Fbbeuaky 8, 1917. 



The Florists' Review 



17 



MAY QUARANTINE ALL OUR STOCK 



SENATE PASSES BILL GIVING DANGEROUS AUTHORITY 



PROPOSED NEW LEOISLATION. 



Drastic and Dangerous. 



Prior to the passage of the plant quar- 

 antine law of 1912, agitation was worked 

 up by lectures, magazine articles, pam- 

 phlets, etc., with the evident object of 

 creating an atmosphere favorable to its 

 passage. The impression was given that 

 about all of the insect pests and plant 

 diseases that affect our forests and farm 

 crops were imported into the United 

 States by selfish nurserymen and florists 

 — along with the plants and nursery 

 stock which they imported from Europe. 

 This propaganda resulted in the passage 

 of the plant guarantine act in 1912, 

 though the agitation continues. 



To operate the plant quarantine act, 

 the Federal Horticultural Board was 

 created, with headquarters in Washing- 

 ton, D. C; it consists of five bureau 

 chiefs of the Department of Agriculture, 

 with Dr. C. L. Marlatt as chairman. 

 All of these men are well qualified for 

 their duties and though the law gives 

 them almost autocratic powers, power 

 to quarantine any foreign country or 

 locality, they have used this power with 

 commendable discretion and moderation. 

 But this does not satisfy a group of 

 state entomologists, who demand noth- 

 ing less than an absolute quarantine 

 against the importation of plant life 

 from all foreign sources. 



State Entomologists Get Busy. 



At a meeting of entomologists about 

 a year ago, resolutions were passed 

 which in effect requested the Federal 

 Horticultural Board to put this absolute 

 quarantine into effect, but as no action 

 was taken, the entomologists interested 

 the American Forestry Association in 

 its plans. This association consists 

 largely of foresters, entomologists, lum- 

 ber men and others interested in our 

 forests. JNaturally, such men know lit- 

 tle about the commercial side of the nur- 

 sery or florists' business, but when they 

 were informed — by men who should 

 l<now better — that an absolute quaran- 

 tine of all imported plant life was neces- 

 sary for the protection of our forests 

 and farm crops, they took up the sub- 

 ject with enthusiasm and called a spe- 

 cial conference in "Washington, D. C, to 

 adopt measures to stop importation, even 

 of the raw materials. 



A One-sided Conference. 



The conference was held January 19. 

 ^, as chairman of the legislative com- 

 mittee of the S. A. F., and J. McHutchi- 

 son, of New York, a member of my com- 

 i«ittee, were present on behalf of the 

 °- A. F. The legislative committee of 

 the American Association of Nnrsery- 

 luen was also there, besides several in- 

 dividual members of the nurserymen's 

 a.nd florists' organizations. Many 

 speeches and papers were delivered ad- 

 vocating an absolute quarantine, but 

 iio opportunity was given for discus- 

 sion after each paper; so the 1. /"'^nl- 



THE SENATE ACTS. 



February 3 the Senate gave the 

 Secretary of Agriculture unlim- 

 ited authority to establish abso- 

 lute quarantine of all horticultural 

 products by adopting an amend- 

 ment to the present quarantine 

 law, making Section 8 read as 

 follows: 



Sec. 8. That the Secretary of Agri- 

 culture is authorized and directed to 

 quarantine any state, territory or dis- 

 trict of the United States, or any portion 

 thereof, when he shall determine that 

 such quarantine is necessary to prevent 

 the spread of a dangrerous plant disease 

 or insect infestation, new to or not there- 

 tofore widely prevalent or distributed 

 within and throughout the United States. 



The amendment goes on to pro- 

 vide that the law shall apply to 



any class of nursery stock or any other 

 class of plants, fruits, vegetables, roots, 

 hulbs, seeds, or other plant products, or 

 any class of stone or quarry products, 

 or any other article of any character what- 

 soever, capable of carrying any dangerous 

 Slant disease or insect infestation, speci- 

 ed in the notice of quarantine. 



The secretary is required to 

 hold a public hearing before pro- 

 mulgating a quarantine. 



The House already had passed 

 the agricultural appropriation bill. 

 It now goes to a conference com- 

 mittee. If the conference agrees 

 to the quarantine amendment it 

 no doubt will become the law. 



tural side of the question was not voiced. 

