410 THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



iment to the best service is removed. Regulations will now emanate 

 from the office of the State Commissioner of Horticulture and uni- 

 formity, so long desired, is assured. 



Upon taking office I discovered that several important counties were 

 without county horticultural commissioners. This, of course, is, in 

 spirit, contrary to our horticultural laws. I at once commenced action 

 to secure such officers in all counties where fruit growing is important. 

 Inasmuch as the law requires the inspection of all interstate shipments, 

 it follows that in case there is no county horticultural commissioner in 

 any county the State Commissioner of Horticulture must perform this 

 inspection service. This involved an expense of over two hundred dol- 

 lars in one season in the small county of Inyo. It was a heavy and 

 continuous expense in the important county of San Francisco. More- 

 over, the county with a commissioner pays for its own inspection, and 

 also pays its proportion of this expense in the other counties. Of 

 course, this is unjust. Thirteen of these unguarded counties have been 

 officered. Six more should be policed, either by combination with each 

 other, or by joining a contiguous county which is already provisioned. 

 This is work to be performed, and we hope and expect an early suc- 

 cess. 



Another important interest has commanded and received attention 

 during the past year. I refer to the great and widespread potato indus- 

 try. That the potato production is suffering a general and serious 

 decline is indisputable ; that the cause, fungous attack, is preventable is 

 equally evident, and the seriousness of the situation is intensified from 

 the fact that the soil is being poisoned — unfitting it for further potato 

 production for years — and seed potatoes fit to plant are in quantity far 

 below the needs of the growers. Of course, the paramount need is 

 education. This condition led to a special emergency convention, to 

 the formation of the West Coast Potato Association, to the passage of a 

 law to secure certified seed potatoes, free from taint or disease, and the 

 offering of prizes for the best acre of potatoes grown during the present 

 season. This last project is financed by private parties. Twenty-eight 

 persons have entered the contest. The potato annex to this convention 

 is also the result of this desire to correct these evils that have borne so 

 heavily upon the potato industry. We hope and believe that the results 

 of this campaign will place many thousands of dollars to the credit of 

 potato growers of the State. I cannot forego the privilege of expressing 

 our grateful acknowledgment to the United State Department of Agri- 

 culture in extending the aid of an able expert in this work of aiding 

 an important department of the agriculture of California. 



