FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
93 
come to Palm City, near Stuart. There 
one tree was found in a grove belonging 
to Mr. Harry Wilhelm. It was destroyed 
at once, and we have never found any 
more canker in that grove. That shows 
what can be done by prompt action. 
In three other groves located at Palm 
City, there have been a number of cases 
found, but the last few inspections have 
failed to show any canker. I am very 
hopeful that Palm City has been cleaned 
up. 
Now we come to the south end of Bre¬ 
vard County, where an infection was 
found at Micco, and eight or ten trees 
were burned. On the last few inspections, 
the property has been clean. It is too 
early to declare Micco clean, but we are 
hoping. 
About twenty miles north of Micco, 
we come to Tillman. Two properties are 
located here which showed a few trees in¬ 
fected with canker. The property had not 
been worked; almost neglected. We 
burned the infected trees at once upon dis¬ 
covery and have never found any canker 
on any re-inspection since that time. 
About thirty miles north of Tillman is 
Cocoa, where an infection was found. It 
was on a high sandy ridge, and there ac¬ 
tually were cases, proved by microscopi¬ 
cal examination to- be canker, on the stems 
and no canker at all upon the leaves. This 
was extraordinary. Realizing that we 
were up against a very serious proposition 
in having canker on the stems and not on 
the leaves, we finally decided it was best 
to burn the entire shipment coming from 
Dade Countv, which was done. We feel 
sure that Cocoa is also' free. 
I would like to> say a few things further 
about the criticisms and pitfalls that a 
canker inspector has to look out for and 
avoid. Our lives are not a bed of roses. 
We not only have to work hard, but we 
are criticized to our faces and behind our 
backs. People are always watching us 
suspiciously, as though they thought there 
was something crooked about us. 
There are some people who are very 
hard to convince. I have in mind a jury 
in my home town, after the town had 
voted dry. A number of blind tigers 
opened up and did an active business. 
Finally a case was brought before a jury 
in which the evidence proved conclusively 
that a certain man had entered one of 
these blind tigers, ordered whiskey, the 
seal was broken off the flask, the whiskey 
was handed to him in a glass, and the man 
had taken it into his mouth. But they ac¬ 
quitted the man, because they could not 
prove that he swallowed the whiskey. 
Some people are as hard to convince as 
that. I have in mind one salesman, who 
talks a good deal with various growers, 
and in conversation with me he has shown 
a very skeptical disposition. He said, 
“Well, you must admit that you canker 
inspectors going from one grove to an¬ 
other and back and forth, certainly must 
scatter the canker germs broadcast 
through the east coast section.” I told 
him there was no' danger of that, and ex¬ 
plained how our linen suits were carefully 
sterilized and disinfected. “Well,” he 
said, “you could carry it on your feet.” 
I explained to him how our shoes were 
disinfected upon coming from an infected 
grove. “You might carry it on your hat.” 
I told him we did not wear hats, or, if we 
did, they were disinfected. “You might 
