Sbftbubbb 16, 1920 



The Florists^ Review 



21 



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^ HOLD BEETLE HEARING <^ 



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PROTEST STATE BESTBICTIONS. 



Would Itimit Beetle Order. 



Strong and vigorous protest was 

 made by nurserymen and plant grow- 

 ers at the hearing held by the Federal 

 Horticultural Board, September 10, 

 against the board's proposed imposition 

 of blanket restrictions on shipments of 

 stock from the entire states of New 

 Jersey amd Pennsylvania because of 

 a small region in both states being in- 

 fested with the Japanese beetle. With 

 the exception of the government ofii- 

 •cials, the opinion of all those who spoke 

 seemed to be that the board would be 

 going far enough to apply the restric- 

 tions against the area affected with a 

 safety zone of approximately ten miles 

 around it, and that the wide publicity 

 given to the proposed action injures 

 the growers in both states. 



Dr. C. L. Marlatt, chairman of the 

 board, who presided at the hearing, 

 which was attended by a large number 

 of nurserymen and plant growers as 

 well as by state and federal officials, 

 stated that it seemed impossible to 

 oxterminate the pest and that the infest- 

 ed area would undoubtedly widen and 

 that the board deemed it best to declare 

 a quarantine covering the entire states 

 but only to place restrictions on ship- 

 ments from the area actually infested. 

 This, he said, would enable the board 

 to extend the area of restriction if 

 necessary from time to time without 

 the necessity of further publicity and 

 further hearings in Washington. He 

 maintained that this was in the interest 

 of the nurserymen and growers, as it 

 really avoided continued publicity and 

 gave assurance to consignees in other 

 .states that shipments from New Jersey 

 and Pennsylvania were not open to 

 suspicion, as in the ca.se of goods being 

 shipped from the infested area there 

 would be a certificate showing inspec- 

 tion by the government, and there 

 would be no restrictions on shipments 

 from non-affected territory. He ad- 

 mitted that the word quarantine car- 

 ried with it something of a scare, but 

 he declared that he did not think that 

 the proposed regulations when under- 

 stood would cause any trouble or loss 

 whatever outside of the infested area. 



Small Area Infested. 



According to the statements iimde at 

 tlie hearing, the Japanese beetles in- 

 fest an area in New Jersey of about 

 sixty square miles and one in Penn- 

 sylvania of about ten square miles, both 

 fireas adjoining. 



J. J. Davis, in charge of tlie board 's 

 work in New Jersey in connection with 

 the beetle, made an extended state- 

 ment, in the course of which he declared 

 tliat it was hoped to cope with the 

 Japanese beetle by introducing its 

 natural enemy or enemies. He said the 

 board has an expert now in Japan work 

 ing on the matter, C. P. Clausen, who 

 lias V>een in that country for about two 

 months and has already made one ship- 

 ment of a predacious ground beetle 

 which feeds on the .Tapnncsi' bcotlo. 



its grubs and eggs, and that experi- 

 ments are now being conducted with 

 this beetle. 



Mr. Davis said that extermination of 

 the Japanese beetle seemed question- 

 able, because it would require an im- 

 mense sum of money. He said that the 

 characteristic habits of the beetle are 

 against extermination. "It will feed 

 practically on everything," he said, 

 "from the lowest growing weeds to the 

 highest growing trees. It is easily car- 

 ried by uncontrollable means." To 

 show the abundance of the beetle in 

 the infested area in New Jersey, Mr. 

 Davis said that in the last two months 

 boys have been paid 80 cents a quart 

 for them and in this way about 4,000,- 

 000 were destroyed. 



Preventive Measures. 



The suggestion was made that the 

 board prepare a circular on the sub- 

 ject of the Japanese beetle, its habits 

 and methods of prevention, to be used 

 by nurserymen and growers to guard 

 against it or cope with it if it made its 

 appearance. Dr. Marlatt said that this 

 would be done. 



Mr. Davis said that the present re- 

 strictions are justifying themselves 

 and that while the beetle cannot be 

 controlled or exterminated, wide jumps 

 of the pest can be prevented, or coped 

 with if they take place, by the pro- 

 posed widening of the regulated area. 

 In Japan, Mr. Davis said, the pest does 

 not seem to do any particular harm and 

 is not specially reckoned with. 



