66 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
The National Nurseryman. 
C. L. YATES, Proprietor. RALPH T. OLCOTT, Editor. 
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY 
The National Nurseryman Publishing Co., 
305 Cox Building, Rochester, N. Y. 
The only trade journal issued for Growers and Dealers in Nursery Stock of 
all kinds^ It circulates throughout the United States and Canada. 
OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF NURSERYMEN. 
SUBSCRIPTION RATES. 
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Correspondence from all points and articles of interest to nursery¬ 
men and horticulturists are cordially solicited. 
Entered in the Pont Office at Rochester, as second-class matter. 
Rochester, N. Y., June, 1897. 
SOUND ARGUMENT. 
One of the best criticisms of the proposed federal insect bill 
that has come to our notice is that by Professor F. W. Mally, 
of Hulen, Tex., which we present in another column. He 
argues for a perfected bill applicable to inspection of nursery 
stock, inspection of fruits and inspection of orchards. As we 
have continually contended, anything short of this will not 
meet the exigencies. 
A clear idea of the important question may be obtained by 
a perusal of the article referred to. 
DISTRIBUTION OF SCALE. 
At the Washington convention of horticulturists and ento¬ 
mologists in March, it was stated that the San Jose scale is 
disseminated only on nursery stock, and for that reason it was 
deemed sufficient to secure federal legislation which would 
provide only for the inspection and treatment of nursery 
stock ; that there was no danger of infection from scale- 
covered fruit. This is the assertion of the state entomologist 
of Virginia who was made chairman of the legislative commit¬ 
tee of the convention. 
This statement has been flatly contradicted by entomolo¬ 
gists all over the country. Indeed, there had not come to our 
notice a single expression corroborating that opinion until the 
Washington convention of horticulturists was held. On the 
contrary, entomologists and horticulturists upon all sides had 
declared, as they still declare, that there is great danger of 
infection from scale-covered fruit. We have already noted 
these statements. 
C. M. Hobbs, a member of the legislative committee of the 
Washington convention, stated that all but one member of the 
committee deemed it necessary to include fruit in the proposed 
inspection, but that C. M. Hooker argued that if fruit were to 
be inspected, the bill could not be passed. 
Whatever the Virginia state entomologist may think of the 
assertions of other entomologists that infection may be caused 
by San Jose scale on fruit as well as on trees, he must certainly 
admit that Professor L. O. Howard, chief of the division of 
entomology of the United States Department of Agriculture, 
is recognized as one of the leading authorities in this country 
on the subject of San Jose scale. 
In a bulletin on the San Jose scale published in 1896 by the 
United States Department of Agriculture, Professors Howard 
and Marlatt say : 
“ Its importance from an economic standpoint is vastly in¬ 
creased by the ease with which it is distributed over wide 
districts through the agency of nursery stock and the ?narkeitng 
of fruit., and the extreme difficulty of exterminating it where 
once introduced, presenting as it does in the last regard, diffi¬ 
culties not found with any other scale insect.” 
The entomologist of the Experiment Station at Urbana, Ill., 
referring to the above extract says : “The authors, Messrs. 
Howard and Marlatt, have been for a long time in the Division 
of Entomology, at Washington, Mr. Howard being now its 
chief ; and they have thus for many years been made contin¬ 
uously acquainted with the history and spread of this scale, 
have personally studied it at many different localities, and 
have obtained information concerning it from all parts of the 
United States infested by it. No one else can speak with such 
authority on the subject of its injuries to horticulture, and few 
are less likely to make extreme or sensational statements con¬ 
cerning it. My own brief experience with it fully bears out, 
so far as it goes, the statements above quoted.” 
The opinion of Professor Howard, corroborated by that of 
other entomologists exprt ssed before there was any reason for 
a contrary opinion, will carry great weight in unprejudiced 
minds. 
A federal bill providing for the inspection of nursery stock 
and not for the inspection of fruit, will, according to the best 
authorities, leave the way open for the dissemination of the 
San Jose scale through an avenue known to the scientist and 
to the practical orchardist. The statements at the Washington 
convention were made in the face of the opinion of the chief 
of the federal department of entomology, published months 
before and supposed to be in the hands of every state ento¬ 
mologist. The Virginia state entomologist himself quoted Dr. 
Howard’s bulletin in the August 1896 issue of the National 
Nurseryman. 
INSECT LEGISLATION. 
President Wilson, of the American Association of Nursery¬ 
men, has appointed as a special committee to consider the 
subject of insect legislation, C. L. Watrous, Des Moines, la.; 
N. H. Albaugh, Tadmor, O.; Lewis Chase, Rochester, N. Y. 
The views of the Eastern Nurserymen’s Association will be 
presented at the June convention by a committee composed of 
Irving Rouse, William C. Barry and William Pitkin. 
It will be seen by the programme that the principal subject 
to be discussed at the convention is that of legislation on 
insect pests. 
