FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL. SOCIETY 
79 
when the freeze destroyed the citrus in¬ 
dustry in 1895, m f act > that was the be¬ 
ginning of my industry. But, Mr. Truck¬ 
er, let me tell you: Do you not know that 
you are in danger? Do you not know that 
the Mediterranean frutfly, already in Ber¬ 
muda, likes beans, peppers, and strawber¬ 
ries as well as citrus fruits? and that the 
melon fly of Hawaii is a possibility when 
that vessel with a few melons in cold 
storage lands at Tampa? 
Yes, Mr. Trucker, and this applies to 
some citrus growers. So long as every 
thing goes well we look wise and smile 
a self-complacent smile. But let a bug 
appear, let a few leaves wilt, and most of 
us are as helpless as the proverbial bump 
on a log. Then we telephone, telegraph, 
write, or jump on a train for Gainesville 
to get help from the Experiment Station. 
We are like the fellow who did not be¬ 
lieve in “them there germs theory,” and 
then blamed the doctor that he was no 
good because he could not cure him, when, 
as a matter of fact, common sense and 
prevention should have prevented, the 
disease. Did the President of this 
Society not sound a warning at DeLand 
in 1912, as to what might happen to Flo¬ 
rida? Did it not happen? Had it not 
already happened. But none of us knew 
then that canker was already in Florida. 
But, Mr. Merchant says, why should I 
be taxed for protecting the citrus grower 
or the trucker. The writer was told 
while at L., Florida, several years ago, 
that certain store rooms in a large brick 
block there had, before the freeze in 1895 
had destroyed the citrus industry, rented 
for $100 per month, but were now renting 
at $20.00 per month. The answer is so 
self-evident that I have hesitated to raise 
the question. 
But we have one more objector, namely 
the general farmer. But the same argu¬ 
ment answers him that answered the 
trucker. Just recently a new disease of 
corn has been discovered in Java and 
India. Mr. General Farmer, who may 
be here, do you want this disease intro¬ 
duced into Florida? Would you not pre¬ 
fer never to learn anything about it? Then 
you need protection as well as the other 
fellow and you should see that you get it. 
And not only that, your prosperity de¬ 
pends largely upon whether or not the 
grove owner and the trucker are prosper¬ 
ing 
The answer to the whole proposition 
is that it is the duty of the state at large 
to provide proper protection for the in¬ 
dustries upon which its prosperity de¬ 
pends. In Florida it is the agricultural 
and horticultural industries that promise 
permanent prosperity. 
For the sake of illustration permit me 
to discuss the canker situation at Monti- 
cello and at Silver Palm in relation to 
the amount of inspection provided under 
the law of 1911. The Monticello infec¬ 
tions, while of longer duration, were 
nevertheless discovered in time, and be¬ 
ing in isolated nurseries, have caused very 
little trouble. The infections were dis¬ 
covered before any stock had been sold, 
were burned, and that has apparently end¬ 
ed it. But in the Silver Palm section can¬ 
ker was not discovered in time to have 
headed off all sales from the infected nur¬ 
sery. A year and a half had elapsed be¬ 
tween the time of its introduction and the 
time of its discovery. One inspection of the 
