No. 6. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 569 



eral insects, such as gTasshoi)pers, beetles, etc., have been found 

 carrying this Scale in its young- and creeping stage. 



Second, by birds that light upon trees that are infested with the 

 Scale, the young pests crawling upon the feet of the birds are 

 thus carried to various distances. This, however, means that the 

 insect should be destroyed and not the birds. 



Third, the wind may blow the young insects to other trees just 

 as dust is carried, or it may blow leaves upon which they have 

 crawled, in an active condition, and thus carry them along. They 

 are not conve,yed, hoAvever, by leaves to which they have fixed and 

 commenced to feed for thev cannot free themselves from leaves and 

 attach again to another tree. 



Fourth, they are carried by the larger animals, such as cats and 

 squirrels that climb trees, as well as by live stock that may walk 

 under the trees and upon which they fall. 



Fifth, they are carried by the workmen themselves, upon whose 

 clothing these young pests may fall, and then be carried from 

 tree to tree. This has been known to be done. 

 . Sixth, where the branches of trees touch one another it, of course, 

 crawls from tree to tree. It must be remembered that all these 

 means refer to the distribution of tlie insect in its young or active 

 stage only. 



I should here call attention to the fact that it is not conveyed 

 upon ripe fruit of any kind in any of its stages, because upon ri])o 

 fruit it is in its fixed condition and cannot free itself, when in this 

 stage, and become fixed at any other place. Thus the Germans and 

 others, who prohibit the importation of American fruits to their 

 countries, because our fruits may have this pest upon them, are 

 acting in ignorance of a scientific and biological principle which 

 recognizes the fact that the San Jos6 Scale never multiplies or liv(>s 

 after having fixed upon ripe fruits. 



The chief way in which it is carried over great distances is upon 

 the branches or trunks of young trees sent for propagation and 

 by cuttings that are to be used as grafts, buds, or other means 

 of propagation. On these it is nearly always in the fixed or older 

 stage, and in this stage it is not carried in any other way than 

 upon the woody plants that are to grow again. This means that 

 for extensive distribution our nurseries are the source of great 

 evil. For this reason our State is carefully inspecting the nurseries 

 and compelling them to fumigate all trees found infested before 

 they can be sold. Fumigation may be made effective; but it is 

 not always so, and the purchaser is Justified in refusing trees that 

 have the San Jos6 Scale upon them whether they have been fumi- 

 gated or not. 



There are several remedies for this pest and roost of them vary 

 37 



