474 THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



Legislation. 



At the State Fruit Growers' Convention held in San Jose I appointed 

 the following gentlemen as a committee on legislation : Mr. C. C. Teague, 

 Dean Thomas F. Hunt, Dr. G. Harold Powell and Judge Peter Shields. 

 By vote of the convention I was added to the committee. At the sug- 

 gestion of Dean Hunt five men were added to this committee at the 

 Upland Convention, as follows : Dr. H. J. Webber, Hon. "W. A. John- 

 stone, Senator E. K. Strobridge, Farm Adviser G. H. Hecke and Mr. 

 Marshall DeMott. I now add the names of Senator P. F. Cogswell and 

 Mr. Geo. C. Roeding. 



I suggested to each member of the committee by letter the wisdom 

 of consolidating all functions of the state that bear upon agriculture 

 and its development under one head, an officer corresponding to the 

 Secretary of Agriculture of the United States Government. The rea- 

 sons for this are convincing. It will serve economy in preventing 

 duplication of equipment, in reducing the number of expert assistants 

 and will eliminate interference in the work of the different divisions of 

 the service, which is now imperative. It will harmonize the work and 

 will follow the example of our great United States Department of 

 Agriculture and that of most of the states. 



The able committee named above are unanimously in favor of con- 

 solidation, and a bill has been prepared to submit to this convention 

 which I believe will receive your hearty approval. 



There are a few other features of our present law that call for 

 amendment. At present the county horticultural commissioners are 

 county officials, appointed by the supervisors of the several counties, 

 thus the county is the unit. Many of our most successful fruit 

 growers are of the opinion that these commissioners should be state 

 officials appointed by the State Commissioner of Horticulture, or better, 

 Agriculture, under civil service rules. These officers will be paid by 

 the state, not a per diem, but a salary. This would unify work, would 

 remove the selection of the commissioners entirely from politics, would 

 secure a more competent appointing power and consequently more 

 competent officials. The deputy commissioner and inspectors should 

 also be appointed under the State Civil Service Commission. At 

 present we have trained, competent county horticultural commissioners. 

 These men should be continued in office but the inspectors and new 

 commissioners should be appointed under civil service rules. The 

 units should not be the counties necessarily, but in many cases districts, 

 so that small counties could be united under one commissioner; thus 

 all counties would be served. Every section would have its commis- 

 sioner. At present there are fourteen counties without commissioners, 

 hence they have no local supervision. One of these counties. San Fran- 

 cisco, is, iDecause of this lack, a menace to the agricultural interests of 

 the entire state. Our greatest interest is agriculture, and its well-being 

 should not be in jeopardy. 



But the best result of all, this unifying system would give us uniform 

 horticultural laws. We may now have forty-four, and if all counties 

 were organized, would have fifty-eight independent commissioners, 



