FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
137 
you would not suppose that any trouble 
ever existed. 
So, from my experience and observa¬ 
tion to allow an orange tree to die of 
mal de goma or foot rot seems neglectful¬ 
ness and indifference to self interest (I 
won’t mention the real cause, as it is a 
failing of the human race, especially in 
Florida.) 
When you have protected a seedling 
orange tree or grove from this one malady, 
you have a real tree or grove, not scrub 
and brush, and is more suited to more dif¬ 
ferent kinds of soil and repellant to more 
trouble than budded trees seem affected 
by, and it would improve the quality of 
the budded tree if it could be used as 
budding stock. 
NURSERY INSPECTION 
F. M. O’Byrne, Gainesville, Florida. 
Mr. PresidentLadies and Gentlemen : 
For the past six months I have been 
serving in the dual capacity of citrus 
canker inspector for the East Coast ter¬ 
ritory north of Dade county and deputy 
nursery inspector for the same section. 
In the performance of the duties of these 
two offices some things have come to my 
attention which may be interesting at 
this time. 
To put the matter clearly before you 
I will state at once some of the conclu¬ 
sions which I have reached and which I 
will try to demonstrate, in the course of 
my paper. 
First. That the Nursery Inspection 
Department is as much for the benefit of 
the nurserymen as for the grower. 
Second. That some nurserymen feel 
that the nursery inspection law was passed 
at the instigation of the larger nurseries 
of the state to eliminate the small nursery 
man from the field. 
Third. That all nurseries require in¬ 
spection, no matter how small and care¬ 
fully tended they may be. 
Fourth. That there are a great many 
nurseries operating in the state without 
inspection or certification.. 
Fifth. That the present nursery regu¬ 
lations are discriminatory, placing a hard¬ 
ship on small nurseries and this leads to 
evasion. 
I do not presume to speak for the rest 
of the state but I suppose that the East 
Coast is representative and that condi¬ 
tions prevailing there are indicative of 
what we may expect in the state at large. 
The law requires that nurserymen “* * 
* shall register their names with full de¬ 
scription and location* of their nurseries 
and stock with the Inspector of Nursery 
Stock on or before the first day of July in 
each and every year and apply to him for 
inspection and certification. Naturally 
therefore the duties of a nursery inspector 
only call him to the properties of those 
who have so registered. An inspector is 
not supposed to be a detective to hunt 
down those who are evading the law. My 
duties as canker inspector and nursery in¬ 
spector combined, however, called me into 
