No. 4.] STATE NURSERY INSPECTOR. 187 



dug liaviiig necessitated special trips to quite a number of 

 nurseries for this purpose, when, so far as tbc conditions at 

 the nursery were concerned, these were absolutely needless. 

 The extra cost of such work in a year cannot at present be 

 estimated, but must be regarded as practically the cost of 

 assisting a large and important industry of the State to 

 continue in business without being hampered to a too burden- 

 some degree by the law. 



To accomplish all the work required has been more than 

 could possibly be done by the usual number of inspectors, 

 and assistance was necessary. This has been secured through 

 the kindness of Mr. D. M. Rogers in charge of the govern- 

 ment work for preventing the spread of the gypsy and brown- 

 tail moths, who loaned the State inspection service a number 

 of men trained in the work. As the duties of these men were 

 directly in the line of preventing the spread of the moths 

 named, through the shipment of nursery stock, their compen- 

 sation has been continued by the government, but as their 

 location and work has been controlled by the State inspec- 

 tion service, their expenses have been met from State funds, 

 these being the conditions under which their services could 

 be obtained. 



Licenses for Agents. — All persons selling nursery stock 

 in Massachusetts which they do not themselves raise are re- 

 quired by law to obtain agents' licenses. There is no fee for 

 this, the object being to follow up cases where any question- 

 able business methods are employed, or where stock delivered 

 through an agent proves to be not up to the standards re- 

 quired by law. Two hundred and fifty-three such licenses 

 were issued during the year. It is almost impossible to find 

 all nursery agents but knowledge of the law is becoming 

 more general, and it is probable that a few years more will 

 find most of them provided with licenses. 



Office WorJc. — Supervision of the various duties required 

 Tinder the nursery inspection law has required considerable 

 time, and the different phases of the work have so developed 

 as to render it necessary to divide the State into two dis- 

 tricts that the most efficient service might be obtained. One 

 district covering all of Massachusetts west of a north and 



