PRELIMINARY MEETINGS. 205 
ment was also recommended with respect to the scurfy scale, particularly in 
those States where it is not now generally and uniformly distributed. It was 
held at present to be unwise to require the destruction of trees exposed to in- 
fection with crown-gall, but not visibly so infected. Trees actually bearing this 
gall, either at the crown or on the roots, were regarded as unmerchantable. 
“7, After full discussion it was voted unanimously to organize as a society 
of official horticultural inspectors, membership to be open to those officially 
connected with the work of horticultural inspection in the various States of the 
Union and in Canada. Prof. S. A. Forbes, of Illinois, was elected president 
for one year and until the next regular meeting thereafter. It was further 
voted that the first meeting of the new society should be held in connection with 
the annual convention of the Association of Colleges and Experiment Stations, 
to which time the society adjourned.” 
Following upon this last of the series of Chicago meetings, a call was issued 
October 28, 1901, for a more general meeting, as follows: 
“At a meeting of official horticultural inspectors of several States, held in 
Chicago, January 4, 1901, a permanent organization was effected and steps were 
taken preliminary to a general conference of such inspectors for the United 
States and Canada, to be held in Washington in connection with the meeting 
of the American Association of Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Stations. 
“The undersigned, as chairman of the Chicago conference, was directed to 
announce this meeting in due time and to act as an executive committee in 
making arrangements for it. A preliminary statement to the above effect was 
issued January 24, and I have now to add that a meeting of the Society of 
Official Horticultural Inspectors will be held at the Ebbitt House, in Wash- 
ington, D. C., commencing at 7.30 p. m., Monday, November 11. All official 
inspectors of nurseries and other horticultural property and all other officers 
responsible for nursery and orchard inspection are eligible to membership in 
this society and are cordially invited to attend this conference. 
“The meeting will be devoted to a discussion of matters of general interest 
relating to the inspection of nurseries and orchards and to the control of dan- 
gerous fungous and insect pests, including, of course, the San Jose scale. No 
formal programme will be prepared in advance, and any member of the con- 
ference should feel at liberty to propose for discussion any subject within 
these very general limits. Certain topics are, however, of such general and 
considerable importance that it will be well to come prepared to discuss them, 
and I take the liberty of suggesting, consequently, the following list as per- 
tinent to the conference proposed : \ 
“1. Within what limits of time may nurseries properly be inspected, and 
what period should the annual certificate be made to cover? 
“2. What should be the usual form of the certificate? 
“3. What should be the procedure, or form of certificate, in case some part 
of a nursery is affected by a dangerous fungous or insect pest not of a kind to 
involve other parts not so affected—if crown-gall, for example, occurs: on cer- 
tain peach stock, no other varieties of trees in the nursery being so diseased? 
“4, What should be the common policy of State inspectors with reference to 
stock officially inspected and certified in other States? 
“5. How wide an application should be given to the term ‘nursery stock?’ 
Should it include herbaceous plants grown out of doors? Should it ever cover 
greenhouse stock? 
“6. What nursery pests should be regarded as dangerous enough to influence 
or prevent the granting of a certificate? 
“7, May provision be made for the publication of a practical article on the 
