TNTRODUCTORY. 27 



boat landings, and railroad stations, done as effectually as by 

 the disinfecting at markets, etc., as required. 



5. The local Inspectors, if appointed, are allowed fees by 

 law, and would be a heavy expense on the fruit growers. 



6. The rapid spread of codlin moth, to at least thirty coun- 

 ties in this State, since its first aj^pearance in one orchard in 

 1874, can chiefly be attributed to the use of the return pack- 

 ages ; therefore, the disinfection of all return packages is a 

 necessity. 



7. There is a difference of opinion among fruit growers as 

 to the style of package that should be used in sending fruit to 

 market. Some growers recommend and have adopted the so- 

 called free package, and others use the so-called return package. 



8. The disinfection of the packages gives an opportunity of 

 using the return packages at a nominal cost. 



9. Stores, commission houses, and places where apples, 

 pears, and quinces were stored or sold last season, are generally 

 infested by the larva^, pupie, or imago (perfect insect) of the 

 codlin moth, and are lial)le to be taken from such places in 

 return packages to orchards at this season of the year. 



10. The disinfection of return packages at the place where 

 the fruit is sent to market (or for storage) is not only the most 

 effective method for the prevention of the spread of insect 

 pests, but is by far the most economical for the fruit growers. 



Matthew Cooke, 

 Chief Executive Horticultural Officer. 



The opposition lirought the question of constitutionality 

 of the law into the courts ; pending a decision, the enforce- 

 ment of the quarantine rules was abandoned, and the pests not 

 only allowed to spread as heretofore, but the free package sys- 

 tem was not generally adopted. (In January, 1883, a decision 

 of the Supreme Court declared that the Legislature, in giving 

 the State Board of Viticultural Commissioners the right to 

 declare what tvould constitute a misdemeanor, gave the Board 

 legislative 2'>o^ver, and was therefore unconstitutional.) 



After mature investigation, I can find no reason to change 

 ray opinion in regard to the prevention of the spread of fruit 

 pests ; that the best, safest, and cheapest method is the general 

 and thorough disinfection of all packages used in shipping 

 fruit. 



The non-producer and free package advocate asserts (hypo- 

 thetically, of course,) that the cost of disinfecting one load of 

 boxes and baskets sent from his store — containing three hun- 



