250 JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY [Vol. 2 



as much protection to the orchardists and other growers, as well as to 

 the nurserymen themselves, as is practical in the operation of such 

 a law. 



The State Entomologist and State Pathologist make it a point to 

 do the inspecting of nurseries personally with the help of their reg- 

 ular assistants and the forces are divided only in the case of the very 

 small tree nurseries or those that raise simply strawberries or like 

 plants. Thus we aim to learn the exact conditions ourselves and 

 follow up any prescribed treatment after such inspection. No cer- 

 tificate is granted to a nurseryman until after he has signed a written 

 contract to the effect that he will not sell any trees that may be badly 

 affected by wooly aphis or crown gall ; and if the San Jose scale should 

 be detected, his contract includes a close hand inspection of the stock 

 from such infested blocks. Thus we aim to give the orchardists as 

 good a guaranty as possible under existing conditions, that the stock 

 they receive from ^laryland nurserymen can be considered as free 

 from such pests as similar stock from the nurseries of any state in 

 the East. It is only fair to state in this connection that the Mary- 

 land nurserymen readily comply with the requirements made by the 

 officers charged with the enforcement of the law. 



Additional inspections were necessary this past spring on account 

 of the finding of Brown-tail moth nests upon imported stock. Over 

 1,125,000 seedlings and other nursery stock have been carefully in- 

 spected during the past three months in this state. In all about 700 

 nests of the Brown-tail moth have been destroyed. 



Orchard Inspection 



As mentioned above the ^Maryland horticultural law directs that 

 the State Entomologist and State Pathologist or assistants visit each 

 county in the state at least once a year for he purpose of determining 

 by inspection the healthfulness and general condition of the horticul- 

 tural and agricultural interests. For a time the officers of the de- 

 partment endeavored to visit as many parts of the state as possible, 

 but this procedure, while being a great help, did not promote the 

 work as was desired. 



The employment of local inspectors to inspect orchards for San 

 Jose scale and yellows was then undertaken. The inspectors were 

 given a course at the Maryland Agricultural College to better fit them 

 for the w^ork. This scheme of orchard inspection was decidedly more 

 satisfactory and continues to be the most effective plan of reaching 

 all parts of a given territory. "While it is possible to inspect only 

 a part of the state each season, the work gradually covers the whole 



