248 Agricultural Journal of Victoria. 



Veuetatiok Diseases' Act. 



For the proper administration of the above Act it was found 

 necessary to introduce some amendments, amongst the most impor- 

 of these being a Proclamation by the Governor-in-Council making it 

 a punishable offence to dispose of or attempt to dispose of, fruit which 

 was diseased, either in the markets, shops or elsewhere. There have 

 been several successful prosecutions of persons offending against these 

 regulations, and although some opposition to the Act, as it now 

 stands, is not improbable, the new departure is looked upon with 

 favour by a large number of our principal growers, who see in the 

 rules a lever by which the Department can keep growers up to the 

 necessary work of cleaning their orchards. It has been found neces- 

 sary to add to the list of prohibited insects and fungi, these lists 

 having been prepared by Mr. Mc Alpine and myself. 



Inspection of Oechaeds, Nurseeies and Gardens. 



The inspectorial staff having been increased by the addition of 

 two regular Inspectors and one Assistant Inspector, the work done 

 continues to be fairly satisfactory although the staff* is even now far 

 too small to be thoroughly effective, and as the planting of fi'uit trees 

 is progressing at a ra])id rate, it will be at once seen that the inspec- 

 tion is to a large exteiit insufficient. 



Prosecutions against careless growers have been fairly numerous 

 and quite successful, it being unfair to the careful grower to ] permit 

 the careless man to allow his orchard to become a breeding ground for 

 disease, whilst the former grower is doing all that he can, not only to 

 keep his orchard clean, but to place his fruit on the market in such a 

 condition that it will be certain to command the highest price. 



The inspection of nurseries is one of the most important measures 

 of the Act, as every practical grower is aware that it is in the nursery 

 where the principal danger of infection lies, as if the tree be affected when 

 transplanted from the nursery to the orchard, the disease becomes at 

 once established on a permanent basis, whereas in the fi'uit the chances 

 of infection are miich more remote. Upon the whole the Act is found 

 to be working both well and fairly smoothly, although certain of the 

 troubles arising from an over anxiety exhibited by many of the sister 

 States, as also by countries outside the Federation, give no end of 

 concern and trouble to our plant growers who take every care that 

 only the best and cleanest stuff shall be sold to growers both inside 

 and outside of the State of Victoria, the number of certificates issued 

 by this branch being 1,931, the number of cases and bundles of 

 plants and fruit trees exported being 3,637. 



It is my pleasurable duty to report the destruction by uprooting 

 and burning of a large number of the old and abandoned gardens 

 throughout the State, these having for years been not only an eyesore 

 to most of us, but also an actual and a serious menace to the careful 

 orchardists, nurserymen, and to the owners of small private gardens, 

 at which latter places there yet remains much to be done. 



