FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. • 
168 
extent. Suppose I have a budder in my 
nursery who, for some reason, has a 
grudge against me, and he knows this 
kind of a law is on the statute books. He 
says to himself that he will “do” me, and 
he mixed the bud wood on me. How is 
the nurseryman to know that this has 
been done until the trees begin to bear 
fruit? If, at the end of that time, five 
per cent, are untrue to name, the nursery¬ 
man is liable to $500.00 and imprison¬ 
ment for something he could not possibly 
prevent in any way I know of. 
Another way in which the nurseryman 
may suffer, and where he cannot possibly 
help himself. Suppose I sell a man one 
hundred trees. Perhaps I may have 
trouble with him about a settlement, or 
some other trouble. This man, knowing 
the law is on the statute books, says, “I 
will get even with him” and he takes out 
the trees he has already planted and re¬ 
places with some other variety. When 
the trees begin to bear, over five per cent 
are untrue to name, and the nurseryman 
has to suffer. 
Why should we have fine and imprison¬ 
ment held over our heads? There is no 
other business under heaven that could 
exist and prosper under such a law as 
that. 
So far as the introduction of insect 
pests, the nurserymen are as anxious as 
anybody to keep them out. We are all 
fighting against them as hard as we know 
how. 
Our state should have an inspection 
law, there is no question about it. Al¬ 
most every state requires an inspection 
for stock going into it. But the bill that 
was drafted was of such a drastic nature 
that no man doing business, as we are 
doing it, could afford to sit idly by and 
have this Society endorse it, without a 
protest. We have talked this matter over, 
and feel that it would absolutely put us 
out of business. 
There has been a bill introduced which 
will cover all the grounds and that bill 
has been reported favorably in the House 
and Senate. As I understand, the bill 
which we are discussing was reported 
on unfavorably. I may be wrong about 
that, I do not know. The bill we have 
prepared, puts in the hands of the Board 
of Control which, as we know, is con¬ 
nected with the Florida State Institution 
at Gainesville', giving them absolute au¬ 
thority to formulate reasonable rules for 
the inspection, and fumigation of nur¬ 
sery stock coming into the state and being 
grown here. We are as anxious to pro¬ 
tect the grower as the grower is anxious 
to be protected. All we ask is that we 
have some measure of protection our¬ 
selves. We certainly oppose annihilation. 
Mr. Temple: The gentleman who has 
just spoken seems to be perfectly famil¬ 
iar with the deliberations of your exec¬ 
utive committee to which that bill was 
referred, because he said “we discussed 
this bill and found it meant annihilation.” 
He is also familiar with the fact, I learn¬ 
ed during his speech for the first time, 
that is, the presentation to the legisla¬ 
ture of a bill to take the place of the bill 
presented by the legislative committee. I 
can only say that I deplore the fact that 
men as deep in the counsels as these gen¬ 
tlemen are, should have prepared a sub¬ 
stitute bill and presented it to the legis¬ 
lature without intimating to the commit¬ 
tee that it was their intention to do so. 
It seems to me the least they could have 
