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THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



this writing resolved itself to an intensive " scouring out" of bubonic 

 plague foci at which points eradicative measures are immediately 

 inaugurated until all danger of dissemination is eliminated. No inten- 

 tion of conducting an immediate campaign over wide areas is now 

 entertained. 



LATER CAMPAIGNS AND METHODS PURSUED. 



That state-wide action of some sort was necessary in 1916 was 

 evidenced by the presence of six bills before the legislature in the spring 

 of 1917. The state board of health law in so far as squirrels were con- 

 cerned was merely an amendment to a law intended to facilitate the pay- 

 ment of claims for liens. From the economic viewpoint this law did not 

 meet the need of the agriculturist. Most of the remaining were little 

 better than pre-existing acts allowing boards of supervisors to appoint 

 inspectors or pass ordinances. An absolutely new form of procedure 

 was embodied in the amendment to the County Horticultural Commis- 

 sioners Act of 1917, which landed as a boomerang for the squirrels. 

 This particular law had met all tests in the courts with remarkable 

 stolidity; hence, to embody the control of squirrels or other rodent 

 pests, amounted to much the same as recognizing the squirrel as a 

 thing to be controlled just as were insect pests and plant diseases. As 

 a matter of fact the extensive work of the public health service and the 

 United States Department of Agriculture had demonstrated this to be 

 possible. 



The horticultural commissioners were established in counties from one 

 end of California to the other. They were bound together in a more 

 or less loosely organized association, over which the State Commissioner 

 of Horticulture presided, much after the fashion of an adviser and 

 director. To be sure, no legal connection obtained between state 

 and county commissioners, but the influence of the state horti- 

 cultural commission could be felt strongly throughout the counties. 

 Prior to the passage of the law certain of the county commissioners, 

 observing the trend of action, took upon themselves the burden of dem- 

 onstrating the possibilities to be afforded by engaging in work of benefit 

 and interest to both agriculturists and horticulturists. The activities 

 of their office could be placed before a great many more people than 

 had been the case heretofore, and the more wide-awake commissioners 

 lost no time in taking up their new duties. A great advantage of this 

 early work was found in the realization that there was no need to 

 delay matters after the law finally became effective July 27, 1917 ; it 

 was one of the biggest means whereby a horticultural commissioner could 

 show the residents and supervisors of his county whether he was 

 "marking time" or whether the interests of the community were upper- 

 most in his mind in fulfilling the duties of his office. 



It can be hoped that county horticultural commissioners, who can 

 have everything in their favor to make their campaign a success, will 

 not allow their activities against ground squirrels to become sporadic. 

 To be sure, each commissioner has his own ideas as to how he may 

 proceed best, and wherever anything extensive has been done, the work 

 has proved remarkably gratifying; still there remain some counties 

 where county horticultural officers have started work but relaxed in 



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