THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
Legislation. 
NURSERY INSPECTION IN TEXAS. 
It is reported that Commissioner Cone of Texas will recommend 
the removal of the inspection fee now levied upon orchardists and 
nurserymen in the Lone Star State. There are many states in which 
inspection is required but in most of these states it is paid for by the 
state itself. In Texas however, not only is the nursery inspection 
obligatory but the cost of inspecting is paid by the owner himself. 
NEW LAW IN COLORADO. 
Editor National Nurseryman: 
A new horticultural law goes into effect in Colorado on the first 
of January, 1909. Doubtless nearly all of the nurseries shipping 
into this state take the National Nurseryman. I thought it 
would be but fair to notify them through your columns of the change 
in our law and suggest that any who intend shipping into the state 
write for particulars. So if you care to insert it, perhaps something 
like the following paragraph would be of interest to your readers: 
“All nurserymen intending to ship nursery stock into Colorado 
should be acquainted with the requirements of the new horticultural 
law in that state which will go into effect January 1, 1909. The law 
requires that certificates of inspection shall accompany all nursery 
stock coming into the state. All nursery stock that has not been 
satisfactorily disinfected will be subject to fumigation in Colorado 
before being delivered to the purchasers. Certificates of inspection 
or fumigation will not in any case bar the state entomologist or any 
horticultural inspector from examining stock to determine whether 
or not it is entirely free from injurious insects in any stage of develop¬ 
ment, or of plant diseases that are likely to be distrbiuted to the 
injury of the purchaser. The law will be rigidly enforced, so it is 
quite important that all nurserymen acquaint themselves with the 
provisions of the act before shipping into this state. 
For fuller information address C. P. Gillette, State Entomologist, 
Fort Collins, Colorado.” 
Ft. Collins, Col. C. P. Gillette. 
NATIONAL LEGISLATION FOR PURE INSECTICIDES. 
Professor E. D. Sanderson. 
Chairman Executive Committee in Charge of Legislation. 
A bill now before Congress (H. R. 21318) introduced in the lats 
session by Hon. Mr. Lowden, of Illinois, which provides for “prevent¬ 
ing the manufacture, sale, or transportation of adulterated or mis¬ 
branded fungicides, Paris greens, lead arsenate, and other insecti¬ 
cides and for regulating traffic therein,” is of interest to every fruit 
and truck grower and user of insecticides. Users of insecticides 
and fungicides have had sufficient experience with cheap substitutes 
for standard articles and with various quack remedies to appreciate 
the necessity for such legislation, and but few states at the present 
time have any laws to insure the purity of insecticides and fungicides 
Inasmuch as practically all of these are manufactured in less than 
half a dozen states, it would seem that much the simplest way to 
insure the control of their purity is by national supervision of 
those which go into interstate commerce. Otherwise, every state 
will need to enact legislation and provide all the machinery for the 
collection and analysis of insecticides and fungicides used in that 
state. By having the work done by a federal agency, it can be done 
much more cheaply and effectively. Furthermore, the differences 
in the state laws make it difficult for the manufacturer to put up his 
goods to comply with all of them. There can be no question that 
there is fully as much necessity for the control and purity of insecti¬ 
cides and fungicides, as for fertilizers or drugs. 
Two products which have recently come into popular favor show 
the necessity for such legislation very strongly. Arsenate of lead 
has come into wide use as an insecticide for orchard and shade tree 
pests, during the past few years. Recent analysis shows that while 
it should contain 12 to 15 per cent, of arsenious oxide, one brand 
contains but four or five per cent., and is a very palpable fraud, altho 
13 
practically all of the other brands are approximately up to the 
standard. Prepared bordeaux mixtures, and similar fungicides 
have recently been placed on the market by several manufcaturers. 
Many of these have very distinct merits for those who are using but 
small quantities, but some contain a very small amount of copper 
sulphate and are relatively inefficient even when used according to 
directions, and exceedingly expensive in any event. Inspection and 
analysis which would show the exact value of these goods would 
tend to their standardization and would be of distinct value to the 
consumer. 
The bill now before Congress seeks to prevent the manufacture in 
any territory or the distribution in interstate commerce of any 
insecticide .or fungicide which is adulterated or misbranded as 
defined in the Act. The standards for the purity of Paris green and 
lead arsenate are defined in the bill. Other insecticides and fungi¬ 
cides are considered adulterated if the strength or purity fall below 
the professed standard, under which they are sold; if any substance 
has been substituted for the article; if any valuable constituent of 
the article has been abstracted; or if the use of the article on vegeta¬ 
tion is injurious to vegetation when used as recommended by the 
manufacturers. 
The misbranding of insecticides or fungicides is defined *to 
include: any labeling of a package, which is false or misleading; if 
the article be an imitation, or offered for sale under the name of 
another article; or if the contents are stated in terms of weight or 
measure they are not plainly or correctly stated on the outside of the 
package. Insecticides and fungicides will also be deemed to be mis¬ 
branded if they contain arsenic, if the total amount of arsenic and 
the amount of water soluble arsenic, which is the form which injures 
vegetation, are not stated on the label. 
The bill provides that its enforcement shall be in the hands of a 
Board, composed of the Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of 
Agriculture, and Secretary of Commerce and Labor, and that the 
analyses are to be made by the Bureau of Chemistry of the Depart¬ 
ment of Agriculture. In this and in other details the bill follows 
very closely the Pure Food and Drugs Act, and would be enforced 
in practically the same manner. 
This measure was originally suggested by a Committee of the 
Association of Economic Entomologists and from the beginning has 
received the hearty support of practically all the entomologists and 
agricultural chemists of the country. In order to insure that the 
measure was fair to the manufacturing interests and that it would 
receive the support of the manufacturers, a conference of manufac¬ 
turers with representatives of the entomologists and chemists was 
held at New York City, in June. The measure was carefully dis¬ 
cussed and certain amendments were proposed, which will be intro¬ 
duced (or have been) in the coming session of Congress. As a 
result, practically all the leading manufacturers of insecticides and 
fungicides are heartily in favor of the measure and will support the 
consumers in their demand for its passage. The greatly increased 
consumption of insecticides and fungicides has developed a consider¬ 
able business for the manufacturers of these goods, who realize that 
any legislation which tends to standardize the quality and to prevent 
fraudulent and quack articles will insure larger business and increase 
consumption for reliable brands. 
The measure is having the hearty support of fruit and truck 
growers’ organizations thruout the country. Whether it will be 
passed by Congress, will depend very largely upon the attitude of 
the agricultural public. If the members of Congress and the mem¬ 
bers of the Committee of interstate and foreign commerce of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on agriculture and 
forestry of the Senate are convinced that there is a popular demand 
for such legislation, there will probably be little difficulty in passing 
the measure, as no serious opposition to it is apprehended. It is 
incumbent on the users of insecticides and fungicides to communi¬ 
cate with their congressmen, if they desire such legislation, for 
Congress can hardly be expected to give consideration to legislation 
for which there is no popular demand. The National Nursery¬ 
man believes this measure should have the hearty support of its 
readers and suggests that they communicate with their congress¬ 
men concerning it at once. 
