FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
179 
control of these difficulties and invasions. 
However perfectly we may develop our 
means of fighting insects and other pests 
on our own establishments, nevertheless 
we cannot control them in any large area 
until society in its corporate capacity 
comes to the rescue. In its political right, 
society must take the matter in hand and 
put together the machinery to safeguard 
the animals and the plants that we raise. 
There are some persons who look to 
Federal control as the only means of hand¬ 
ling such questions. Sometimes we regret 
that within the confines of any State there 
are such diverse conditions and we feel 
that the State boundaries should be the 
rivers or the mountain chains or other 
natural barriers. It would look well on 
the map no doubt, if one State were all 
prairie and another all mountains, and an¬ 
other all plains, but in practice it is well 
to have diverse conditions within one 
State, because it brings many problems 
together, and enables citizens to look at 
many sides of a question, increases the 
interest, and results in a welding process. 
I am glad that some rivers are within 
two States and others within one State, 
for we are thereby able to secure different 
kinds of control. This variety expresses 
itself not only in products but also in the 
character of the people. One of the finest 
results of American civilization is that 
all these various interests can be so readily 
combined and ,each community is able to 
act as a unit within the common interest. 
There is great helpfulness in this com¬ 
mon action to every one concerned. Soon¬ 
er or later every section of the State will 
need the help of the other sections, for 
in time every one will undoubtedly be in¬ 
vaded by some pest or overtaken by some 
special difficulty. Any section of a com¬ 
monwealth should be ready to respond in 
the way of public action when any other 
section is in special trouble. 
Much has been said about the necessity 
of maintaining the rights of the different 
States. One of the ways to secure this 
right is to' be worthy of it—to take such 
action as will make it unnecessary for the 
Federal government to< interfere or to 
intervene. This means that ithe State 
must meet its own problems so effectively 
that outside compulsory agencies will be 
reduced to the minimum. It also means 
that every State will co-operate actively 
with the Federal government for the pur¬ 
pose of controlling pests and difficulties 
that are likely to become a menace. By 
such a spirit of co-operation, we are able 
to maintain the separate experiences of 
the different States at the same time that 
we all join for the common good. 
We are to look upon these forty-eight 
States as forty-eight experiment stations 
in legislative, economic, educational, so¬ 
cial and legal problems. It would be a 
pity to have their experiments interfered 
with, even for the sake of uniformity. 
However, there are certain disadvantages 
that are common to all, and which must be 
met by«*united action. The question for 
any State to handle is this: Who is to 
handle this particular pest or disease ? 
Shall it be ourselves or shall it be some 
one else? 
We also owe a responsibility to other 
persons, to see that we do not distribute 
diseases and pests. Our responsibility to 
the market rests not alone in providing 
products that are true to name and are 
