THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
433 
Rochester, N. Y., Jan. 5, 1910. 
National Nurseryman Publishing Co., 
City. 
Gentlemen: 
For your January issue I would like to make a brief 
statement as to the situation in regard to federal inspection 
regulating the importation and inspection of foreign grown 
nursery stock. Mr. Charles J. Brown, Chairman of the 
Legislative Committee of the American Association of 
Nurserymen, asked me to serve on the Committee, and to 
take charge of matters of federal legislation, as I had had 
charge of the matter a year ago. 
In my report to the Association at the June Convention, 
I gave you some information as to the bill that was intro¬ 
duced in Congress last winter. The same bill was again 
introduced in the House of Representatives on December 
16th, and referred to the Committee on Agriculture. 
It was the understanding last winter with Dr. Howard 
that he would meet the Nurserymen’s Committee during 
the summer, and that we would endeavor to get together on 
a bill that would be mutually satisfactory, and at his sug¬ 
gestion our Committee formulated a bill and sent it to him 
for his consideration, but we have never been able to secure 
a conference. 
On December 27th the Association of Horticultural 
Inspectors, made up of delegates from the various state 
inspection departments, held their annual meeting in 
Boston, and at their request Mr. Rouse and myself attended 
their meeting, and presented for their consideration the bill 
which had been drawn up by the Nurserymen’s Committee, 
and sent to Dr. Howard for his consideration. With some 
slight amendments our bill was endorsed by that meeting, 
the principal change being that which provided that small 
shipments of one thousand or less might be inspected at 
ports of entry at the discretion of the Secretary of Agri¬ 
culture. We agreed to this amendment, because -it was 
expected that the inspectors of the various states would be 
authorized by the Washington Department to make this 
inspection, and in many of the states their organization is 
small, and it was thought that it would be a heavy burden 
if they were obliged to go all over the state and inspect 
small lots, and in order to secure their support we agreed to 
their amendment in this particular. 
At the last meeting of the American Pomological 
Society, a Committee was appointed to urge federal legisla¬ 
tion regulating the inspection and importation of foreign 
nursery stock, and the Chairman of that Committee, Mr. 
Watson, has written me informally approving of our bill, 
and I have asked him to give the formal approval of his 
Committee to the bill, and no doubt will receive it soon. 
We do not think that this measure will be satisfactory to 
Dr. Howard, but that he will ask for a law which gives him 
arbitrary powers and discretion. We met him for a few 
minutes in Boston, but he said he was too busy to talk with 
us, and also said that he had two measures in mind, first—- 
the absolute exclusion of foreign nursery stock, particularly 
seedlings, second—a law which would require every 
nurseryman desiring to import stock, to secure from him a 
permit to make the importation, and to both of these prop¬ 
ositions our Committee strongly objected. 
It is evident that we shall have a fight on our hands 
before the winter is over, and we will need the strongest 
kind of support from the nursery interests of the country 
generally. 
The Nurserymen’s Bill was printed in full in the July 
edition of this paper, and has been amended at the instance 
of the Association of Horticultural Inspectors, to provide 
for the inspection of small lots at ports of entry. Our 
Committee insists that any legislation must cover these 
points,—first, that the inspection must be done at the 
final destination on the premises of the Consignee. 
Second—that everything must be inspected, and nothing 
admitted under foreign certificates. 
Third—that the law must be explicit and mandatory, 
and that nothing be left to the discretion of any official, 
except that small lots under one thousand may be inspected 
at ports of entry, and on these points we propose to make 
the strongest fight possible, and ask for your support and 
help. Every nurseryman is vitally interested, and should 
secure the active support of his member of Congress, and 
particularly so if his Congressman is a member of the 
Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives. 
That Committee is made up as follows: Charles F. Scott 
Kansas, Chairman; Wm. W. Cocks, New York; Ralph D. 
Cole, Ohio; Gilbert N. Haugen, Iowa; James C. McLaugh¬ 
lin, Michigan; Willis C. Hawley, Oregon; Joseph Howell, 
Utah; Pleasant T. Chapman, Illinois; Charles C. Pratt, 
Pennsylvania; L. B. Hanna, North Dakota; Frank 
Plumley, Vermont; John Lamb, Virginia; Asbury F. 
Lever, South Carolina; Jack Beall, Texas; William W. 
Rucker, Missouri; Augustus 0 . Stanley, Kentucky; 
Gordon Lee, Georgia; James T. McDermott, Illinois; 
Wm. H. Andrews, New Mexico. 
Energetic and united action will be necessary to prevent 
injurious and obnoxious legislation, and it is up to you to 
help the members of your Committee in every way possible. 
With the support of the Association of Inspectors and the 
American Pomological Society, the nurserymen feel that 
they have a strong backing, and should be entitled to con¬ 
sideration, and we can get it if we all work together. 
Yours truly, 
Wm. Pitkin. 
F. W. KELSEY CO. 
F. W. Kelsey well known to American nurserymen 
announces that having sold his stock in the American 
Nursery Co. of which he was president and manager of the 
Sales Department he has severed connection with the firm. 
The business established by him in 1875 and under his 
exclusive control until the formation of the American 
Nursery Co. last year will hereafter be owned and conducted 
by the F. W. Kelsey Nursery Company—a New York 
corporation with ample resources and responsibility. The 
new firm which is really an old firm under a new name will 
be glad to receive trade lists, and special offers and quota¬ 
tions on good ornamentals, trained trees or specimens. 
The address is 150 Broadway, New York. 
