416 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



ing the windows of some of the largest stores. They were not only 

 ornamental but the llavor was elegant. These apples were sold 

 before any of the other exhibitors had a bid. The beauty and flavor 

 of these apples is attributed to judicious spraying. 



The apple tree borer is still doing more injury than we are aware 

 of. We have found this borer wliere people did not in the least 

 suspect it. I cannot give my authority, but I have been informed 

 that this flat-headed borer had a very effective enemy in a species of 

 ichneumon fly which, in some of the counties from which the apples 

 come, keeps the borer in control. If this is correct, we would sug- 

 gest that a study of the fly be taken up by our State Entomologist. 



The bird-shot borer is in evidence in many parts of the State in 

 our peach orchards and is one of the most difficult pests to control 

 and, therefore, i« spreading rapidly. I have not heard of any other 

 insects than the usual ones that attack the peach, plum, pear, 

 cherry and other fruits this year. 



The San Jos6 Scale can be controlled by the use of the salt, lime 

 and sulphur wash, and wherever this remedy has been used it has 

 not only demonstrated its effectiveness on the scale, but proven to 

 be one of the best fungicides and remedies for other insects; and, 

 therefore, we would urge this Board to use every means in its 

 power to assist our Economic Zoologist in his efforts to induce all 

 whose trees are infected to use this remedy; in fact, it seems to us 

 it would pay to use the lime, sulphur and salt wash where there is 

 no scale. I recommended this solution in the western part of the 

 State where there is very little or no scale, to destroy the fungi with 

 which the fruit is affected and to keep the trees clean. The insects 

 affecting the cereal crops have, so far as we could learn, done no 

 more than normal injury to the crops. It seems that the Hessian 

 fly is kept in check by its parasitic enemies of which there are at 

 least seven primary parasites in this country. The chinch bug has 

 not done very much injury to crops this year, to the best of our 

 knowledge. A great deal of work has been done in the states of 

 Illinois, Kansas and Wisconsin, in introducing fungus diseases for 

 checking the operations of this bug which, up to this time, has not 

 shown very encouraging results. It seems that the army worm has 

 not been very destructive this year and that it has been kept in 

 control by its ever present enemy or parasite, the Tachina fly. Dur- 

 ing our tour of the western counties, we came across a corn smut 

 which has done considerable damage in those counties. 



Insects effecting the health of our rural districts, is a subject 

 which should receive the attention of this Board. The malaria-bear- 

 ing mosquitoes should be studied and remedies prescribed for their 

 extermination. Frequently we hear of outbreaks of tyi)hoid fever 

 in rural districts for which there seems to be no apparent cause; 

 but which, if it were possible to make a thorough examination, 

 could be traced to insects, such as house-flies, carrying the germs 

 from infected districts. 



We cannot conclude this report, without commending the very 

 efficient work done by our Economic Zoologist, Prof. H. A. Sur- 

 face, and bespeak the co-operation of this Board in assisting him in 

 every way possible in the future as in the past. 



MR. HUTCHISON: The Professor spoke of Oregon apples in his 



