Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1890-11-04
GENERAL vARNgy AND FRUIT PESTS
After the Nursery Men--Con6ictiAS
Statements and Exa.gera.
tiauS.


aud Florist, Commissioner and
President Second Eastern Oregon
District Agricultural Society, Com.
missioner aud Inspector OF Fruit
Pests, State Board of Horticulture"
ETC., has been in Salem the past few
days, making a speciality Of looking
up the condition of Salem fruit tree
nur-e les.
Several statements calcu' 'ated to
mislead the people have got out n
the results of his discoveries and 20
to show that the general has not Y
well-guarded string to his orscular
mouth piece. sunday mornings
Statesman had this alarum: Gen.
Jas, A. Varney, insect inspector oi
the State Board of Horticulture, hss
been in this vicinity for the past few
days making thorough examina
| ton of the nurseries aud nurser.
stock, in search for fruit pests. An,
his labors were rewarded, sorry I,
say. He found all the young tree.
bad v Infested with wuoly aphis.
green aphis etc. They are infestes
to such All extent that he fluids II
necessary to take some precautionar!
ne .sures to prevent the spread oi
the D .sts. He will return to Salem
when he will. no doubt, give or
deis preventing the shipment uf
Young trees from the nurseries. H.
found things in much worse stat,
than his worst apprehensinns had
feared. Should the nursery stock
lie examined be sent over the cnun
try the pests would be scattered
broadcast. His Interference il none
to, SON for the good of the coun
try and all concerned III the raising
u fruit"
As the general is very broad and
vehement in his assertions thar
there are no aphis on fruit tree
grown east of the mountains, tn,
above given out AS the result of hit
before announced official visit raised
The ire of Salem nursery men to a
rtdhOt degree. If this was true of
their nursery stock it was true OF
all nursery stock in Marion county,
or In fact the Willamette valley.
The fact is. 1t is not true and General
Varney will not say it is true over
his signature, or in any manner
! where he can be pinned down and
male responsible for such IA wild
and unfounded utterance. His
unguarded utterance to "a reporter
of equally irresponsible habits
will cost this section dearly,
and has done the Salem nurserymen
AN irreparable injury, which, upon
his Return to Salem, General Varuey
hastens to undo, in his bungling
manner. Tuesday mornings States
man says this:
"There was a mistake in the news
item in Sunday mornings StateuIan
concerning fruit pests. II was
stated that Gen. Jas. A. Varney,
state inspector of fruit pests, found
all the young fruit trees infected
with woody aphis, green aphis, etc
"Whut General Varney did find
was a considerable proportion of the
young apple trees infected with
woody aphis, green ahpis, ETC., but all
other fruit trees in the nurseries in
this vicinity he found entirely tree
from pests and in a healthy condi-
tion."
The JOURNAL believes the general
is suffering dementia on this subject.
He has aphis on the brain. 1t is all
right for him as chief high function
ary of the state board to go around
and teach the farmers how to put
halter on a wild and wOOlly aphis.
But to come around here and assails
our nurserymen as he does by allow
ing such loose and unguarded state
rlents to crop out as We quote above
is another matter. AS he is nurse
ryman himself he has no business in
other mems nurseries, and ought to
resign his position or send some one
else if his duties require any such
work done.
Here is a practical illustration Of
this loose and wild talk of state
official. We take from the sane
interview in this mornings States
man:
General Varney says there are
nurseries in Oregon which have the
San Jose scale, but none of these are
in Salem. There is a gentleman
now In Salem from California buy
ing some fifty thousand young prune
and peach trees for shipment in that
state"
Now Is not this calculated to in
jure great and growing Oregon in
dustry In the eyes Of other states
We submit it is not a fair way OF
getting at this evil.
General Varney admitted to the
Oregon Nursery Co. that out Of u
million trees they had not sou
affected BY any Eind OF pest. Why |
does he not allow such facts to be
published If any? Instead of that
he hands out his card AS nursery
man, wraps his numerous robes Of
office and honorary titles about him,
and publishes damaging Interviews
At $500 a day and expenses paid.
Such service IL a luxury.