Los Angeles herald., 1891-04-10

upon number of citizens of Pasadena,
under the belief that the Office was va
cant, petitioned the board to appoint G.
G. Brown as constable. The petition
was laid upon the table.
The petition of S. L. Hull and one
hundred others to close the saloons at
Vernon on Sundays, was referred to the
district attorney for his opinion as to
the powers of the board in the prem
Uses.
Apetition asking for the incorporation
of Alhambra as city Of the sixth class
was presented, the proposed boundaries
of the new city including several large
ranches, the owners of which protested
vigorously. A withdrawal, signed by
thirty Of the people who had signed the
original petition, was also presented,
thus leaving the petition without the
legal number of subscribers. The
board, however, having set the original
hearing for May Sth, declined to take
any action on the matter until that
date.
The resignation of Joshua Andrews,
road overseer of Long Beach road dis
trict, was presented and accepted, and
A. V. Howard was appointed to fill the
vacancy.
The Niger slough bridge, on the new
Tomlinson road, was formally accepted;
and warrant was ordered drawn in ia
vor of A. E. Meigs for $416.16, in pay
ment of the same.
The board will meet again this morn
ing at 10 O'Clock.
The following communication was re-
ceived yesterday by the board of super
visors from the state horticultural COM
mission:
To the Honorable Board of Supervisors, Los An.
geles county, CAL:
During the month of March the COM
mission has given considerable time and
attention to the matter of the patent
which has been granted to certain par
ties in Orange county upon the applica-
ton of hydrocyanic acid gas at night.
That this patent should have been
granted, seems to US most unfortunate.
We had with infinite pains worked up
among the growers OF this county sen,
timent in favor of the use of gas. In diff
ferent localities clubs were being formed
for the purpose of procuring casing
outfit. the good movement was becom-
ing quite general, large and expensive
plants had in many cases been ordered,
when to our intense disgust up starts
this patent, and brings the whole bust
ness to stand still. The expense of APP
plying the gas to 100 trees, say full bear
ing would not be less than $50 or $50,
and, when to this must be added
$40 for royalty charges by the
patentees, our chances of persuading
the growers to clean up, are most mate
rally lessened. We are thoroughly con-
WINGED that this patent has been granted
under misapprehension of the true
facts in the case, and we have during the
past month been actively engaged, with
the assistance of Professor Coquillett and
Alexander Craw, in placing these true
facts before the proper officials in the
patent Office at Washington, to the end
that if, as we believe, this patent has
been wrongly granted it may at once be
abrogated.
We have had demonstrated to us DUR
ing the month the fact that, in spite of
all the assertions made by interested
parties to the contrary, the long and
purple scales imported on Florida trees
will live and flourish in the country. A
tree was found by us which had been
imported from Florida four years since.
and which was literally alive with
long and purple scales. We think
the practice of importing cheap
trees for planting from other
states and foreign countries, there be-
ing nothing to recommend them but
their cheapness, most pernicious one,
and have done all in our power to check
it. The trees thus imported are more
than like to prove a most expensive
purchase in the end, and as is nearly
always the case, the innocent will suffer
more than the guilty. The argument SO
often advanced, and printed in about
every newspaper in this part of the
state, that without these cheap trees
large numbers of small planters would
not have been able to plant at all, is fall
lacious, for our experience shows that
the small planter as a rule bought home
grown stock, while the imported trees
have been largely bought by spectators
setting out orchards and large planters,
who could well afford to pay the price
asked for homegrown stock. We are
now threatened with a flood of scale
infested stock from Tahiti. The trees
so far as we have seen are poor stock at
the best, and are badly infested with
scale. Many thousands of them are
now due to arrive, and the commission
will see that on arrival they shall be
most thoroughly disinfected.
1t does seem that we have enough of
insect pests in our orchards as they now
stand without hunting up fresh supplies
and new varieties in the South Sea
islands. We appreciate the importation
in the future of trees from any where in
this state as on the whole great mis-
take and great evil.
We are forced to this conclusion by
the fact that from nearly every point
from which we import nursery stock we
have received either disease or insect
pests before unknown in our state.
We would respectfully call the atten-
ton of your honorable body to the pass
age of senate bill No. 151, and refer
gratefully to the fact that to the support
accorded by you to this commits
sion it's enactment is largely due.
The whole measure being the outcome
of our visit to Santa Cruz last fall, San
Bernardino, Orange and Los Angeles
counties presenting the measure at the
meeting of the horticultural commits
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