The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1896-10-02


| which | have heard so much would
| bloom again. We use ii for other pests
and by its agency the fruit trees of
| California have been kept in q perfect
| ly healthy condition. Our organiza-
| ton extends beyond keeping pests from
trees; fruit shipped from packing houses
| passes through the hands OF an in
spector before ii leaves the point and
in every large city in California Is an
inspector who examines il for pests.
If any of the fruit shows signs of pest
it is ordered cleaned, and If not prompt
ly done the fruit is confiscated and de-
stroyed.
Nursery stock cannot go from one
county to another without having
certificate of freedom from blight, and
no station agent is allowed to receive
fruit or trees without first seeing such
certificate. When trees or shrubs ar
rive at station, the agent notifies the
county commissioner or inspector who
examines them before they are de-
livered TO the orchardist.
Orange trees found within the city
limits to be infested with pests must
be cleaned by the owner or they are
declared a nuisance and destroyed at
the expense of the owner know of an
instance where the rat scale infested
one side of an orchard at Riverside and
sixty magnificent fruit-bearing trees
were killed by the commissioner In
this case the owner was willing to sac
rifice the trees in order to get rid of the
pest.
''You can see now what your Com
missioner of Agriculture would have to
attend to in order to have the trees
here as free from blight as are those in
California. You can see, also, that IL
is a physical impossibility for one man
to do it. Mr.. Marsden has done heroic
work, but he needs assistants; there
should be quarantine officer for the
inspection of trees and plants TO be
those which arrive, and for the inspec-
tion of trees and plants in the city.
Then there should be two general in
spectors, practical horticulturists, men
whose opinions would be of service to
coffee planters and others who are
planting trees.
81 believe that If such men were en-
ployed here thousands of dollars could
be saved the coffee men because there
seems to be no one way of planting.
am told that they dig holes and put the
top soil back and the bottom soil on
top, because the top soil is sour. l am
satisfied it must be sour because most
soil in a new country and any soil three
or four hundred years old is new, where
there is so much moisture as you have
is sour The better way to plant is
to dig the holes wide and deep and let
them remain open long enough, a week
will do, for the earth to dry out.
"The expense of maintaining such a
system of inspection could be borne by
the planters or divided between them
and the government In California
the funds are raised by a special coun-
ty tax on the horticulturists.
'If you had such plan in use here
Marsden could meet the
planters, say, once in three months
and the inspectors and quarantine
agent could file their reports; the plan
ters could express their opinions of
methods and where one had discovered
a remedy for certain blight it could be
to others. An inter-
change of ideas on coffee culture would
be wonderful benefit to the men who
have put their money in that business
in these islands.
Another thing / wish to speak or.
In California and all parts OF the Unit
ed States there is constantly growing
for your plants and ferns; peo-
pie who live in southern California
where the climate is similar TO this,
can grow the same trees and shrubs in
the open air. In colder climates they
are grown in hot houses and these peo-
pie are willing TO pay big prices for
trees. bulbs or cuttings. But the pests
YOU have are a barrier 10 the trade.
Our inspector is very strict in the per-
formance of his duties, and If there is
the slightest trace of a pest on any
thing you ship us over board 1t goes.
But if there was a quarantine ofhcer
to fumigate the plants or trees ana
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