150 



THIRTY-FOURTH FRUIT-GROWIiRS^ COXVENTIOX. 



view taken by the nurserymen, it does not destroy our belief that hud 

 the case gone to a hig-her court the decision would have been reversed. 

 Law is supposed to be founded upon justice and common sense. The 

 right to i^rotect both life and property is as old as civilization. The 

 I^egisiature of our State, in defining the duties of county boards of 

 supervisors, names as one of their duties, "to make and enforce within 

 the limits of their county such local police, sanitary, and other regula- 

 tions as are not in conflict with general laws," hence there can be 

 no doubt as to their authority to enact and enforce laws to protect 

 our horticultural interests from the introduction into their counties 

 of injurious insect pests or plant diseases. 



The want of a proper understanding or appreciation of this work by 

 some of the county boards of supervisors of our State has been one of 

 the most discouraging features, and has prevented the protection to 

 our horticultural interests to which they are entitled. 



The practice, in some counties, of making the appointment of horti- , 

 cultural officials political rewards, has resulted, as might be expected, 

 in placing men in these important positions who possess no qualifications 

 or fitness for the work. Until this practice is absolutely discontinued 

 it matters but little in such counties how effective may be their ordi- 

 nances; unless the officials, whose duty it is to enforce such laws, possess 

 a proper appreciation and understanding of their work, the results will 

 continue to be unsatisfactory. 



The expense of fighting insect pests, plant diseases, etc.. is continually 

 increasing in our State. What can be done to prevent this, and how 

 shall Ave accomplish it ? We believe that a rigid enforcement of proper 

 ciuarantine regulations in inter county shipments of nursery stock will 

 do more than all other agencies to solve this vexing problem. "The 

 pests we keep out can do us no harm," should be the watchword of 

 everj^ horticultural official. "An ounce of prevention is worth a 

 pound of cure," can be applied to keeping injurious insects from our 

 orchards with a hundredfold greater meaning ,than is usually applied 

 to this time honored adage. The quarantine department, under the 

 supervision of our State Commissioner of Horticulture at San Fran- 

 cisco, is doing a splendid work in preventing the introduction into our 

 State of new insect enemies and plant diseases. So efficiently has this 

 work been performed that I can recall no instance of a new pest gaining 

 admission to our State since the establishment of this important office, 

 over twenty years ago, except the white fly. The orchard pests we are 

 battling with, and are costing such large sums of money to combat, 

 were firmly established in our State before any preventive legislation 

 was enacted. Therefore, the responsibility for the continued spread of 

 these pests from one locality to another must rest largely with the 

 county horticultural officials. 



In this connection. I wish to say that there are many worthy and 

 absolutely efficient horticultural commissioners whose efforts along this 

 line have been greatly retarded for want of proper encouragement 

 from their boards of supervisors in the way of adequate financi'al 

 assistance. This penurious and shortsighted policy, in some counties, 

 has allowed the pests to gain such a foothold by spreading from orchard 

 to orchard that the cost of producing marketable fruit is a very serious 



