BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



Nursery Inspection. 



The law in relation to the work of the Nursery Inspector was 

 amended by the Legislature of 1907, so as to give that official, 

 working under the supervision of the Board, much broader 

 powers than those which he had formerly possessed. By this 

 act he was given the power to appoint three additional deputy 

 inspectors, making the total number which may be employed 

 six. The law in relation to nursery stock coming into the 

 State was strengthened by making it a misdemeanor for any 

 transportation company or individual to transport or accept 

 for transportation any nursery stock not bearing a certificate 

 of inspection. The principal new feature of the law, as amended, 

 is the authority given to declare any insect pest or plant disease 

 a public nuisance, and further to allow owners of trees, plants, 

 etc., to file complaints with the Nursery Inspector in case their 

 trees and plants are endangered by the presence of insect pests 

 on the trees or plants of their neighbors. The inspector may 

 then, after examination, if he finds that there is a dangerous 

 condition existing, compel the owner to abate the nuisance ac- 

 cording to methods prescribed by the Nursery Inspector. There 

 is provision for appeal from the decision of the Nursery In- 

 spector to the secretary of the State Board of Agriculture; and 

 in case the secretary sustains the position of the inspector, the 

 latter may cause the nuisance to be abated, and if the owner 

 refuses to abate it may go upon the premises of the owner and 

 himself do the necessary work. Necessary fines are provided 

 for the failure of citizens to comply with the provisions of the 

 law. 



These amendments have been in force only during a portion 

 of the year, and there has not been any great amount of work 

 done under them as yet. That they form excellent punitive 

 restrictions upon the too common practice of many owners of 

 trees and shrubs, of allowing their premises to become breeding 

 grounds for insect pests, to the great detriment of their neigh- 

 bors, cannot be doubted; and it is to be hoped that the citizens 

 of the Commonwealth will avail themselves to the necessary 

 extent of the privileges and rights placed in their hands by this 

 remedial legislation. 



The report of the Nursery Inspector is included in this vol- 



