NURSERY INSPECTION LAWS 165 



Few of them are found valuable but all have an equal chance 

 in their dissemination. The state experiment stations 

 and the trial grounds of the various Agricultural Colleges 

 offer an efficient check against any imposition on the people 

 by the nursery companies. They make it their busi- 

 ness to secure samples of all novelties as soon as offered 

 to the trade and grow them in their trial grounds. If 

 they fall too far short of the claims made by the intro- 

 ducers the public is notified through the medium of the 

 press. 



Nursery Inspection Laws. Every state in the union 

 now has some kind of a law for the purpose of preventing 

 the shipping of nursery stock infested with insects or fun- 

 gus troubles. Not every disease or insect is serious enough 

 to cause the destruction of the stock but a number are, 

 which makes the regulatory measures necessary. Prac- 

 tically all of these state laws are patterned after the same 

 general plan. All companies intending to sell stock either 

 in their own state or other states must file their intentions 

 with the proper state official and make application for 

 inspection of their stock. The officer in charge of this 

 work varies considerably in the different states. In some 

 the State Horticulturist does the inspection, in others the 

 Commissioner of Agriculture, in some it is in charge of the 

 Agricultural Colleges, while in one or two cases State Ento- 

 mologists do the work. 



The work of inspection consists mostly in the visiting 

 of each nursery once or twice during the year and making 

 a close examination for insects or fungus troubles. If the 

 stock is found clean, an official certificate is given which 



