81 



if entomologists were clothed with tlie right to enter into an agreement 

 witli nurserymen to keep the presence of a dangerous pest a secret from 

 tlie public, which I strongly question, it is poor policy to do so. For 

 a public servant to make private arrangements with those liarboring 

 public enemies is, generally speaking, a risky business and not usually 

 conducive to elevation in the estimation of those whose esteem we can 

 not well aftbrd to ignore. There should be a discrimination between 

 the deserving and the undeserving, but it should be extended and not 

 ])r()inised, and even then with tlie understanding that it was entirely 

 in the way of official assistance. If we follow the jjroper course, so as 

 to merit the confidence of the people, the latter will be perfectly satis- 

 fied with the information that infested nurseries are under strict sur- 

 veillance, and nothing infected will be allowed to go out; but let there 

 be a few more revelations of the actions of some of these, such as we 

 have seen within the last year, and people will naturally begin to specu- 

 late as to whom we are assisting and whose interests we are protecting. 



1 mention these things because I believe we can improve upon the 

 policy that some of us have been following, largely by force of circum- 

 stances. AVhat I would urge is this: First, a uniform policy to be 

 followed as closely as our surroundings render i^ossible by all of us; 

 second, on the information of an infested nursery coming to us the pro- 

 prietors are to be informed that no infested stock is to be sent out, and 

 that they are to promptly go to work to stamp out the pest, and that 

 any attemi>t to evade these rules will result in a i^^ompt exposure. If 

 it is known that their trade will not suffer if they choose to purchase 

 their stock from uniufested localities until they have destroyed the pest 

 on their own, most men will see at once that it is the least expensive 

 way out of thejtrouble. I am satisfied that there is a method of pro- 

 cedure that will work the least hardship to the deserving, yet will com- 

 l)el the stubborn to keep infection confined to their own premises and 

 stamp it out there as soon as possible. I believe that we hold the bal- 

 ance of power, so to speak, and need not barter our infiuence, but hold 

 it to be sought for by those wlio wisli to escape with the least trouble 

 and loss. If we are but just in our actions there will be no trouble 

 about the better class of nurserymen siding with us, and we shall have 

 no difliculty in indicating the dividing line that separates the honorable 

 from the dislionorable, and it will avail nothing for a belligerent firm 

 to close their grounds and books against inspection and then denuind 

 our proof of infection. The very lack of proof ol noninfection will be 

 sufiicieut to fasten suspicion upon them. 



I have noticed that the services of entomologists have been cpiitc in 

 demand during the last year by nurserymen who were free of the San 

 Jose scale, and the statements of such entomologists were used in the 

 advertisements of these firms; and I think the influence of Dr. Lintiuu- 

 and myself has been felt by at least two nursery firms when it came to 

 the question as to whether they could continue to impose on the public 

 6012— No. 2 



