32 



Mr. Ceaike said the clause meant certain ruin to all the nursery- 

 men in the colony. He suggested the words — " unless properly 

 disinfected." The thing would then be perfectly safe. 

 Mr. Deapeb agreed with Mr. Crailie. 



Mr. Ceaike continued that it was a simple thing for a nursery- 

 man to disinfect all the stock he sent out. When he himself 

 planted trees he always disinfected them, and never had an out- 

 break of aphis on the young peach trees or other trees. He 

 thought no stock should be sent out of the nursery without being 

 disinfected. 



Mr. Williams stated that he had planted trees since the bonus 

 was put on, and the trees were now thoroughly destroyed. His 

 peach orchard was thoroughly infected with peach disease brought 

 from the nursery. He thought nurserymen should be licensed. 

 In his opinion, there could not be too great restrictions put on the 

 distributioQ of diseases like that. 



A Member of the Conference said it was important to legislate 

 for a new and clean district. 



The Chaieman thought the clause very important. Whoever 

 administered the Act would not do an injustice. The clause was 

 to prevent them sending out diseased trees to spread disease, and 

 under proper administration that could not be too drastic. 



Mr. Ceaike said let them take fusicladium ; how could any 

 one tell that that disease was on the tree ? 



Mr. Kavanagh said it was absolutely necessary that stock 

 going from any nursery should be clean before it went out. He 

 did not think that any nurseryman, whether his orchard was clean 

 or not, would object to come under the regulations to fumigate his 

 trees before they went out ; and that was what the clause meant 

 — that they should not be taken out without a guarantee that they 

 were clean before they went out. They had to consider the 

 whole country as well as the nurseryman, and it was only a small 

 cost for him to clean his trees. If the trees went out dirty it 

 might be a great national loss—while the Grovernment were 

 encouraging the planting — while there were unscrupulous 

 nurserymen to spread disease through the country. 



Mr. Smith thought it was a very wise precaution, As a very 

 old nurseryman he would be only too glad to have such an 

 inspection if there were any such diseases in his district. ' If they 

 could not go on the straight lines of growing healthy stufE they 

 should be closed up altogether. This was going to be a great 

 industry. He thought there was a great f utu;:e for the fruit- 

 grower and for the nurseryman who supplied him, and he thouo-ht 

 that the straighter the lines they went on the Wetter for th« colony 

 at large and the nurseryman in particular. The fruit-growers 

 must go to the nurseryman, and the more strictly the latter did 



