Februarj', '16j SHAW: OHIO NURSERY INSPECTION 229 



the doors and when continually used it is necessary to watch them 

 closely. 



The arrangement of stock in a fumigator so that it will be thor- 

 oughly exposed to the gas is not easily controlled. 



Most of the larger nurserymen arrange to drive a wagon load of 

 stock into the house. This allows in our judgment of very good ex- 

 posure to the gas because the stock is well above the floor and the gas 

 can easily penetrate to all parts of it. 



Where stock is unloaded and placed in the house there is a tendency 

 on the part of the nurserymen to want to pack it too tightly, often 

 placing the roots on portions of the stems or trunks so that they are 

 covered and the gas may not have free access to the insects. We insist 

 upon an open floor usually built on two by fours or two by sixes so 

 that gas can thoroughly reach the stock from below. It is necessary 

 once or twice during a shipping season to take out these floors, which 

 are usually built in sections, and remove the dirt which has shaken off 

 from the roots and has accumulated until it fills up the open space below 

 floor level. 



We found, before supervision of this work was taken up, that the 

 time required for the exposure was often cut in two and sometimes 

 stock had been exposed but ten or fifteen minutes before opening the 

 house. This is a frequent temptation when rush orders are received 

 and cars are waiting to be loaded. 



It was early found that potassium cyanide being secured by nursery- 

 men in their several localities varied considerably in puritj'. In some 

 tests that were made the per cent of potassium cyanide varied from. 

 31.05 to 100. The practice was then inaugurated of having nursery- 

 men place their orders through our office where this material could be 

 secured from sources on which we could have some check and know 

 that the proper grade was being sent out. Supervision of this work 

 has also permitted us to know that potassium cyanide after being re- 

 ceived by the nurserymen was kept in such a manner that it could not 

 deteriorate. Even with this precaution we have occasionallj^ secured 

 inferior lots of potassium cyanide. Last year when a greater scarcity 

 of this material was evident, we found that several shipments of the 

 inferior grades had been made to nurserymen and it was necessary 

 to refuse its use. During the present year we have used nothing but 

 sodium cyanide. 



This, in general, is an outhne of the way in which we are handling 

 nursery inspection and fumigation in Ohio. We are not alwaj^s able 

 to carry it out as thoroughly as we would like to do. Every inspector 

 knows of the different things which arise to interfere with the best 

 laid plans. It must be remembered that during a portion of the time 



