76 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
not continued after that date. Any single 
case of canker left undestroyed would 
soon increase and endanger the whole 
state. 
I have in mind the foolhardy experience 
of Massachusetts with the Gipsy Moth. 
Up to 1900 really good progress had been 
made toward exterminating this pest— 
such excellent progress apparently that 
the reduction in the numbers of the Gipsy 
Moth influenced the special legislative 
committee which was appointed to investi¬ 
gate the Gipsy Moth work to- report ad¬ 
versely to continuing the same. I shall 
quote herewith in full a short section from 
Bui. 87, Bureau Entomology, U. S. D. 
A., 1910: 
‘“DISCONTINUANCE OF THE STATE WORK 
IN MASSACHUSETTS A 
“At the annual session of the legisla¬ 
ture in the winter of 1900 a special com¬ 
mittee was appointed to investigate the 
gipsy-moth work. After numerous hear¬ 
ings it was reported that the insect need 
not be considered a serious pest, and fur¬ 
ther that Sve find no substantial proof 
that garden crops or woodlands have suf¬ 
fered serious or lasting injury or are 
likely, with that precaution or oversight 
which prudent owners are disposed to 
give their own interests, to be subjected 
to that devastation which one woud have 
the right to anticipate from these reports. 
It appears to us that the fears of the 
farmers throughout the state have been 
unnecessarily and unwarrantably aroused, 
evidently for the purpose of securing the 
effect of those fears upon the matter of 
annual appropriations * * * We do not 
share these exaggerated fears, and the 
prophesies of the devastation and ruin 
are unwarranted and in the most chari¬ 
table view are but the fallacies of honest 
enthusiasts.’ As a result of the report 
of this committee no further appropria¬ 
tion was made for carrying on the work. 
The tools and equipment which had been 
used were ordered sold, and the insect was 
allowed to develop without restriction.” 
But we need not go- to Massachusetts 
for men who fail to understand. We have 
those in Florida, right now, who believe 
that all agitation on account of canker is 
for effectf Note the following taken from 
a letter received a few days ago : 
“Neither did the * * * Nursery Com¬ 
pany have any citrus stock that was in¬ 
fected in any way with Citrus Canker. 
The particular block of citrus nursery 
stock that you mentioned in above 
(named) circular was diseased ion ac¬ 
count of fertilization. The 18,000 of 
nursery stock you mention in your circu¬ 
lar was on less than one-half acre as you 
well know, and to be right frank with you, 
the writer was of the opinion that you 
did not know any more about what you 
were trying to do than he did after see¬ 
ing you make your inspection, while he 
knew himself what was the matter with 
this particular block of citrus stock, and 
he wanted to test yon and see what you 
would have to say about it, and he really 
found out that you did not know any¬ 
thing at all about what was the matter. 
As a matter of fact on this particular 
block of less than one half acre, there 
were used four sacks of nitrate of soda 
and four sacks of fertilizer that contained 
a very high percent of potash and in less 
than two weeks after it was applied this 
