THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
21 
The Laws of Today and the Nursery Industry 
{An Address delivered before the Odifornia AssocUdion of yurseryoien at San Jose, October 
10-1S, 1917.) By Georye 11. Ilecke, State Ilortlcidtural Connnissioner, Sacranxento. 
I T was my intention to liave appeared before you at 
your last meeting at Santa Barbara for the purpose 
of reporting to you, but unfortunately for me a erit- 
ieal situation in eonneetion with the importation of eotton 
seed liad arisen in the Imperial Valley, that made my 
presence necessary at Calexico during the time of your 
meeting, so I recjuested Mr. (feorge P. Weldon, Deputy 
State Horticultural Commissioner, to represent me at 
that meeting. This he did very gracefully and etfee- 
tively, judging from your annual report. 
I very much regret that this executive work ])revent(‘d 
my being with you, l)ut the executive work must he 
carried on even in a state oflieial’s ofTice if results are to 
he obtained; and because we are busy men—you and I 
I feel gratified that at last the suggestion is discussed 
here that the fruit growers, nurserymen, and horticul¬ 
tural ofTicials should unite in the future in a joint con¬ 
vention. This is as it should he. I fully believe in 
having the joint convention, or rather two conventions 
held at the same time and same place with several joint 
sessions. Many of the misunderstandings and much of 
the distrust that may exist now and then between nur¬ 
serymen and horticultural officials will then rapidly dis¬ 
appear, and the results of a better understanding- will 
indeed he of much value to horticulture as a whole. It 
will give us an opportunity of discussing the short-com¬ 
ings of the nurserymen’s methods as well as the faults 
of the state and county inspection service. 
I believe that a better understanding and closer insight 
into your ambitions and aims can he reached by a closer 
acquaintanceship, hence I have suggested the attendance 
today of the chief officials of the state commission of hor¬ 
ticulture. Mr. Frederick Maskew, the Chief Deputy 
Quarantine Officer, is here to take part in the discussion 
following this paper, and he is fully able to answer youi' 
questions on state quarantine. Mr. George P. Weldon, 
the Deputy State Horticultural Commissioner, will speak 
to you. if you so desire, on standardization. Mr. Harry 
S. Smith, Superintendent of the State Insectary, can in¬ 
form you on the work on parasitic insects that is now 
carried on by Iiimself and his assistants. In addition 
to these gentlemen, I thought it well to have w ith us the 
field deputies of the state commission, Mr. B. P. CundifT 
and Mr. A. S. Hoyt. Mr. Hoyt is well known to tin' 
southern nurserymen, and has recently returned from 
Florida wdiere I requested him to study closely and re¬ 
port on the citrus canker infestation existing in the Gulf 
States. I thought it best to have Mr. Hoyt w ith us to 
explain to you, if you so desire, the enormous cost of the 
co-operative attempt of the U. S. Department of Agricul¬ 
ture and the Gulf States to control and eradicate citrus 
canker. His research confirms our impression of the 
great loss that the citrus industry and the nurserymen ol 
Florida are suffering. The control and eradication of 
this disease iiieans also the complete eradication of tin* 
infected orchard or nursery trees, with no compensation 
to the unfortunate owner. 
Ciitrus canker w as unknow n seven years ago. It was 
introduced in nursery stock from the Orient, and was 
rapidly disj)ersed on nursery slock through the different 
territories of the state and heeame so serious that the U. 
S. Department of Agriculture' was forced into action. 
The department ap|)ro|)riated .$550,000 to which w'as 
added .$195,000 by the Florida Legislature and $100,000 
by the citrus interests of the state. 
All trees that are found Infected, w hether in nurseiies 
or groves are immediately destroyed by burning as they 
stand in the ground, the kerosene torch being used for 
the purpose. The total number of hearing trees thus 
destroyed by burning from May 1st. 1914 to August 51st, 
1917 amounts to 243,858; the total number of diseas(*d 
trees in the nurseries destroyed from May 1st. 1914 to 
August 51st. 1917 is 2.611.614. 
This is an example of w hat may happen to us in Cali¬ 
fornia unless we stand united in maintaining strict quar¬ 
antine and inspection service. The cost of lax quaran¬ 
tine in Florida has been enormous, and her grow ers and 
nurserymen have learned from this hitter experience that 
a strong (juarantine and inspection service is needed, and 
hence, at the present time, the ap])roprialion for hoili- 
eullural inspection in Florida greatly exceeds that of 
California for such work. The total number of inspec¬ 
tion employees is 316 and all are absolutely under the 
direct control of the Florida Plant Commissioner. 
Having learned a severe lesson from this experience, 
the State of Florida has perhaps today a stricter inspec¬ 
tion service than we have in California. The very fact 
that the responsibility is vested entirely in the state 
makes the Florida system a strong one. We in Cali¬ 
fornia. who claim for our state the merit of having 
started the first effective quarantine service in the world 
—and the best-must admit that our county ins])PCtion 
system, though adequate for the present time, is not 
equal to that of our sister state. 
During the last fruit grow ers’ convention, and also dur¬ 
ing the nurserymen’s convention, this subject of improve¬ 
ment was thoroughly discuss(*d. and curiously enough 
the desire for a more uniform system was ex})ressed at 
these different conventions, whether held by fruit 
growers or by nurserymen. Through this mutual de¬ 
sire for inq)rovement there has been a grow ing tendency 
of growers, hoiticultural officials and nurseiymen to 
draw' closer together and work toward a more harmon¬ 
ious future; and whv should we not do so? Your Cali- 
fornia Association of Nurserymen has been established 
for the protection and promotion of the sale of (hilifornia 
fruit trees and ornamental plants; the state and county 
officials ar(' charged by law with the protection and pro¬ 
motion of lh(' plant industry of the state; the fruit 
growers of (he state are also dee|)ly coneerned about the 
