54 



HORTICULTURE 



January 18, 1919 



the Secretary of Agriculture, through 

 diplomatic channels or the medium ot 

 the State Department, such firms natu- 

 rally not having any status before our 

 Government's Departments. 



2nd. Kvery importer resident in 

 the United States, likewise every deal- 

 er, seedsman, florist or user, should 

 make protest both direct to the Sec- 

 retary of Agriculture at Washington, 

 drawing his attention to the hard- 

 ships and unworkable application un- 

 der the regulations, and likewise all 

 those interested should further take 

 the subject up through the medium of 

 their United States representatives 

 and Senators in Congress, so that 

 such representatives may both inform 

 and collectively bring the matter to 

 the attention of the Secretary of Agri- 

 culture. 



What Should Be Done. 



1st. All bulbs are harvested with- 

 out the original soil in which they are 

 grown, being attached or adhered to 

 the roots, but as soil is known to be 

 the only safe material as applied to 

 imports of lily bulbs, particularly 

 those from Japan, where the long 

 voyage is likely to extract the mois- 

 ture and growing quality if packed in 

 vegetable packing material, the regu- 

 lation should be so modified so as to 

 permit of the continued use of dry 

 soil as heretofore, which has so far 

 been unknown to be infected with 

 pests or plant diseases. If absolutely 

 necessary this soil could be treated by 

 some process of sterilization that 

 would in any event destroy any possi- 

 bility of any insects or pests remain- 

 ing alive or deleterious after such 

 sterilization. 



2nd. When a certificate of inspec- 

 tion issued by the authorized plant 

 inspector at point of origin is fur- 

 nished attached to the shipping docu- 

 ment showing that the soil packing 

 has been so treated, the Federal Hor- 

 ticultural Board's representatives at 

 ports of entry should accept such 

 certificates at their face value and 

 allow the shipments they cover to 

 pass to further destination without 

 unnecessary delay. 



3rd. Labels showing the name and 

 address of the importer here and the 

 number of the permit issued by the 

 Federal Horticultural Board should be 

 sufficient to enable the authorities to 

 trace the importation without the obli- 

 gation of labeling and publishing the 

 source of supply other than I he coun- 

 try of origin. 



4th. If importers in New York, 

 Boston, Seattle and San Francisco are 

 permitted to enter goods at such 

 ports, why are the merchants, buyers 

 and users of bulbs in interior cities 



such as Cleveland, Chicago, Cincin- 

 nati, Pittsburgh, Omaha, Detroit, etc., 

 to be restricted against? Why should 

 these shipments, provided they are 

 accompanied by inspectors' certificate 

 of the plant inspector and country of 

 origin, not be permitted to pass in 

 bond to any interior city and treated 

 in like manner as such imports that 

 will arrive in New York, Boston, and 

 Seattle and San Francisco? 



5th. If hyacinths, narcissus, tulips 

 and crocus are permitted in, then all 

 other similarly dry bulbs which never 

 were known to carry infectious or in- 

 jurious pests should be allowed in as 

 heretofore. 



6th. Where rose stocks and fruit 

 tree stocks are allowed to enter, other 

 plants of surely as innocent a nature 

 should be permitted subject to the 

 known careful examination in the 

 country of origin and at port of arrival 

 as heretofore. 



Surely the very particular inspec- 

 tion plants are subjected to in the 

 foreign nurseries before their de- 

 parture to this country and the rigid 

 examination such plants receive here 

 by a well organized and large force 

 of Government inspectors should be 

 sufficient to prevent the introduction 

 of any and all injurious insect pests. 



When recently the Spanish Influen- 

 za pest was brought over here did we 

 pass an act making it unlawful for hu- 

 man beings to ever come over here 

 again? No: instead we went about 

 combating the pest and we seem to 

 have succeeded. Perhaps the gentle- 

 men of the Federal Horticultural 

 Board may find means to combat the 

 occasional bug that might find its 

 way over here and the millions that 

 are here already without going to the 

 radical departure of killing the dog to 

 destroy the fleas, which would serious- 

 ly affect the business of every florist, 

 importer, nurseryman and plantsman 

 in the United States. 



The difficulty seems to be to get 

 any concerted and broad action on the 

 part of the different interests affected 

 to actually do something to draw to 

 the attention of the Secretary of Agri- 

 culture in Washington direct the opin- 

 ion of the interests involved in the 

 commercial way of the operation of 

 the act. A committee should be ap- 

 pointed by different florist clubs to 

 take up the matter direct with the 

 Secretary of Agriculture, that he may 

 be directly advised of the objections 

 to the operation of the proposed regu- 

 lations as seriously affecting the horti- 

 cultural interests of the XTnited States. 



The leading private gardeners can 

 be of great service in this great cause 

 by bringing the matter to the atten- 

 tion of their employers with requests 



to use their influence in the right 

 place. Horticultural societies through- 

 out the land should appoint commit- 

 tees who would prepare briefs clearly 

 setting forth the facts which the gar- 

 dener members should then bring to 

 the attention of their employers pro- 

 viding them with copies of such briefs. 

 Garden clubs likewise should pre- 

 pare briefs, circulate them amongst 

 their members with requests to use 

 their influence with members of Con- 

 gress and the Senate, and at their 

 meetings and in their reports this un- 

 American act should be criticised un- 

 til either the teeth are gradually taken 

 out of the act by amendments or the 

 same dies its deserved death through 

 Congressional action or investigation. 



It becomes no man to muse despair 

 But in the teeth of clenched antag- 

 onism 



To follow up the worthiest until he 



die. 



John Scheepers, 



2-4 Stone St.. New York. 



NEW BEDFORD HORTICULTURAL 

 SOCIETY. 



The 17th annual meeting of the New- 

 Bedford Horticultural Society was 

 held Monday evening, Jan. 8, in the 

 Free Public Library, and the following 

 officers were re-elected: President. 

 Leonard J. Hathaway, Jr.; vice-presi- 

 dent, Joseph A. Nolet; financial secre- 

 tary, Walter K. Smith; secretary. 

 Jeremiah M. Taber; treasurer, Walter 

 A. Luce. Executive Committee, Frank 

 G. Tripp, chairman; James Garthly. 

 Andrew J. Fish, Charles W. Young. 

 Louis W. Macy, Joseph S. Figueiredo, 

 J. Arnold Wright, Thomas H. Hughes, 

 James Armstrong. Entertainment Com- 

 mittee, Frank C. Barrows, chairman; 

 George H. Reynolds. Nathaniel P. 

 Sowle. 



The society has held three free flow- 

 er shows during the past year. The 

 treasurer's report shows an increase 

 of $30.84 for the year in the surplus 

 which is now $77.52. 



It was voted to continue free flower 

 shows. The membership of the so- 

 ciety is now 203. Four members died 

 during the year. Joseph A. Nolet won 

 the David F. Roy silver cup for the 

 best displays at the 1918 shows, the 

 award being decided on points. Mr. 

 Nolet was credited with 62 points. 



The annual meeting of the Rhode 

 Island Horticultural Society was held 

 in the lecture room, public library. 

 Providence, Wednesday. January 15. 

 1919. Prof. John G. Jack of Arnold 

 Arboretum. Boston, gave an illustrat- 

 ed lecture on "American Trees and 

 Shrubs for New England Planting." 



