. 



Under the conditions that prevail in many of our states at the present 

 time, it is a physical impossibility to conduct the inspection in such a 

 inanner as to make certificates of inspection acceptable at their face 

 value in California. To go into the details of why this is so would fill 

 this volume; suffice it to say, the true cause at the present time is the 

 inadequate inspection force emplo.ved. The men composing the horti- 

 cultural inspection service in California are endowed with robust minds. 

 They look at the fundamental principle underlying this inspection work 

 in a practical utilitarian spirit and with a full realization of the equity 

 of every phase of the situation. The numerical strength of the com- 

 bined State and county inspection force in California makes possible a 

 thoroughness not obtainable in many other localities, and as a result 

 creates a feeling of disgust for fictitious or fallacious statements of 

 inspection. It is our opinion that the true cause for this feeling must 

 be permanently removed before a full measure of support and co-opera- 

 tion in constructive legislation upon these matters can be obtained from 

 the rank and file of tlie horticultural inspection service of the State of 

 California. 