 Resolutions were unanimously adopted 

 favoring an absolute quarantine, and to 

 show what it means to the florists and 

 nurserymen, I quote from the proposed 

 bill the first two sections, as follows: 



Sec. 1. That It shall be unlawful for any 

 person to import or offer for entry Into the United 

 States any nursery stock, Provided: That the 

 Secretary of Agriculture may Import, grow and 

 propagate nursery stock in small quantities for 

 experiment-il and scientific purposes, upon such 

 oonrlitions and under such regulations as he may 

 advise. 



Sec. 2. That for the purpose of this Act the 

 term "nursery stock" shall Include all field- 

 grown florists' stock, trees, shrubs, vines, cut- 

 tings, grafts, scions, buds, bedding plants, all 

 herbaceous plants, bulbs, roots, and other plants 

 and plant products for propagation, except field, 

 vegetable, flower and tree seeds. 



Effect of the Bill. 



This bill, if passed, will shut out 

 practically everything the florists now 

 import, including Azalea Indica, bay 

 trees and araucarias, valley pips for 

 forcing or any other purpose, Japanese 

 lily bulbs, French bulbs, Dutch bulbs, 

 Manetti stocks used for greenhouse 

 grafting of roses, orchids and nursery 

 stock of every kind. It would not only 

 shut out dracsena plants, but the canes 

 which are necessary to produce them. 

 It would shut out kentia plants; also the 

 seeds necessary to grow our own plants. 

 "What for?" you ask; the answer is, 

 "To save our forests." If any member 

 of the S. A. F. thinks it necessary to 

 stop the importation of valley pips, 

 Manetti stocks or Japanese lily bulbs to 



protect our forests, I should like to hear 

 from him. 



Arrangements were made in the con- 

 ference committee so that the measure 

 would not be introduced in Congress 

 until committees from the national asso- 

 ciations of florists and nurserymen had 

 an opportunity of conferring with a 

 special committee of the American For- 

 estry Association appointed for that 

 purpose. This arrangement shows the 

 right spirit, and, though the special com- 

 mittee consists mostly of state inspect- 

 ors, we hope to be able to show them 

 that while their plan, if put into opera- 

 tion, would put back the florists' busi- 

 ness many years, it would not go far in 

 protecting our forests or farm crops or 

 reduce the diseases which afflict them 

 to any appreciable degree. 



A Crisis in Trade Affairs. 



The measures that have threatened 

 our interests for several years have now 

 reached a crisis. We shall need on our 

 committee men of ability who are will- 

 ing to subordinate their personal inter- 

 ests to the welfare of the trade — men 

 who understand why stock is imported, 

 why at least the raw materials are nec- 

 essary to our welfare — men who know 

 something about insect pests and plant 

 diseases and who can adequately express 

 their views. 



Since our policy will likely have to be 

 defined before our annual convention in 

 August, the nurserymen 's convention 

 being held in June, I will seek the ad- 

 vice of the executive committee of the 

 S. A. F. on the subject, but as the mat- 

 ter is such a vital one to many of our 

 members, I deem it wise to inform the 

 general trade -through the medium of 

 The Review and trust the Editor will 

 give this report the publicity it de- 

 serves. Wm. F. Gude, 

 Chairman Legislative Committee of the 



S. A. F. 



THRIPS ON CYCLAMENS. 



Kindly let me know what ails the en- 

 closed cyclamen leaf. Can you tell me 

 the cause and the remedy for this trou- 

 ble! I had plants in the same condition 

 last year. P. H. — O. 



The leaf forwarded was covered with 

 thrips. This usually comes from an 

 dry atmosphere and is accentuated if 

 the plants, in addition, get too dry at 

 the roots. A remedy is to keep more 

 moisture in the atmosphere and spray 

 the affected plants frequently with a 

 fine spray nozzle. If you lay the plants 

 on their sides and use a nicotine or soap 

 spray and direct it carefully at the 

 lower sides of the leaves, you will ex- 

 terminate a large majority of the pests. 



C. W. 



Fargo, N. D. — Several blocks of a new 

 addition to the town have been acquired 

 by the Smedley Floral Co., which con- 

 templates the erection of greenhouses 

 on the property. 



