THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 333 



Certain data must appear upon the branded or labeled cud of the box. Nearly 

 all labels, as far as 1 am a in most respects to the requirements of 



this soot ion of the law. The grade am I be shown, and, who lamps are not 



used, this must be designated in letters aol loss than one-half inch in height. The 

 number of apples contained or th t the package (this is to comply with 



the Not Container let and the restrictions imposed bj certain other states), name 



of variety, if I wn, othi rwi to be marked as unknown, the name and address of 



the person who packed or caused ii to be repacked, also the date of packing or 

 repacking. A variation of Eve apples, more or loss, is allowed from the number 

 stated. 



Whore state stamps are used, it has been customary in the enforcement of 

 the l'.iir, law to use a rubber dating stamp to cancel the stamps used, the date of 

 llation showing the date of inspection and packing. 



There has been son bjoeiimi to placing the date of packing upon the box, but I 



wish to say that this is intended for the packer's own protection. A bos of apples 

 might be in good condition when il left the shipping point, but a month or more later 

 be far from complying with the law. Unless there be some way of determining 

 when ir was packed the packer would be hold responsible throughout the season. 



Under the Standard Apple A.ct of 1915 the inspection was made, except iu such 

 few instanci uspector might make a personal examination, while 



the apples were being packed. This seemed the most convenient and desirable way, 

 as it was thought that the inspectors would be able to detect undergrade fruit and 

 it would not be such a hardship upon the packer to re-sort rather than to both re-sort 

 and pack f i'u i i which did uo1 come up to standard. It was found, however, that it 

 r\ hard Eor the inspectors to determine the exact percentage of poor apples in 

 the grading bins, and furthermore, it left a way open to unscrupulous packers to 

 substitute uninspected fruit for that which the inspectors had examined. It would 



seem neeossan to combine inspecti f the packing process with a thorough 



examination of the finished output and (bis is the procedure which will be adopted, 

 at least in the Watsonville district, under the new law. 



The act provides that stamps shall be designed and sold by the State Commissioner 

 of Horticulture and the person using snob stamps has a right to have inspection in 

 his own packing house. 



Every grower, every packer or shipper, of California apples will be benefited 



by the Standard Apple Act of 1917. There is no favoritism, so it is no more than 



.ins! to ask that all bear their pro rata of the expense of the enforcement of the law. 



There is but one way whereby this can be accomplished, and that is by having 



■ t ii .ii at shipping point and the use of the stamps provided. 



It should not, and, 1 trust, will not be necessary for the county commissioners to 

 pay any attention to any boxes of apples bearing the stale stamp which shows they 

 have already had inspection. 



There are only two reasons why the shipper should not care to have his fruit 



inspected at boa ad use thi stamp. Either his fruit is so good that he does 



not fear to lake the chance, or il is so poor that he knows it could not pass, and 

 trusts to luck that, either through lack of interest on the part of the county 

 commissioner of the county to which the shipment may be made, or because there 

 is no complaint on the part of the receiver, his fruit may squeeze through. 



Any apples appearing in any market without the state stamp should be regarded 

 with suspicion by the county commissioners and be given very careful scrutiny. 



In conclusion. 1 hope that the county commissioners will save the state inspectors 



all possible aid in tl nforcement of this law. particularly in regard to section 5, 



which forbids the sale of apples infested with any insect pest or infected with any 

 This section is intended to prevent the dumping of undesirable fruit into 

 this state from other states, which do not allow the sale of same within their own 

 boundaries, but wish to use California as a by-products factory, as well as to protect 

 rower, who tries to raise good apples, in competition with his oeighbor who 

 refuses to euro for his orchard. In many counties it is compulsory to eradicate 

 insect pests and diseases, but in others, especially in our larger apple-growing 

 districts, the . through lack i f foods, are unable to undertake anything 



of the kind. Under such conditions, the quickest and easiest way to compel a man 

 to take care of his orchard is to forbid the sale, in 1 1: irket, of inferior fruit. 



When the orchardisl realizes that be can not dispose of insect-infested or diseased 

 fruit except to a by-products factory, he is going to awalon to the fact that he must 



either spray and care for bis orchard in such a way as to 1 marketable 



article, or go out of busin 



