236 ANNUAL EEPORTS OF DEPAETMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



cranberry out there. It has already been shown that the methods of 

 control of tlie blackhead fireworm effective in the East are also 

 effective against this insect under the conditions in the State of 

 Washington. 



PEACH INSECTS. 



Additional information on the use of fumigants in the control of 

 the peach borer has been obtained. It now appears probable that 

 b}' the proper use of para-dichlorobenzene, applied in small doses 

 around the base of trees during the fall of the year, this pest may be 

 controlled at a minimum cost; but further tests under a A'ariet}" of 

 conditions are under way. Positive recommendations probably will 

 be made at the end of the present growing season. 



On account of the interest aroused in the dusting of apple orchards, 

 peach growers desire to know whether this method of insect and dis- 

 ease control is applicable to peach orchards. Therefore, in coopera- 

 tion with the Bureau of Plant Industry, experiments have been car- 

 ried on at Fort Valley, Ga., concerning the value of arsenate of lead 

 and sulphur dust in the control not only of the plum curculio but of 

 peach-scab and brown-rot. Similar experiments are in progress in 

 Arkansas and at points in West Virginia, Maryland, and Michigan. 

 Results are not yet available, but it is hoped that positive recom- 

 mendations can be made before next year's spraying season. 



The so-called oriental peach moth, mentioned in the last report as 

 a newly established peach pest from Japan, has received particular 

 attention. It has been found to attack not only peaches but apples, 

 pears, quinces, plums, and cherries, and bids fair to be a serious pest. 

 The present distribution of the insect is under investigation, and the 

 facts Avill soon be placed at the disposal of State entomologists and 

 others concerned with nursery and fruit quarantines;. Posters show- 

 ing the injury done by this insect have been widely distributed. 



Much complaint has recently been received from Oregon of damage 

 by the so-called California peach-borer. It appears that this insect 

 at present is unusually destructive to prunes. An investigation has 

 been begun. 



NATURAL CONTROL OF DECIDUOUS-FRUIT INSECTS. 



Investigations of the parasites of the grape-berry moth, under way 

 for several years at North East, Pa., have been completed, and much 

 additional knowledge has been gained. About 50 species of parasites 

 of this insect have been found, only 7 or 8, however, of sufficient nu- 

 merical importance to be at all effective. In the same way the insect 

 parasites of other deciduous-fruit pests have been studied. Study of 

 the fungous diseases of these pests and other insects has also been con- 

 tinued under this section of the bureau's work. This is a very prom- 

 ising line of investigation and encouraging results have been ob- 

 tained. A new disease attacking the citrus mealybug of Louisiana 

 has been discovered. 



Similar work on the value of predatory insects in deciduous-fruit 

 insect control has been carried on, partly in cooperation with the Cali- 

 fornia State Horticultural Commission, since the need of more exact 

 information in this direction has become very evident. 



