The record-union., 1893-02-14
ROASTED BY REED.
The YOlO Nurseyman Goes fol-
Harvey of Yuba.
He Shows the Absurdity of the
Latter's Statement About Infected
Trees-LeIong Also.

10 George ". Harvey, Horticultural
Commissioner, YUba County,: A commu-
nication in the RECORD UNION of the 18th
inst, entitled Infected Trees" signed
by yourself, is so false and misleading
that L cannot allow it to pass without an
answer. Whether your statements are
made through malice, ignorance or de-
sire for cheap notoriety, am unable to
say, but l will here state the facts, that
the public also may judge of your objects.
First, you state: There is a peculiar
state of affairs existing in the city of Sac
ramento as regards the enforcement of
the laws that forbid the importation of
scale infected fruit trees.
We have imported a car of Florida
orange trees that were claimed to be free
from scale. AS soon as they arrived, the
local inspector was informed, who exam
ined the trees and found purple scale; he
said that not more than one tree in ten
were infected, but they were put in
quarantine, and have been thoroughly
disinfected, but the trees will remain
in quarantine until released by Mr..
Craw, Chief ofthe Horticultural Commits
sion. than whom there is no more elli-
Client or capable man in California, and
who is doing more for the fruit industry
than all others. We have now on hand
many thousand orange trees that have
been passed upon by Mr.. Craw, and that
are perfectly clean. and we have the right
to sell them.
The purple scale is easily destroyed
and when our trees which are in quaran-
tine are released by Mr.. Craw, we shall
deliver them to our customers.
The trees you refer to as enriching the
sands of San Pedro with their ashes,
were infected by an entirely different
kind of scale and had to be burned, but
the purple scale of Florida is a very diff
ferent thing, and is easily DESTROYED.
You say that when questioning the owner
of the trees, you were informed that no
Quarantine Officer or Horticultural Com
missioner had as yet appeared to inspect
these Florida trees. There is no truth in
this statement, for as matter of fact, we
had the local Inspector in our tree yard
almost every day, and it is certain he was
notified and examined the trees and
placed them in quarantine before you were
there to inquire about the prices of trees,
as pretense for being there.
We ship no trees withouta an Inspectors
certificate, and we tell you now that laws
cannot be made too stringent, to prevent
the disseminating of diseased or pest
infested trees, to suit us.
You say, further: when the owners
attention was called to the existence of
the scale, he said he thought it would be
well to fumigate the trees, but that it
would not make much difference, as he
thought the Florida scale could not exist
in a California climate. His ignorance
and indifference was akin to that of
well-known nurseryman,f etc.
Your assumption is something Won
derful when you were not on the prem
ises to exceed ten minutes. Your i'm
agination has manufactured vast
amount of information for the public.
| We never said the scale could not exist in
California, but that there were persons
who did not believe the scale could exist
about Oroville. We have been in the
nursery business for nearly forty years.
and we think we know something about
the duties and requirements of nursery
men. We know the importance of grow
! ing good trees on good stalks, true to
name and free from disease and insect
/ pests; we also know of law that re-
/ quires certificates of inspection by prop
/ erly authorized officers. The law is for
/ dishonest as well as for honest men.
/ lou talk as if there was no law about
! Sacramento. | can tell you that they
make laws in Sacramento, but they can't
make brains. Why don't you specify
wherein these rapacious nurserymen are
trying to put upon the public a great
wrong, thereby defying all the world and
/ legal obligations and making themselves
enemies of the public and subject to
criminal prosecution? If any man can
write such a mess of rubbish as is con-
| tanned in your article and published in
the leading newspaper without malicious
purposes or gross ignorance, or desire
Tor cheap notoriety, we are at a loss TO
know what the object is. G. w. REED.
| Sacramento, Feb. 18th.