FLORIDA .STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
95 
that in the past their formulae could be 
changed at any time and such changes 
necessitate a repetition of the tests. On 
the other hand, the general public has no 
way of determining the value of sprays 
urged upon them by solicitors except by 
costly experience and it is reasonable that 
they should have some way of learning 
quickly whether the spray advertised will 
do what is claimed for it, and that they 
. have a protection similar to that given 
by pure food and the fertilizer laws. Had 
we been as active in telling all that we 
knew about certain insecticides that have 
been on the market during the past few 
years as their manufacturers were in ad¬ 
vertising them, the growers would have 
been saved many thousands of dollars. 
Dr. Berger: In regard to Mr. Porch- 
er’s statement that “We have held the 
whitefly there in check, but have done 
nothing more than that” : what more do 
you want, Mr. Porcher? You have done 
well enough. Extermination is out of 
the question.. 
I would also like to make a little ex¬ 
planation here why it is that we 
Experiment Station and Government 
people are not more anxious to take up 
these patent sprays and test them out. 
We may get a batch of dope today; we 
don’t know what the next batch is going 
to be like. The two may be just as dif¬ 
ferent as though they were entirely differ¬ 
ent compounds. The Whale Oil Soap 
heretofore has run more nearly the same; 
it is a little different in this respect from 
most of the proprietary insecticides. 
In my own case, working under the 
Adams Fund, I would hardly be allowed 
to take up these commercial insecticides 
and try them out, as I am supposed to be 
investigating other and more important 
things. It requires very little originality 
to try out a new spraying solution and see 
what results it will give. 
I think from now on it will be differ¬ 
ent. There is an insecticide law before 
Congress, and I have just received a let¬ 
ter from the chairman of the committee 
on insecticides that the bill has passed. 
This law, of course, affects only inter¬ 
state products, establishing certain stand¬ 
ards to which each insecticide must con¬ 
form. Proprietary brands must now get 
their patent and give their formula; in 
fact, it is very much on the order of the 
pure food and drugs act. 
For instance; take the Target Brand, 
which is an article in interstate commerce. 
Now we shall have a right to expect that 
the Target Brand will be the same thing 
under that name all the time, that they 
cannot change it without permission, and 
we will be notified accordingly. 
In regard to this bill, some of you here 
present received circulars and a copy of 
the bill from me. I was requested to 
push the matter the best I could here in 
this State. I received copies of the bill 
and some circulars. I sent some of them 
to Mr. Temple and I don’t know how 
much we may be indebted to him for the 
passing of that bill. A copy went before 
the Directors of the Citrus Exchange and 
they passed resolutions recommending it. 
Prof. Rolfs : I would like to say a word 
with regard to Mr. Porcher’s question. 
Three different samples of one of the 
most popular insecticides that have come 
to the State of Florida, were received in 
my office during one week. No two of 
