Los Angeles herald., 1890-04-09
SCALE BUG INSPECTORS.
THE MATTER BROUGHT BEFORE
THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
of Florida Trees Being on the Com.
mission.

A committee appointed by the South
ern California Pomological Society, at its
meeting held in Pomona, Thursday
April 3d. consisting of p. j, Dreher. r.
P. Waite and c. M. Heintz, met yester-
day morning in this city and laid before
the Board of Supervisors a series OF
resolutions passed unanimously by the
society.
Mr.. Dreher, in presenting the resolu-
tions to the board, called attention to
our horticultural interests, and dwelt
particularly upon the fact that many
people had invested many dollars in
fruit-growing and kindred pursuits, and
were now threatened with an invasion
of new scales, said to be imported upon
Florida stock He thought that the
members of the horticultural commits
sion should be free and unbiased and
not have any interest in the importation
OF said stock in any way, shape or man
ner, and requested that the board in the
future appoint only practical hortlcul-
turalists who have a knowledge OF the
science of entomology, and who are
actually engaged in the growing and
cultivation OF fruits in the section for
which they are appointed, the
same rule to apply to all inspec-
tors appointed under the jurisdiction
of the horticultural commissioners.
Mr.. Dreher requested that the board
give the matter due consideration and
that the provisions of the resolutions be
complied with.
C.M. Heintz made plea for home in
dustry, and argued that our first duty
was to Southern California and her lead
ing industry. The recent unprecedented
boom in the planting of new citrus or
chards had exhausted the native stock,
and in order to keep up the planting it
was necessary to either wait until our
local nurseries could grow more trees or
else import from other localities. While
he believed fully in home production,
yet under the circumstances he did not
blame people who had prepared their
land for planting for having bought trees
elsewhere; but such stock ought to be
free from scale and disease, and not
calculated to be curse instead OF
blessing. Touching the existence of the
Florida purple scale, the Florida red
scale and the Florida long scale, he was
convinced of their existence, they hav-
ing been discovered in local nurseries at
Los Angeles, Anaheim and Downey.
In some cases, trees on which the
Florida scale has been discovered
were inspected and dipped about year
ago, and still scale are found upon them,
clearly showing that inspection and dip
ping are not always an absolute guaran-
tee of their cleanliness. He quoted from
Prof Hubbard's report of 1880 on the
diseases and scales that are eXtant in
lo +ho hot ,J
Florida over two years old is free from
SCALE Some of the importers engaged in
the importation of Florida stock claimed
rious scale in Florida, which is rather a
broad assertion, considering the fact that
both Mr. Comstock and Mr.. Hubbard, of
the United States Agricultural Depart
ment, have published exhaustive treat
ises on the destructive scales known to
infect almost all portions of Florida. The
boast has been made that the Florida
growers can grow trees cheaper than we
can raise them, and can put them on the
market here in competition with home
grown trees. The speaker contended
that this might put few dollars
into the hands OF the purchaser,
but certainly did not stimulate
home production and home interests, OF
which we all boast so much. Carload
after carload has been shipped and is
being shipped in, and it is of the utmost
Importance to our horticultural interests
that quarantine measures be enacted to
prohibit the importation of trees coming
from infected districts. 1t is next to an
impossibility for any inspector, no mat
ter how learned in the study of bugs, to
inspect lot of trees, and after such in
spection, or even after dipping, to pro-
nounce them absolutely free from scale.
Touching the resolutions adopted by the
Pathological Society, Mr. Heintz did not
think it consistent that any person en-
gagged in the importation of Florida
stock and acting as the agent of one o.
the largest importing houses in the
State, to occupy position upon the
horticultural board, and while he had
the highest respect for Captain Driffill
and had no doubt that Mr.. Driffill was
doing all in his power to further the in
terest OF the State and of horticulture
generally, his position was nevertheless
open to criticism, and he called upon
Mr.. Driffill to express his opinion in the
premises.
Mr.. Driffill addressed the board sub
stantially as follows: At meeting o.
the southern California POmOlOglCal So
ciety the resolutions laid before this
board were adopted, and a committee
appointed to lay the same before the
different Boards of Supervisors of the
southern counties. The tenor OF the
resolutions is not to appoint any more
commissioners who have anything to dc
with the importation of trees, or who
act as the agents OF any house import
ing the same. 1t is true that | have
been and am still in the employ of the
w. R. Strong Company, of Sacramento
engaged in the importation of Florids
stock into this country; not only from
Florida but from other locations. But
will say that we have used our best
endeavors to bring in only clean trees
and it may be that some have come in
without our knowledge that were in
tested. Parties bringing trees on which
scale is found should burn them up. II
has been intimated that scales have
been found, and the fact was never
reported by the horticultural commits
sion. If any person discovers scale Oh
any of our trees we will burn them up
as il is the best and only way to get rid
OF the pest. l would refer this board tc
the communities of Pomona, Los Ange
les or anywhere else where l have beer
I L. Il. l.