The record-union., 1899-05-13
SUPERVISORS HEAR CHARGES
ORCHARDISTS AFTER COMMITS
SIONER BOOTHS SCALP.
Claim That He Has Been Arbitrary
in Making Them
Spray.

At the meeting of the Board of Super
visors yesterday afternoon the charges
against Horticultural Commissioner E
Booth were heard.
P. H. Murphy testified that Booth
had notified his son to spray his trees
and had threatened to dig them uh
if he did not, and had arrested him fol
not doing so at a certain time.
Mrs. Louisa Fahrenbaker testified
that Commissioner Booth ordered her to
spray her trees in February. but at that
time it was too dry and afterward her
sons We're unable to get upon the
ground to spray them. She was noti-
fed the second time and she got lime
to do it with. The boys dug up num-
Der of trees and were spraying others
when she was arrested. She had about
an acre and a half of trees, but many
Of them have died.
A Fahrenbaker testified that when
his father was arrested they were dig
ging out the dead trees and preparing to
spray the live ones. First it was too
dry to dig out the trees and then, when
it rained, it was SO wet they could not
get on the ground. He did not spray
the live tr,es because he thought he
might dig them out. There are fifteen
TO eighteen trees left alive Mr.. Booth
examined the trees and told them they
We're infested.
j. Mckinley testified that Inspector
Booth visited his place on February
9th, and said the trees must be sprayed
He told the Inspector that the owners
of the land refused to do so, but he
afterwards sprayed the trees for scale
81 a m II
three times more with Paris green, but
refused to do so. as he considered it
poison and did not think it was proper
to use, as it might get on the grass in
the orchard and poison his stock He
should continue to refuse, unless he
was compelled to do so. He had
sprayed once before by order of In
spector Stephenson. He thought that
the Inspector had asked something that
was unreasonable. He claimed that the
Ross Lane and Tanner places had re-
ceived no notification to spray and that
the Commissioner had not treated all
alike He was ordered the last time to
spray for Goblin moth.
A. D. Murphy stated that he had
never refused to spray his trees and
was spraying them when arrested. He
waited Until ne QdQ pIuHeu HIS trees
before spraying. He had procured a
tank and told Inspector Booth he would
spray when he got his pump. He had
received notice about three weeks be-
fore he began to spray. No one could get
ready at moments notice. When he
commenced to spray, it rained and as
it would do no good to spray in such
weather he quit for time, but told the
Inspector he would begin again as soon
as he could get on the ground. He was
notified on Saturday to begin spraying
that morning, but it was too wet
then and on Monday morning
he commenced to spray. He
was the first one in that neighborhood
to spray his trees before there was a
compulsory law. Instead of being
taken before the nearest Justice when
arrested, he was taken twenty miles to
Sacramento. He believed that Paris
green was deleterious to the trees.
There can be scale found in every
orchard in the county and in fact, in
every dooryard, but they are disap-
pearing each year. The sprays recon-
mended by the Commissioners kill the
leaves and often the trees.
Commissioner Booth, he stated
threatened last year to quarantine all