The record-union., 1898-04-22

States without inspection, etc. InlS Is
the feature in the House bill that l con-
slider unsafe for the horticultural inter-
ests of the United States. 1t would be
safer for our Government to entrust the
enforcement Of our immigration laws to
the officials Of other countries. The fam
lily of an INDECENT immigrant, under our
educational system and republican
government can become good American
citizens. The careful culture and atteh-
ton given our orchards and gardens
has an elevating effect upon the ue-
scendants of introduced scale and other
bugs. Such conditions of course tend
slightly to ward off the damage from
their attack, but the trees suffer from
their presence and money has to be
spent to keep the pests down.
Our experience in the past with intro
duced insect pests should in my opin-
ion be sufficient cause for the Govern
ment to issue an edict prohibiting the in
PRODUCTION of any trees or plants, unless
a limited number of new species to prop
agate from. The tree importers should
not be considered, when the welfare OF
the horticultural and agricultural inter-
ests of the country are at stake. Can
any one estimate what it would nave
been worth to the United States II the
trees that brought the 'pernicious OF
so-called San Jose scale had been de-
stroyed upon arrival in this State? 1t
is found now in nearly every State OF
the Union.
In a recent letter from an official
source in Maryland, am informed that
within the past two years that State
alone has lost over $4,000 bearing fruit
trees, killed by that scale. While this
is directly bearing upon the subject,
still I am depressing.
H. r. Bill 1894 has since been amend
ed. but the Objectionable clause still
remains, and men that have no direct in
terest in our welfare are intrusted with
this most important work. They are
given the authority to determine Whe-
ther the stock is apparently free from
all insect and fungus diseases dan
gerously injurious to nursery stock.
An insect in its native country may not
be a dangerously injurious one, but
when introduced here may prove to be
a very serious one. We recently passed
through a very expressive experience OF
this kind. The 'cottony cushion scale"
gerously injurious" insect in Australia,
but for ten years the horticulturists OF
California, more especially the orange
growers, had a very different opinion OF
it. The yellow orange scale" from
Japan, that was such a serious pest in
the San Gabriel Valley for fifteen years,
was another instance. And now in some
districts the orchardists are having
hard and expensive fight with the Flor
ida purple scale that the tree importers
and other interested parties claimed
could not exist in our dry warm climate.
Under the amended bill the clause re-
lating to the arrival of trees that are
offered for entry without a certificate
has been changed. 1t is now made the
duty of the collector Immediately to
notify the Secretary of Agriculture,
who shall arrange for inspection and
said collector shall not allow them to
pass within the jurisdiction of the Uni
ted States until proper certificate of in
spection has been received" This
should be section one, but unfortunately
it only applies to stock without certifl-
cate. The tree importers would have to
pay for unpacking and fumigating the
stock on this side of either ocean, so
there will be no stock received in the
United States without certificate, and
then no one can interfere with it. The
trainers of the bill claim that stock
can be examined when it reaches its
destination 1 would like to know how
many States and Territories have laws
empowering anyone to do this, or how
many are likely to pass such laws.
al %Lo+
be detrimental to the stock to be delayed
and unpacked at the port of entry. In
our experience, such unpacking and at
tention as the plants receive after a voy
age Of from two to nearly eight thou
sand miles, is a decided benefit to them.
Another objection they advanced was,
the exposure of tender plants during
winter. This could not be the real rea-
son for this opposition, for such stock
could be inspected in suitable places, or
not imported until more favorable con-
d1tions as to temperature prevailed.
Section 2, giving authority to the Sec
retary of Agriculture to quarantine
fruit from any infested district outside
of the United States or the District of
Columbia is a good one. as under it
the Secretary could prohibit the impOr-
tation of oranges from the State of Mo-
relos, where the Mexican orange mag
got exists.
Section 3, relating to interstate reg
ulations, is not a good one, for under
it's provisions we would have no right
to reject stock from peach yellows"
or peach rosette" districts, if the trees
were accompanied by a certificate of
inspection. It is a well-known fact