April, '13] MORRILL: COOPERATION BETWEEN STATE INSPECTORS 261 



COOPERATION BETWEEN STATE HORTICULTURAL 

 INSPECTORS 



By A. W. Morrill, Phoenix, Ariz. 



It is not the writer's intention to present in this paper a com- 

 prehensive scheme for cooperation among those in charge of state 

 horticultural inspection affairs. Rather he frankly confesses to the 

 narrowness of his experience in this line of work and to his lack of a 

 thorough knowledge of the problems of most of his fellow-workers in 

 other states. This paper is prompted principally by certain problems 

 which confront the inspection service in Arizona — problems, however, 

 which are not peculiar to Arizona, but which the writer is prepared 

 to discuss particularly from the standpoint of the arid southwest. 



During the first year's operation of the Horticultural Inspection 

 law in Arizona, the records of our inspection of imported plants showed 

 8.6 per cent of the shipments from other states to be infested with 

 insect pests. The second year's operation showed a decrease in in- 

 fested shipments to 6.4 per cent and the third year's to 4.2 per cent. 

 The writer believes he is not ungenerous in ascribing this improvement 

 of conditions not to a reduction in the numbers of insect pests in the 

 nurseries and other plant shipping establishm.ents or to increased 

 efficiency of the officials in other states, who furnished the certi- 

 ficates of inspection, but to the simple spread of knowledge among 

 nurserymen, florists and other plant shippers concerning Arizona's re- 

 quirements. It is our experience that it is important that information 

 be placed in the hands of not only those who are now shipping plants 

 into the state but those who may do so in the future, in order that 

 they may comply with our requirements, or if impossible to do this, 

 that they may protect themselves by refusing orders from our state. 

 The fact that we propose to inspect all shipments of plants coming into 

 the state affects only in a degree the desirability of having infested 

 shipments kept out. In spite of the best endeavors on the part of com- 

 mon carriers to keep all of their new, as well as old employees informed 

 concerning the matter of holding plants for inspection, occasionally 

 a shipment will be delivered without awaiting for the inspector's re- 

 lease. This is especially likely to occur when the packages, boxes or 

 bundles are not properly labeled to indicate the true contents. It 

 is therefore important, as a matter of protection, that every practi- 

 cable effort be made to reduce the number of infested shipments 

 entering a state even in the case of those states where shipments of 

 plants are inspected at destination. 



