THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 87 



NOTES AND RECORDS OF COUNTY HORTICULTURAL 



COMMISSIONERS. 



Address, State Fruit Growers' Convention, San Jose, Cal., December 2-4, 1913. 

 By R. S. Vaile, County Horticultural Commissioner, Ventura County. 



The title which has been announced for our discussion might appear 

 to be better fitted to a meeting of the horticultural commissioners alone 

 than for this more general assembly, but I hope to show that it is 

 general in its interest. As one of the younger of the county commis- 

 sioners I would hesitate to present this matter to you were it not that 

 many of the points covered have been made to me by other commis- 

 sioners. In fact, almost every one of our body has been so kind as to 

 send me suggestions for this paper, and what I will present is a com- 

 posite of many ideas. For this reason, when I use the plural pronoun 

 I refer in a general way to all the county commissioners. 



In the first place it will be necessary to explain with some detail the 

 nature and scope of our work, so that the reasons for and purpose of 

 our records will be clear. Incidentally, it is hoped that in this way 

 you may arrive at an appreciation of the breadth of our activities which 

 will add materially to our usefulness, for only with complete apprecia- 

 tion from the public which we serve, can the best work be accomplished. 

 Later we will turn our attention to the form of record which seems best 

 fitted to the needs of such an offtce. 



Our work falls naturally under four main divisions. The first of 

 these divisions deals with our cjuarantine inspections of all plants and 

 other horticultural shipments moved into, out of. or within our separate 

 counties. Some record is kept of each shipment that is handled, and in 

 some counties these records are cpiite detailed. The consignee, kind 

 and number of plants are noted so that, in case of fruit trees, the 

 orchard census may be kept complete. The shipper is noted so that if 

 some disease is discovered in the inspection or later its origin will be 

 known. Any pests and treatment for same are noted so that this work 

 may be followed by subsequent inspection to make sure that eradication 

 is complete. ^Many times, in case of fruit trees, records of particular 

 varieties planted, together with kind of root stocks, are kept so that in 

 after years an accurate line can be obtained on those best adapted to a 

 certain environment. 



From time to time these reports are extremely valuable. As an 

 example, the commissioners and inspectors are able to predict with 

 considerable accuracy a good many things concerning incoming stock, 

 from the rei-ords of diseases or pests found, and an interesting fact is 

 that we usually agree regarding any special nurserymen or districts. 



Again, some months ago, when Dr. Briggs of the Bureau of Plant 

 Industry took up the work on the citrus nematode, he felt that it would 

 be a lug help in the problem if the type and origin of the citrus root 

 stock in our orchards were definitely known. Our office was able to 

 partially furnish that data for recent years, and will have it complete 

 for future plantings. Tlie writer's work on this particular problem 

 has convinced him that this worm is not native in some of our impor- 

 tant districts, and such a conclusion could not have been reached had 

 not the data on the origin of stock been at hand. 



