RETORT OF TEE EyTOMOLOGIST AXD BOTAXIST 245 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



tation is much earlier in Oregon and Washington States, from which most shipments 

 are made into British Columbia, it lias been arranged that for that province the fumi- 

 gating house shall be kept open for the winter months from October 15 till March 

 15. For Manitoba and the eastern provinces the spring season is from March 15 till 

 May 15, and the autumn season from October 7 till December 7.' 



The provisions of the federal San Jose Scale Act have been rigidly enforced and 

 with excellent results, for there has not been a single well-founded complaint of in- 

 jury to stock, of undue delay chargeable to the fumigation or of living scales having 

 been found on any trees in the large number of consignments of nursery stock which 

 have been imported into Canada through the fumigation stations. The superintend- 

 ents of the various stations are as follows : — At St. John, N. B., Mr. Herbert E. Goold ; 

 at St. John's, Que., Mr. P. H. Dupuis ; at Windsor, Out., Mr. Colborne Wright ; at 

 Niagara Falls, Ont., Mr. O. N. Garner ; at Winnipeg, Man., Mr. A. K. Leith ; and 

 at Vancouver, B.C., Mr. Tom Wilson. Every one of these officials has shown the 

 greatest interest in the work and, recognizing the responsibility imposed in him, has 

 made every effort to do the work thoroughly and well. 



There has been some misapprehension in the province of British Columbia as to 

 the exact object the Honourable Minister of Agriculture had in view when establish- 

 ing the fumigating house, and it is well to state plainly that this work is being done 

 6imply and solely against the San Jose Scale. The length of the exposure to which 

 the trees are subjected to the poisonous gas is calculated for the destruction of that 

 insect alone. Incidentally, many other insects on the bark of the trees are destroyed ; 

 but there are several, such as borers inside the wood, or insects in the egg condition, 

 which would be little affected by the short exposure of 45 minutes, and there never 

 was the slightest idea when the work was instituted, that these would be reached by this 

 fumigation. From the publication in a British Columbian newspaper of a letter con- 

 taining an unjust and unfair criticism of the fumigation work being done at Vancou- 

 ver, it became necessary to publish an explanation of this fact in the same newspaper, 

 the Vancouver Xews Advertiser (December 3, 1901). 



In this connection it is but just to draw attention to the excellent work which has 

 been done in Canada by the provincial Government of Ontario, through Mr. George E. 

 Fisher, the Inspector of San Jose Scale, who, since his appointment, has worked most 

 assiduously under instructions from the Honourable John Dryden, Minister of Agri- 

 culture for Ontario, in tracing up nursery stock imported before the enactment of the 

 San Jose Scale Act, in inspecting nurseries and orchards, and in trying careful experi- 

 ments with spraying pumps and nozzles, several important modifications and improve- 

 ments of which are due to his ingenuity. Mr. Fisher has also tried every remedy 

 which has been advised from time to time. I have had the privilege on many occa- 

 sions of examining this work and can testify to the zeal and care which have been 

 shown at all times by Mr. Fisher and his assistants. The most useful report of the 

 Inspector of San Jose Scale for 1900, published by the Ontario Government last spring 

 in time for use in 1901, ought to be read carefully by every one interested in fruit- 

 growing in Ontario. 



There is at the present time a much more decided and intelligent interest in this 

 subject than has been the case since the first appearance of the San Jose Scale in 

 Canada. Fruit-growers have learnt by bitter experience in some cases, or they have 

 seen in the orchards of others evidence of the capabilities of the San Jose Scale for 

 destroying fruit trees and the rapidity with which this work is accomplished. As a 

 result many are now trying remedies, who a short time ago refused to believe that 

 there was any use in them, or that any remedy was necessary. 



Remedies. — The great outcry to-day is for a definite remedy. After examining 

 the results of the Ontario experiments, and those of Prof. Webster, in Ohio, which, 

 on account of the very similar conditions prevailing in the two areas infested, are 

 complementary to eacli other, it is evident that there are three remedies, which may be 

 called practical remedies, by which the San Jose Scale may be controlled to such an 