Pyle Protests State Order. 



Robert Pyle, president of Conard & 

 Jones Co., West Grove, Pa., said that 

 he could not but feel that there would 

 be harmful effects to follow the im- 

 position of restrictions on the entire 

 state of Pennsylvania simply because 

 of a small infested area in the south- 

 eastern portion of the state. 



"We feel that if it is possible for a 

 section to be set apart and to be named 

 in a restricted area, it would work less 

 hardship," he said. "We respectfully 

 ask the board to direct this order for 

 restriction and control to the areas of 

 known infestation and a safety zone, 

 instead of a blanket order covering the 

 entire states of Pennsylvania and New 

 Jersey, in harmony with the plan fol- 

 lowed by the board in the case of the 

 corn borer and in harmony with the 

 law. 



"We also ask the board, in the event 

 of the issuance of orders, to avoid the 

 use of the word 'quarantine.' " 



Oude Criticises Publicity. 



William F. Gude, representing the 

 Society of American Florists, said that 

 he w.anted to go on record as favoring 

 the suggestions of Mr. Pyle, that the 

 action of the board be confined to the 

 infested areas and not take the form 

 of blanket restrictions covering the 

 states. He also protested against the 

 form of the press notice issued by the 

 board to daily newspapers in connec- 

 tion with the hearing. He said that in 

 the opening paragraph a scare was 



thrown by the statement that "a quar- 

 antine upon the states ef New Jersey 

 and Pennsylvania to prevent the spread 

 of the Japanese beetle" would be con- 

 sidered by the board, aHd the state- 

 ment was added that "the hearing will 

 take up the question of placing re- 

 strictions on the movement from these 

 states of farm, garden and orchard 

 products of all kinds,** etc These 

 statements, he said, were responsible 

 for the scare headlines which had ap- 

 peared in newspapers eoneeming the 

 proposed action of the board and that 

 but few persons would read the last 

 paragraph, which explained what the 

 laoard really had in mind, the first sen- 

 tence of which, he declared, cleared up 

 the matter and should have been placed 

 at the beginning of the story. This 

 sentence read as follows: "If it is 

 found advisable to quarantine the en- 

 tire states of New Jersey and Penn- 

 sylvania, the restrictions imposed on 

 these products will be limited substan- 

 tially to the areas actually determined 

 to be infested by the Japanese beetle. ' ' 



A. A. N. Of&cials Oppose. 



Lloyd Stark, president of the Amer- 

 ican Association of NurserymeB, pro- 

 tested against a blanket order covering 

 the two states. "The public will get 

 the impression that the entire state of 

 New Jersey and the entire state of 

 Pennsylvania have been blacklisted, 

 so to speak," he declared. "I believe I 

 am safe in saying that the farmers, 

 nurserymen and the horticultural and 

 agricultural industries involved are 

 anxious that this impression shall not 

 go out. I think that they all feel that 

 the board's proposed action in regard 

 to this matter does not agree with our 

 experiences in such matters and that 

 it will have an injurious effect on sales 

 in other states. The moral effect will 

 be that the people will not want to buy 

 from New Jersey or Pennsylvania if 

 the entire state is to be put under the 

 ban. ' ' 



John Watson, secretary of the Amer- 

 ican Association of Nurserymen, 

 Princeton, N. J., said that the word 

 quarantine sounds serious and ominous. 

 As a matter of fact, he said, it was not 

 a quarantine at all, Jia proposed, but 

 merely regulation by way of inspection 

 and certification. He advocated calling 

 the action something else, and if this 

 were done, it would allay suspicion and 

 fear. 



Cut Flowers Included. 



Request was made that cut flowers 

 and other products be eliminated from 

 the quarantine, but statements made by 

 Dr. Marlatt indicated that if the order 

 is issued, as in all probability it will 

 be, in the form as proposed, there will 

 be no exceptions, because of the pos- 

 sibility of anything of a plant nature 

 being a carrier of the beetle or its 

 grub. 



Dr. Marlatt said that bo restriction 

 whatever was contemplated on seeds 

 and that bulbs will be •ertified without 

 inspection. 



Assistant S»>cret.ary ^f Ajn'ienltnre 



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