ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF ONTARIO. 



the San Jose scile is the latest iiiipDrtatioa, it by no means folio vvs that it will be the last. 

 It is all ri»ht to study tlie biology of the insect, and this is really the first step to be 

 taken, but the duty of the economic entomologist does not stop there by any means. The 

 man who has been unfortunate enough to get the thing in his orchard wants to know- 

 all he can learn about it, but the one who is free of it would vastly more like to know- 

 how to keep free of it. Some of you are aware that I am not in the least in sympathy 

 -with the manner in which we have been dealing with this pest, or rather with those who 

 have knowingly carelessly harbored it. I do not say this with a spirit of fault finding 

 or criticism, but rather with the idea of improving upon the policy. I fully submit that 

 it is not right to knowingly wreck the business of any nurseryman who is willing to do 

 everything in his power to prevent distributing such a pest with his stock ; but it seems 

 to me that we commit even a greater mistake and do a more unjust act when we say that 

 such a pest is in a certain locality, thereby throwing the onus on both the innocent and 

 the »uilty. This appears to me to be the very worst sort of an injustice, and places a 

 premium on dishonesty. We should either give the name of the proprietor or else make 

 no public statement whatever, giving him notice that any attempt to send out infested 

 trees or plants will result in a prompt exposure ard public condemnation. 



If I were to say that a member of this associition was a murderer, it would reflect 

 on the honour of all of us, and would serve to protect the guilty one from justice, provided 

 there was such a one among us. Hereafter when we have to quarantine, let it be against 

 individuals or firms and not against States or portions of States in which the innocent 

 outnumber the guilty. We must use harsh and severe measures where such are neces- 

 sary in order to be just to the deserving, but we have no right to make these deserving 

 ones a partner in dishonesty with the unworthy and disreputable. To do this is but to 

 place ourselves in a position where we are sure to be imposed upon by the latter and 

 secure the merited distrust of the former. The people are coming to place some of their 

 interests in our keeping, and if we would hold on to that confidence we must deal jat.tly bat 

 .firmly with those who threaten such interests, with the sole aim of profiting thereby. 

 Even if entomologists were clothed with the right to enter into an agreement with 

 nurserymen to keep the presence of a dangerous pest a secret from the public, which I 

 strondy question, it is poor policy to do so. For a public servant to make private arran- 

 gements with those harboring public enemies is, generally speaking, a risky business and 

 not usually conductive in elevation to the estimation of th^se whose esteem we can not 

 well afford to ignore. There should be a discrimination between the deserving and the 

 undeserving, but it should be extended and not promised, and even then with the under- 

 standing that it was entirely in the way of official assistance. If we follow the proper 

 course so as to merit the confidence of the people, the latter will be perfectly sati.sfied 

 with the information that infected nurseries are under strict surveillance, and nothing 

 infected will be allowed to go out ; but let there be a few more revelations of the actions 

 of some of these, such as we have seen within the last year, and people will naturally 

 be»in to speculate as to whom we are assisting and whose interests we are protecting. 



I mention these things because I believe we can improve upon the policy that some 

 of us have been following, largely by force of circumstances. What I would urge is this: 

 First a uniform policy to be followed as closely as our surroundings render possible by 

 all of us • second, on the information of an infested nursery coming to us the proprietors 

 are to be informed that no infested stock is to be sent out, and that they are to promptly 

 oo to work to stamp out the pest, and that any attempt to evade these rules will result in 

 a prompt exposure. If it is known that their trade will not suflf-r if they choose to pur- 

 chase their stock from uninfested localities until they have destroyed the pest on their 

 own most men will see at once that it is the least expensive way out of the trouble. I 

 am satisfied that there is a method of procedure that will work the least hardship to the 

 deserving, yet will compel the stubborn to keep infection confined to their own premi es 

 and stamp it out there as soon as possible. I believe that we hold the balance of power, 

 so to speak, and need not barter our influence, but hold it to ba sought for by those 

 who wish to escape with the least trouble and loss If we are but just in our actions 

 there will no trouble about the better class of nurseymen siding with us, and we 



