310 THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



a strange tale as entertaining as the stories of Stevenson's pirates, 

 and will learn the origin and meaning of such peculiar words as 

 pratique, lazaretto and others in the quarantine vernacular. The 

 application of the principles of quarantine is now almost universal,- 

 and is applied to all objects that live or contain the germ of life. It 

 has become a custom of the period practiced by all civilized countries, 

 even by communities in some instances, that all immigrants, human, 

 animal or vegetable seeking an entrance into the territory and a 

 residence in their midst, shall have each his individual health, clean- 

 liness and general desirability vouched for before being granted 

 admittance. 



The State of California with the directness and initiative that has 

 alwa^'s characterized her actions, was the first country to make an 

 original departure in the application of quarantine regulations, and in 

 section 3 of an act approved March 4, 1881, to define and enlarge the 

 duties and powers of the State Viticultural Commission, we find for 

 the first time the mention of the word quarantine as applied strictly to 

 horticultural material. In section 8 of the same act provision is made 

 for the appointment of an officer to formulate and put into execution 

 quarantine regulations for the protection of fruit and fruit trees from 

 the spread of insect pests. Evidently interpreting the language of this 

 section in its broadest sense and recognizing the necessity of a division 

 of interests, the Board of State Viticultural Commissioners appointed 

 on April 5, 1881, eleven typical exponents of the practice of horticulture 

 under California conditions to serve as the first Board of State Horti- 

 cultural Commissioners, and the members of this board on the same 

 day elected by ballot Matthew Cook as Chief Executive Horticultural 

 Officer. This officer as a part of his duty presented to the board at 

 their next meeting on June 30, 1881, a system of quarantine rules and 

 regulations for adoption. These, however, were not acted upon at 

 the time. At the regular meeting of the board held on September 30, 

 1881. the quarantine rules that had been laid over at the preceding 

 meeting Were read, altered and adopted by section, the whole was 

 approved, and under the caption "Horticultural Quarantine Rules," 

 were signed, printed and issued on November 12, 1881, by jMatthew 

 Cook, Chief Horticultural and Health Officer, who proceeded promptly 

 to enforce the same after January 1, 1882. 



With an enthusiasm worthy of the cause the Health Officer com- 

 menced to put into execution the provisions of these quarantine rules 

 in many different parts of the State, and as a result, in just a short 

 time, found himself in court and under orders to abandon the enforce- 

 ment of a quarantine. Poor Matthew Cooke ! he had made a good fight 

 for many years — out in the open against all comers since 1879 — and 

 he must have been chagrined bej^ond expression when the supreme court 

 declared this consummation of his hopes unconstitutional in January, 

 1883. This decision proved a Waterloo for INIatthew Cook, but only 

 the opening gun in a campaign for the protection of horticulture in 

 California. This was a constructive period in which the future histo- 

 rian, writing of the foundation of horticulture in California, will find 

 a wealth of material from which to draw. Strong characters abounded 

 and expressed their convictions in no uncertain terms concerning mat- 

 ters, horticultural, quarantine, and otherwise, and were not to be 



