No. 4.] STATE NURSERY INSPECTOR. 359 



Inspection of Growing Stock. 



Inspection of the growing stock in nurseries in 1914 began 

 the first of July and continued until about the end of Septem- 

 ber, ten men being required for this work. One hundred and 

 sixty nurseries, having 148 owners, were inspected, and 145 

 certificates were issued, 3 being refused certificates as their 

 stock was in such bad condition that no sales could be per- 

 mitted. 



The conditions found in the different nurseries in the course 

 of these inspections varied greatly, as was to be expected. 

 The last few years, however, have shown marked improvement 

 over previous ones, and the present year was no exception in 

 this regard. The nurseryman who is a good business man 

 quickly learns that he cannot allow his stock to be in any- 

 thing but good condition, and accordingly finds that it pays 

 to keep his nursery well cultivated, well sprayed, well ar- 

 ranged and well supervised. A nursery of any size if not well 

 kept indicates poor management, probably a poor financial 

 rating, and that it will probably either pass into other hands 

 or become a dead loss. 



The nurserymen who are awake to the situation realize this 

 themselves, and, as a result, the inspectors in such places 

 need not spend much time searching for the noticeable pests 

 and diseases, for these will have already been taken care of by 

 the nurseryman himself. There are many places, however, 

 where nursery stock is really only a side issue, the main occu- 

 pation of the owner being that of a florist, who carries a little 

 stock because his patrons occasionally ask for it. Places such 

 as these are always small, generally neglected, and the stock 

 present is in poor shape and causes much trouble for the 

 inspector. At the present time these places appear to be 

 becoming fewer in number than was formerly the case, and 

 the sooner they are entirely eliminated the better for the 

 people who buy, for it is at least too generally true that after 

 all plants with pests and diseases have been removed, those 

 which remain are poor and of low grade, hardly fit for sale. 



To estimate the size of the different nurseries is a difficult 

 task. Some nurseries have their stock planted closely and 



