THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
143 
A PRACTICAL METHOD OF INSPECTING IMPORTED 
SEEDLINGS 
In view of the widespread interest relative to methods of 
inspecting imported nursery stock, more particularly fruit 
seedlings, the following by Prof. T. B. Symons of the Mary¬ 
land Experiment Station is apropos and valuable. 
The question of properly inspecting the large amount of 
imported trees, plants, seedlings, etc., that are now received 
annually in our several Eastern States particularly, and, in 
fact, throughout the country, due to finding the hibernating 
stages of the Brown Tail and Gypsy Moths, as well as other 
pests, is one that has taxed the resources of State Inspectors, 
who are provided wjith limited funds for such work. In¬ 
deed, I admit that I was ignorant until the past two years 
of the large amount of such stock that is imported into this 
country. 
With a view of stimulating a discussion of the methods 
employed by the different Inspectors and to show how this 
work is being handled in Maryland, this brief paper is 
presented. 
AMOUNT OF STOCK IMPORTED 
During the last spring the following approximate 
amounts and character of stock was imported by persons in 
Maryland: 
2,302,300 French fruit stocks. 
754,417 Holland fruit stocks. 
149,325 Holland ornamentals. 
10,000 French ornamentals. 
Total: 3,216,042 seedlings, plants, trees, etc. 
This does not include a quantity of herbaceous and 
florists’ stock that was also imported. However, untihthis 
fall no attempt has been made to inspect some“classes~of 
this stock. As is quite general, I presume, the large 
majority of this stock is imported by nurserymen and 
wholesale dealers. Moreover, the bulk of this inspection 
has been up to this time seedlings of apple or allied plants. 
In making arrangements fof this inspection, it was first 
thought best to employ the local inspectors and send a gang 
of ten or twenty to a place to go over carefully the large 
shipments of seedlings that were being received by different 
parties in the state. Upon a further consideration of the 
case, after consultation with the importers, it was found 
that the usual practice of growers was to carefully handle 
the seedlings, trimming both ends, and either place them in 
sand for a time or plant them in the field immediately. It 
was also learned that the seedlings should be handled as 
little as possible, as exposures to air or added moisture 
would cause opposite but' unfavorable conditions. The 
nurserymen desired that the seedlings be handled but once, 
if possible. The question to be decided was one of practica¬ 
bility versus theory: Whether we should inspect the 
seedlings by a score of inspectors at great expense, encoun¬ 
tering the difficulties attending such operation, especially 
the imfavorable conditions of inspecting the seedlings when 
more or less paeking was attached to them and placing them 
back in boxes, or inspect the seedlings after the nurserymen 
had pursued their usual course in handling and trimming 
and preparing for heeling in sand. Especially did the latter 
method appeal to me, as it was decidedly the most economi¬ 
cal, and I think more effective. Our present method of 
inspecting large quantities of seedlings is as follows: 
The nurseryman or grower provides a clean space in 
packing shed and his force of men are put to work in trim¬ 
ming the seedlings. These men are under the supervision 
of a personal assistant from the office who inspects all the 
seedlings after they have been trimmed. Instructions are 
given all the men to pull off all old leaves or anything that is 
attached to the individual seedlings. All found bearing a 
nest of Brown Tail Moth or other suspicious cocoon or egg 
mass are thrown out and destroyed by the inspector 
immediately. All packing is also destroyed and boxes 
properly treated by the inspector. Every precaution is 
made to keep everything of a waste character in the given 
space, so that no opportunity is given for anything to 
escape. One inspector can carefully examine seedlings from 
thirty or forty men after they have been'^put in a convenient 
shape for handling. 
Thus one man has been made to properly care for 
inspection of an enormous amount of stock at one place. 
The inspection has not interfered with the routine^of nursery 
work, and the whole has been taken care of at a minimum 
cost. 
One of the greatest difficulties is the proper inspeetion of 
consignments to department stores, auctioneers, etc. Dur¬ 
ing the past year a quantity of miscellaneous ornamental 
stock has been received by such parties in Baltimore. In 
such cases the conditions are pot as favorable for thorough 
work as at the nurseries. It is a question if such stock 
consigned to parties in the immediate vicinity should not be 
inspected at a quarantine station. 
In performing our duty as State Inspector, I believe we 
should stand firm on our requirements, for the best interests 
of all concerned; but I believe we should be as practical as 
possible in devising methods, so that such provisions may 
be successfully carried out. 
We must maintain the confidence and co-operation of 
both the grower and nurseryman. Nothing will so easily 
dispel this confidence or lessen a co-operative spirit among 
growers as lack of efficiency in work undertaken, due to im¬ 
practical or costly methods of procedure. 
The auto truck is finding a place in nursery work. We note 
that the Jewell Nursery Company of Lake City, Minnesota, has 
recently installed one of these motor trucks for use in its nurseries. 
There is no doubt that there is a large field for the employment 
of this sort of transportation within the boundaries of the exten¬ 
sive nursery institution, but with the introduction of the truck 
must come the improvement of the roads. 
