August, '11] MORRILL: WHITEFLY CONTROL 371 



The Enactment and Operation of a Horticultural Law in Florida 



Anyone familiar with the history of the whitefly in Florida, its 

 methods of spreading, the important part that infested nursery stock 

 and worthless china and umbrella trees have played in its dissemina- 

 tion and the present annual damage from the insect, cannot but realize 

 that millions of dollars would have been saved to the state by a horti- 

 cultural law enacted ten or fifteen years ago. Even if nothing more 

 had been accomplished than the elimination of the more important 

 non-fruit producing food plants of the citrus whitefly and the compul- 

 sory defoliation of citrus nursery stock before shipment from infested 

 nurseries for planting in uninfested sections, such a law would have been 

 a success and by having restricted the spread of the insects would 

 have represented a saving at the present time of three quarters of the 

 present annual losses, or more than three quarters of a million dol- 

 lars per year in Florida alone. The establishment of quarantine 

 stations at ports of entry as suggested in the law herein proposed, 

 probably would incidentally have excluded the woolly whitefly 

 (Aleyrodes howardi Q.) recently introduced at Tampa, Florida,^ from 

 Cuba and also several other insect pests of subtropical fruits introduced 

 from foreign countries during the past few years. 



Although the long delay on the part of the Florida citrus growers in 

 demanding legislative action has resulted in great injury to their 

 interests and in a broad sense to the business interests of the entire 

 state, this injury is not entirely irreparable. Many of the most pro- 

 gressive citrus growers object that the difficulty in securing the neces- 

 sary support would be so great as to make the attempt to enact and 

 execute a horticultural law impracticable. A similar objection, only 

 five years ago believed to be insurmountable, against the organization 

 of citrus growers for the marketing of fruit on the California plan had 

 the same value as determined by subsequent events, as objections which 

 may now be raised against the organization of warfare against Florida's 

 worst citrus pest. An effective horticultural law is practicable in 

 Florida" and the securing of public sentiment which is necessary for 

 its support requires no more energy than was expended in the organi- 

 zation of the Florida Citrus Exchange two years ago. 



It should be recognized that the idea of a horticultural law in Florida 

 will meet serious objection as long as its proper scope and greatest 

 opportunities of usefulness are misunderstood. The principal duties 

 of county entomologists according to the plan proposed by the writer 

 are outlined in paragraph nine of the suggested features of the horti- 

 cultural law. All citrus growers who desire to maintain their groves 



iBul. 64, Part VIII, Bur. Ent. U. S. Dept. Agric. 



