SAN JOSE SCALE; ORCHARD SPRAYING AND 

 ORCHARD PROTECTION. 



By Franklin Sherman, Jr., Entomologist. 



PART I. 



THE SAN JOSE SCALE. 



(Aspidiotus perniciosus, Comstoch.) 

 Order Hemiptera. Family Coccidce. 



Introduction. — The San Jose Scale (pronounced San Ho-zay, witli 

 accent on last syllable) is widely distributed in North Carolina and does 

 great harm to orchard trees which become infested, unless they be thor- 

 oughly and persistently treated. In order to combat it to the best advan- 

 tage some knowledge of its life-history, habits, means of spread, etc., is 

 necessary. If any one, after reading this Bulletin and carefully 

 examining his trees, becomes convinced that they are infested, he should 

 cut some of the infested twigs and mail them to this office for examina- 

 tion. 



Appearance of the Insect. — Trees that are badly infested with the San 

 Jose Scale appear as if they had been dusted over with ashes. If the 

 branches and twigs where the insects are numerous be scraped with a 

 knife it will be seen that this unnatural covering is quite easily removed, 

 coming off in little flaky patches. Examined under a hand magnifying- 

 glass the thickly infested twigs present an appearance as shown at h in 

 Figure 1. Each of the little circular gray objects is a separate scale, each 

 covering a tiny yellow insect underneath. On thickly infested branches 

 they often become so crowded that the scales are piled over one another 

 so that the real bark of the tree is not visible at all. Branches and twigs 

 which are only slightly or moderately infested will not be thus completely 

 covered over, and the bark may be of its ordinary color and appearance 

 except here and there along the branches where the scattering scales are 

 found. The largest full-grown scales are about the size of an average 

 pinhead. They can, therefore, be detected by any person who has in the 

 beginning an intelligent idea of the insect, has sharp eyes, and looks in 

 the right place. 



Usually the farmer or fruit-grower does not know that there is any 

 serious trouble until the trees begin to die. By that time they are covered 

 by the scales and present the ashy appearance. Then, if the owner finds 

 that his trouble is San Jose Scale, he is apt to think that it is only on 

 those trees that present the unnatural appearance, when in reality it may 

 already be on every tree in the orchard. Such a mistake often costs the 



