ANNUAL MEETING, ILLS. STATE HORT. SOCIETY. 73 



«idiou8 that only the utmost care aud vigilance will avert disaster. 

 I refer to the San Jose scale. Prof. Forbes, the state entomolog-ist of 

 Illinois, made an exhaustive report to the state horticultural society 

 showing- that Eastern nurseries infected with this disease had made 

 over one hundred and fifty shipments to parties in Illinois that he 

 -could trace, aud how many other shipments of infected trees and 

 plants is, of course, unknown. These shipments necessarily cover a 

 wide area of the state, and the discovery of this parasite was made so 

 late in the season of 1896 that, asyet, theentomologisthas been able to 

 make a superficial aud partial examination only. He now reports 

 having discovered the San Jose scale actively at work in ten differ- 

 ent places in the state and expresses the opinion that he will pro- 

 bably find ten or fifteen more points infected and, possibly, a still 

 larger number. He said that " no danger equal to this, no calamity 

 of equal proportion has ever threatened the fruit products of the 

 state." The necessity for prompt and energetic action is so mani- 

 fest that a committee was appointed to draft and present to the leg- 

 islature of the state of Illinois " a bill for the control of injuries to 

 fruits, etc." The following is a copy of the report of this committee: 

 "To the Illinois State Horlicultural Society: 



" Your conniiittee appointed at your last meetitig to draft and present to the state 

 legislature a bill for the control of injuries to fruits by insect and fungous pests, begs 

 leave to say that, although this committee was not required to report its action to 

 this society, it has seemed best to us that some statement of our progress should be 

 made at this meeting, and to this your own executive board agreed by a resolution 

 passed by them at their meeting in September. 



" Your committee has very carefully considered the whole subject at several succes- 

 sive meetings; has obtained copies of all laws relating to this matter passed by the 

 various state legislatures and l)y the provincial legislatures of Canada; has corres- 

 ponded extensively with horticultnral officials and with practical horticulturists; and 

 has prepared the rough draft of a bill embodying what seems to us the features of the 

 var'ous laws in force best adapted to our situation aud most likely to serve a useful 

 purpose in this state and containing also some original features not occurring in any 

 other state or provincial laws. 



''It has been one of our main objects to put the entire responsibility for initiative and 

 for control upon the regular representatives of this society and of its associated socie- 

 ties in the three liorticultural sections of the state. We consequently propose to make 

 the executive board of this society, as now constituted, a state board of horticulture, 

 charged with the execution of this law. 



'• We have further deemed it desirable tliat the experience and special knowledge of 

 the official entotnologist of tliis state should be placed at the service of this board in 

 sucli a manner that, while standing in an advisory relation to it and serving lilcewise 

 as its executive officer, he shall nevertheless have little or no independent authority 

 in the premises. We liave endeavored so to frame the proposed law as to provide for 

 prompt and authentic information concerning tlie appearance or marked increase of 

 any notably destructive insect or fungous fruit pest; for authoritative action by the 

 horticultural board looking to the prompt and general destruction of any such spe- 

 cially injurious insect or fungous pest; and for the watchful inspection and control of 

 importations of fruit plants or nursery stock capable of introducing injurious insects 

 or fungi into the state. 



" The main purpose of our bill will be to establish a machinery for the intelligent, 

 prompt and authoritative handling of the subject, which shall be capable of flexible 

 adaptation to local and special conditions. We have particularly tried to avoid a 

 cast-iron system of hard and fast regulations, incapable of being uniformly carried 

 out without doing frequent harm or working injustice to individuals. We have been 

 especially careful to keep the whole control of the niatter in tiie hands of tlie horti- 

 culturists themselves, believing that they are, as a body, fully capable of looking af- 

 ter tlieir common interests and much more likely to do so intelligently and judi- 

 ciously than is any independent oflBcer or official body outside their own number. 



