383 JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY ["Vol.2 



NURSERY INSPECTION IN NORTH CAROLINA 



By Franklin Sherman, Jr., Entomologist, State Department of Agriculture, 



Raleigh, IV. C. 



Nor-th Carolina does not take high rank as an orchard state, nor 

 does she rank high in the number or average size of her nurseries. 

 There has been an increase in the number of nurseries during the past 

 decade. In 1900 there were forty-five licensed, in 1908 there were 

 sixty-two licensed, but for the present season the number has dropped 

 to fifty-six, with perhaps one or two yet to be added. Every year a 

 few small nurserymen quit for one reason or another, and others start 

 up. Of course our larger nurseries are permanently established and 

 have considerable capital invested, but we probably have a larger pro- 

 portion of small, temporary nurseries than is found in most states. 

 However, this may be more apparent than real, due to the fact that 

 we have continued the same system and policy of inspection so long 

 that we have located and listed practically all nurseries even to the 

 smallest ones which serve only a local trade and never offer shipments 

 for transit by railways, etc. 



We, like others, are frequently vexed to decide just "what is a 

 nursery" and to tell whether this or that person's premises should be 

 inspected. Often the expense and time required to make an inspec- 

 tion are so great as to be out of all proportion to the importance of 

 the end served by it. In accord with the ideas which the writer has 

 advanced at meetings of the horticultural inspectors we are constantly 

 striving to eliminate needless inspections, needless expenses, and need- 

 less hampering of trade, as we believe that it is just such matters that 

 cause some nurserymen to condemn the whole system of inspection 

 as useless. 



Our system of nursery inspection and control is very far from per- 

 fect. While our conditions of work are all that could be desired in 

 almost every other particular, we are handicapped by the fact that we 

 have only one man (Mr. S. C. Clapp of this office) to assign to the 

 inspection work, and our funds are such that we cannot spend as much 

 on the inspections as would be required to absolutely clinch their 

 efficiency. We do not put a man out of business because his stock is 

 infested with San Jose scale, and we state this fact plainly to our 

 public. We destroy all trees that are seen to be infested in a careful 

 inspection, and if the number is very small in comparison to the 

 number of trees involved the nursery is certified. If the number- 

 found infested is large enough to throw suspicion on the whole lot 



