THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
185 
gooseberries are kept at a greater distance than 900 feet from a 
Five-needle Pine that the rust will not spread as the spores do 
not travel over a greater distance than this to the alternate 
host. When the regulations were made the Blister Rust wap 
known only to Eastern localities. Now most alarming possibili¬ 
ties of destruction are among the valuable timber pines of Wash¬ 
ington and Oregon. 
Your chairman from his acquaintanceship with officials of the 
Department of Agriculture is rather definitely convinced that we 
can obtain some relief through modifications of these quaran¬ 
tines, if we are willing as an industry to co-operate in the con¬ 
trol and destruction of the pest. This co-operation means: 
1. That nurserymen must volunteer not to deal in black cur¬ 
rant bushes of any kind. To treat these as “out-lawed” in com¬ 
merce. 
2. We must submit to not shipping any Five-needle Pines from 
areas infested with Blister Rust until they have been certified. 
3. Such strong opposition would doubtless be encountered if 
we attempted to have moved the present more or less arbitrary 
quarantine line that stretches from north to south across cer¬ 
tain Mid-western States. A large section of our membership 
will not take kindly to the possibility of leaving this line ex¬ 
ist, but the Western Plant Quarantine Board is so zealous in 
its protection of the States represented that the whole program 
of modification may be thwarted, unless we accept this arbitrary 
boundary across which currants, gooseberries and pines shall not 
pass. 
4. Red currants and gooseberries can, if we accept the pro¬ 
visions mentioned, then doubtless move freely when completely 
defoliated, except across the forbidden boundary. As a further 
condition of their movement it may be necessary to have them 
inspected in the field in summer and then certified, if free from 
the rust. 
5. Nurserymen’s effort^ to educate the public concerning this 
rust would be much appreciated by the Department of Agricul¬ 
ture. We, of course, can do a great deal toward such education, 
if the catalogues of the nursery industry are used to distribute 
small leaflets of information. Persons buying currants, goose¬ 
berries and pines can be told of the dangers in planting these 
articles nearer than 900 feet to each other. Such an effort to 
give a knowledge of this pest to the public would elicit from the 
Department of Agriculture a great deal of kindly feeling toward 
our efforts at co-operation that would be reflected, not only in 
Pine Leaf Blister Rust matters, but in others with which your 
Legislative Committee have to deal. 
It is our hope that before this meeting adjourns we will have 
expressed in some definite way, possibly through a letter to the 
Federal Horticultural Board our suggestion for a Conference, 
seeking to find modifications to the existing Blister Rust Quar¬ 
antines that will give protection to the Forest interests and at 
the same time greater freedom of shipment to the Nurserymen. 
/^YPSY MOTH 
Gypsy Moth matters have claimed the Committee’s attention 
frequently. Conferences over this matter have been held in New 
York City; in Trenton, N. J., and before the Federal Horticul¬ 
tural Board in Washington. New England Nurserymen have dis¬ 
played a willingness to co-operate and resourcefulness in sug¬ 
gesting methods of control, so that they have for the most part 
kept their markets open, but not without a great deal of anxiety, 
and expense of time and effort. 
JAPANESE BEETLE 
Japanese Beetle has continued a source of anxiety to Nursery¬ 
men likely to be affected by it. A splendid co-operation exists 
between the Nurserymen concerned and the Federal and State 
Officials in charge of the work. While there is always before 
the Nurserymen, likely to infestation, the potential possiblity of 
having their markets denied them on account of this pest, there 
have been discovered certain methods of treatment, by Govern¬ 
ment experts, that render plants free from danger of dissemin¬ 
ating the pest, and when treated, acceptable for shipment. 
Several Conferences in Washington, at Philadelphia and else¬ 
where have been held during the year on account of this Beetle. 
An idea of how effective have been the control measures and the 
Nurserymen’s co-operation is gained from the knowledge that 
with the quantities of Nursery stock shipped out of the infested 
area annually this pest is not yet known to have escaped the un¬ 
happy place of his residence in the vicinity of Philadelphia. 
PARCEL POST BILLS 
Scores of bills were introduced affecting the postal service. 
In some, increases of Parcel Post rates were sought. Nursery¬ 
men from everywhere urged your Committee to oppose these 
increases. Time and effort were expended in an endeavor to 
save existing rates. Whether it was your Committee’s efforts or 
a Congress bent on other matters, that prevented the passage 
of increased Parcel Post rates, you may individually judge, but 
the Committee wants credit for its efforts, at any rate. 
