58 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
we comply with the very reasonable re¬ 
quirements imposed, and 
Whereas , The Plant Board believes 
that with the amount of money this would 
give them the complete eradication of 
citrus canker could be established, and, 
Whereas, The citrus industry is the 
largest single industry in the State in¬ 
volving more than $250,000,000, and 
Whereas, The counties in which citrus 
fruits are grown pay 77 per cent of the 
taxes of the State of Florida and receive 
less than 50 per cent of the benefits, there¬ 
fore, 
Be it Resolved, That the Florida Horti¬ 
cultural Society at its annual meeting rep¬ 
resenting, as it does, the citrus and ag¬ 
ricultural interests of a large part of the 
State, is unanimous in its endorsement of 
the Bill introduced in both houses of the 
legislature for the appropriation of $300,- 
000, as not only this money will be need¬ 
ed, but it is only by making this appropri¬ 
ation that we can secure the like amount 
from the Federal Government. It is a 
fact substaniated by the reports of our 
own men sent there from Washington 
that a district in China, much larger than 
the citrus area of Florida, where millions 
of boxes were formerly grown, is now a 
desert waste, as far as citrus growing is 
concerned, and all brought about by the 
ravages of this terrible disease which we 
are fighting with the energy of despera¬ 
tion. We, as a society, therefore appeal 
to the members of the legislature to en¬ 
large your horizon and take a broad¬ 
minded view of this situation. What 
affects one section unquestionably affects 
the entire state, and if this bill is defeated, 
it will in all probability mean the wiping 
out of an industry which pays a large 
part of your taxes and which has been in 
the past and will continue to be in the 
future a potent factor in the upbuilding 
of our beloved state. 
M. E. Gillett, 
Loyd S. Tenny, 
Ralph Robinson. 
Mr. M. E. Gillett: I move the adop¬ 
tion of the resolution. 
Mr. Hume: This being a resolution 
offered by one of our regular standing 
committees, I do not think it will come 
under the head of the resolutions which 
are to be referred to the Resolution 
Committee appointed yesterday. It can 
be adopted now if it is the will of the So¬ 
ciety at this time. 
(Motion seconded and resolution adopt¬ 
ed). 
Mr. D. C. Gillett: In our delibera¬ 
tions and our meetings at the capitol at 
Washington and at Tallahassee, the mem¬ 
bers of this Committee have responded 
with their time, and have made sacrifices 
which few know or appreciate, to carry 
on this work. 
There is one member of this Commit¬ 
tee who has been on the firing line, I be¬ 
lieve, as much as the Chairman. He is a 
man we all know and love, and I would 
like very much for him to say something 
on this subject to this representative body 
here to-night, representing as he does, the 
largest interest of the industry. I refer 
to Dr. Ross. (Applause). 
Dr. Ross: Mr. Chairman, ladies and 
gentlemen: I really think enough has 
been said. The truth has been fully stat¬ 
ed ; I could not add to the force of what 
