The Florida star. (Titusville, Fla.) 1880-1917, 1900-02-02
HORTICULTURAL QUARANTINE.
How Diseases Incident 10 Orange Trees
Spread 10 Different Countries.
From the Times ITnion and Citixan

cprcna 10 different
From the Times Union and Citizen
Senator Perkins, of California, has in
PRODUCED bill to forbid the importation
of any nursery stock, plants, vines, buds,
cuttings or fruit from any foreign country
unless subjected to rigid inspection at the
port of entry. This bill emanates from a
state which is the most wide-awake in
this direction, because it has suffered
most from insect and fnngous diseases on
account of its dry salubrious climate. The
San Jose scale was unjustly named after
that beautiful city, when really it was an
importation from Chill. But Chill merely
gave it birthplace; California dissemni-
ated it over Christendom. From the
Golden state il came to New Jersey, and
thence, among many other states, to
Florida, where il has already eaten an
ugly hole in the orchards of West Florida.
1t keeps breaking out in new places; it is
as odIous and irrepressible as the small
pox. 1t has damaged the reputation of
our fruits in Europe as much as tubercu-
loss and "embalmed beef have our meats
From about 1912 to lS47 scale insects of
various kinds practically wiped out the
orange industry in Florida; they ran their
course, unchecked, until finally nature
restored her system of checks and bal
ances, and the trees slowly recovered.
About eight or ten years ago the orange
groves of California were as near To de-
struction from the ravages of the cottony
cushion scale as were those of Florida at
previous date; but science has made
such immense advancement that the nat
ural enemy of this scale was found in
Australia and imported, and the orange
industry was rescued from impending
doom. In both states. if an effective hor-
ticultural quarantine had existed, doubt
less both could have been spared the
losses Of many thousands OF dollars.
At this day the orange growers of Cal
ifornia are filled with apprehension lest
the disgusting orange worm of Morelos
may be introduced into that state. This
may well be called the leprosy of the
orange, and every grower-in Florida as
well as in California-should earnestly
labor 10 secure a law which will effec-
tually protect our industry.
The delicacy constituted and delicious
fruits of high civilization are more SUBJ
ject TO insect and fungous diseases than
those of harbarism. This is one of the
penalties of advanced culture, and their
cultivators must contend for them more
strenuOusly. The Odious diseases, the
bubonic plague, the yellow fever, the lep-
rosy of the tropics, can be fenced ont of
our country only by ceaseless vigilance at
our seaports, so with the destructive
pests which assail our exquisite hOrticul-
tural products. Americans are the clean
est, most wholesome people ou earth; they
have the Unborn right To protect them
selves and their products against the
vilest.
Several years ago there was a real or
assumed crusade carried on in Germany
against the insect and fungous pests
claimed 10 he found on American fruits.
1t was nearly as preposterous as the for
mer action of the Chinese, who excluded
outsiders as foreign devils" The sim
| pie fact was, American fruits and trees
were cleaner than German, and always
had been; the trouble was that our peO-
pie talked too much about such pests in
the newspapers. Recently, German sell
entlsts have been making further invcs-
! legations, ami the results have been salts
| tying a. % the clean and healthiul char
acter of American fruits. They now adj
init that there no danger is To be- appre-
hcndrd from them, and the government
has agreed to admit both green and dried
fruits, subject To tariff and simple insprc-
ton. France and switzerland followed
Germanv's original lead in tins matter,
and now doubtless they will follow suit
again.
American fruits are good enough for
anybody; there l. no need to import ior-
eign trees and cuttings II the diseases
affected only the importers and their or
chards and nurseries, We would give our.
selves little concern, hut they spread and
! pollute whole communities.