A UNIVERSAL TAG 
A tag that will permit shipment of clean, healthy nursery stock 
anywhere, anytime, through, around and over quarantine lines, 
is the cherished hope of nurserymen. There are honest deter¬ 
mined efforts being made to accomplish this by a Committee of 
Entomologists. The chairman of that committee. Dr. Thomas 
J. Headlee, of New Jersey, will explain the plan later at this 
morning’s session, so this report shall merely contain the state¬ 
ment that among the manifold matters coming before us, this 
one also received our thought and study. 
WHY NOT COMPENSATION FOR NURSERY STOCK 
DESTROYED IN PEST CONTROL WORK? 
Nurserymen have been prevented from shipping varieties of 
Berberis vulgaris that they grew in good faith, because there 
is danger that this plant will spread the Wheat Rust. Again 
we have been commanded not to ship blocks of pine trees for 
fear of spreading the blister rust. Blocks of azaleas, peonies, 
and other plants have been tied up in the vicinity of Philadel¬ 
phia bceause they might spread the Japanese beetle. Through 
no fault of our own these losses are brought upon us. 
Why is it that most every appropriation to the Bureau of 
Animal Industry, for the control of live stock diseases, carries 
provisions for compensation when animals are destroyed, and 
every similar appropriation. to the Bureau of Plant Industry 
includes the words "thut no part of this appropriation shall be 
used to pay the cost or value of trees or other property injured 
or destroyed?” 
With the assistance of our attorney, Mr. MacDonald, a sug¬ 
gested Bill has been prepared that is attached to and forms 
part of this report. It is our hope that during the coming win¬ 
ter state and sectional associations will take hold of this idea, 
modify the plan to meet the requirements of separate states, and 
seek to get such a measure through the legislatures of some of 
the states the coming winter. Others would follow later. 
There are manifold difficulties in the passage of such a law, 
but those of you who will take time to read the tentative act 
prepared, and published herewith, will find that many of the 
objections that first occur to you are met satisfactorily. We urge 
further efforts along this line as part of a constructive program 
of legislation, as opposed to one of opposition, that we have too 
often maintained. 
CONFERENCE OF STATE AND FEDERAL ENTOMOLOGISTS 
AT WASHINGTON. APRIL 1924 
The most important legislative event of years to Nurserymen 
was the Conference in Washington of State and Federal Ento¬ 
mologists. It happened at a very inconvenient time for Nursery¬ 
men, yet there were found volunteers who w'ould make the 
necessary sacrifice to attend “in the capacity of observers.’’ 
I feel that especially does the Trade owe appreciation to Mr. 
William Flemer, Sr., Mr. Thomas B. Meehan and Mr. Robert 
Pyle, who with your Chairman were present at the sessions, 
though only Mr. Flemer attended throughout the Conference. 
There was presented to the Conference a gi'aphic picture of 
the Quarantine situation in the shape of a report that showed 
191 State Quarantines or Regulations, embargoing or restrict¬ 
ing the movement of plants and plant products. Mr. Sherman, 
an assistant solicitor of the Department of Agriculture, sub¬ 
mitted a list of decisions by the U. S. Supreme Court showing 
the powers of the Federal Government over Inter-state Com¬ 
merce. He further explained the law in response to many ques¬ 
tions. State after State was obliged to admit that the law of the 
Nation is above the law of the State, and it was only in the ex¬ 
ercise of its police powder that they could enforce its Quarantine 
and Regulatory measures. The extent to which a State could 
enforce these was very definitely fixed. Copies of the Assistant 
Solicitor’s report were obtained and it constitutes a volume of 
most valuable legal decisions to the nursery trade. This report 
our Association now has on file foi future reference and 
guidance. 
It was very definitely asserted that ”ivhen the Federal Gov¬ 
ernment takes complete charge of a subject" as it has done in 
the case of Corn Borer, Pine Leaf Blister Rust, Gypsy Moth and 
Japanese Beetle, that a Federal tag shoicing a shipment to be 
free from the pest stipulated will take the shipment so certified 
through to destination, and a state cannot deny the right of 
entry. The state does, however, have the right to examine the 
shipment at destination, and there reject it for cause. The clear¬ 
ing up of this one point nullified scores of the quarantines con¬ 
tained in the record of 191 such Regulatory Pronouncements 
mentioned above. Since the conference a number of such meas- 
