Chap. 368.—An ACT to amend and re-enact an act entitled an act to regulate
the grading and marking of apples in closed packages; to authorize the
Commissioner of Agriculture and Immigration to establish and promulgate
official standard grades for apples and rules and regulations governing the
marking of the same; to provide for the inspection of apples; the appointment
of inspectors and their compensation; to prohibit violations of this act and
to prescribe penalties therefor, approved April 18, 1927. . [S B 242]

, | Approved March 29, 1934
1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, That an
act entitled an act to regulate the grading and marking of apples in closed
packages ; to authorize the Commissioner of Agriculture and Immigra-
tion to establish and promulgate official standard grades for apples and
rules and regulations governing the marking of the same; to provide for
the inspection of apples; the appointment of inspectors and their com-
pensation ; to prohibit violations of this act and to prescribe penalties
therefor, approved April eighteenth, nineteen hundred and twenty-
seven, be amended and re-enacted so as to read as follows:

Section 1. The Commissioner of Agriculture and Immigration is
hereby directed to establish and promulgate, from time to time, of-
ficial standard grades for apples, by which the quantity, quality and
size may be determined, and prescribe and promulgate rules and regu-
lations governing markings which shall be required upon all closed
packages of apples for the purpose of showing the name and address
of the producer or packer, the variety, quantity, quality and size of
the product, or any of them, and to promulgate rules and regulations
governing the markings which shall be required upon apples in un-
closed packages, and in bulk, for the purpose of showing their grade
and/or quality.

It is the intent of this act that the Commissioner of Agriculture
and Immigration, before establishing such standards, shall consult
with the director of the State Horticultural Society as representing
the various apple growing sections of the State.

Section 2. Whenever such standards for the grade or other classi-
fication of apples under this act becomes effective, every closed pack-
age containing apples sold, offered or exposed for sale, or packed
for sale, or transported for sale by any person, firm, company or or-
ganization, shall bear conspicuously upon the outside thereof in plain
words and figures such markings as are prescribed by the Commis-
sioner of Agriculture and Immigration under the provisions of this
act and apples in open packages or bulk, sold, offered or exposed for
sale or transported for sale by any person, firm, company or organ-
ization that do not meet the requirements of one of the established
grades shall carry a sign bearing the word “culls” in letters as pre-
scribed by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Immigration under
the provisions of this act.

Section 3. The Commissioner of Agriculture and Immigration,
through the Director of the Division of Markets of the State of Vir-
ginia, shall be charged with the enforcement of the provisions of this
act and for that purpose shall have the power:

(a) To enter and inspect personally, or through any authorized
agent, every place within the State of Virginia where apples are pro-
duced, packed or stored for sale, shipped, delivered for shipment,
offered for sale, or sold, and to inspect such places and all apples and
apple containers and equipment found in any such place.

(al) To stop trucks, vans or other vehicles upon the highways
of the State by any reasonable means as approved by the Highway
Commission, for the purpose of inspecting any apples that may be
so transported.
(b) To appoint, superintend, control and discharge such inspec-
tors and subordinate inspectors as in his discretion may be deemed
to be necessary, for the special purpose of enforcing the terms of
this act, to prescribe their duties and fix their compensation.

(c) To personally or through any authorized agent or any such
inspector, to forbid the movement of any apples found to be in viola-
tion of any of the provisions of this act, which have not been actually
accepted by a railroad for shipment in interstate traffic, and to re-
quire the same to be repacked or remarked. Apples shall not be con-
sidered as actually accepted by a railroad for transportation until the
loading is finished, the car sealed and the bill of lading issued.

(d) To cause to be instituted through the Commonwealth’s at-
torneys of the State, or otherwise, in any county or city of the State
of Virginia, in which apples are packed, shipped, delivered for ship-
ment, offered for sale, or sold, or may be found, in violation of any
of the provisions of this act, prosecutions for such violations.

Section 4. When apples are delivered to a railroad station or
a common carrier for shipment, or delivered to a storage house for
storage, such delivery shall be prima facie evidence that the apples are
offered or exposed for sale.

Section 5. Any person, firm, company, organization or corpora-
tion, who shall violate any of the provisions of this act, shall be pun-
ishable by a fine of not less than ten ($10.00) dollars nor more than
five hundred ($500.00) dollars for each offense.

Section 6. No person, firm or corporation shall be prosecuted un-
der the provisions of this act:

(a) When he or it can establish by satisfactory evidence that
he or it was not a party to the packing, grading or marketing of such
apples.

(b) When he or it can establish that the apples offered for sale
have passed inspection by an authorized inspector of the State of
Virginia and bear the official Virginia State inspection stamp, or by
an inspector of the United States Department of Agriculture and
found to be packed in accordance with the requirements of the Com-
missioner of Agriculture and Immigration of Virginia.

Section 7. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of
this act is for any reason held to be unconstitutional, such decision
shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this act.