The Florida agriculturist., 1905-12-20
White Fly on Nursery Stock.

Z We read with interest the nOuceS
in your most valuable paper of the
action taken by the Orange County
Board of Horticultural Commissioners,
and your editorial comment on same.
While we can heartily endorse the
action taken by this honorable body,
and cannot but commend their recon-
mendatiOn of care on the part of the
planters in nOn-infected districts, and
their suggestion that the red and
brown fungus (AschersOnia) be intro
duced into all infected groves too
highly. yet we must take exception to
their first resolution. inaSmuch as it
is an injustice to nurseries free from
white fly (AleyrOdes citricOla), and
especially those located in sections
where no white fly exists. And again,
it is misleading to those not acquain-
ted with the situation. and is an in
jury to the horticultural interests of
the state and nOn-infected communi-
ties for two reasons. First; 1t is mis-
leading when it says: $50 many
nurseries of citrus stock are already
infected with this pest" inaSmuch as
people outside of the state, especially
prospective settlers. might interpret
this to mean that it was generally dis
seminated throughout the state, and
prospective settlers coming here eX-
pecting to engage i'm citrus culture
might be turned away to the detriment
of all interested in the welfare and
upbuilding of the state and our hOrti-
cultural interests. Second; it would
be a dangerous course for any planter
to pursue to depend entirely on the
defOliatiOn of citrus trees. and the
burning of the foliage as a protection
of his own. and his cOmmunity's hOrti-
cultural interests. While this is a pre-
caution which should be taken if the
planter is to buy his trees from an
infected nursery. or from nursery
where there are groves Immediately
adjacent which are infected.
We would ask the reader and the
prosperity planter if it is a safe policy
for the planter to purchase trees from
such nurseries? While Il few people
would take pains to see that all
leaves. and the packing that came
with trees was carefully burned. yet
there is a certain careless and some
what Indifferent element among tree
planters. and we would venture to
say IuiIN pei NtHl VI tllt
trees would not be carefully defOlia-
ted and the leaves and packing burned.
There is also a class of people. who are
large jlanters. that depend entirely up
on employees. many of them. common
labOrerS. to plant their trees. and take
such precautions as recommended. and
we would ask the reader if their eX-
perience with the average employee
is such that they could be depended
upon to be sufficiently thorough and
careful to protect the planters and
the cOmmunity'S interest in such a
vital matter as this?
There are nurseries i'm the state that
are not only free from the pest of
white fly (AleyrOdes citricOla), but
that are located in localities where it
has never established itself. One sec
ton that the writer knows sufficiently
well to declare it free from this pest.
is the lower east coast of Florida in
the counties of st. Lucie and Dade
No finer nursery trees can be produced
than is now being grown in these
counties. There are probably other
sections equally exempt. and | deem
it an injustice for the horticultural
interests of the state for the impress
sion to be created that the spread of
this pest is so general My advice to
planters of citrus trees would be- not
to depend upon the simple defOliatiOn
of the trees. but to make their nursery