WINTER MEETING. 317 



From our experiments in Missouri it is evident that whale-oil soap 

 used as directed will completely exterminate the San Jose scale on the 

 trees thus treated. 



Nurserj- stock that is infested with the San Jose scale should be 

 burned ; while stock that might possibly be slightly infested by being 

 grown near (one mile or less) regions that are infested, should be fumi- 

 gated as a precaution, even though no scales are detected on such 

 stock. The nature of the scale renders it impossible to make a com- 

 plete inspection and detection of the pest in nursery stock, and hence 

 the necessity of a thorough fumigation. The fumigation should con- 

 sist of hydrocyanic acid gas generated in a tightly closed box or room 

 in which the stock is placed. 



The following is a reliable plan : Select or have made a tight room 

 or large box and place the nursery stock in it, filling it up if necessary^ 

 and then generate the hydrocyanic acid gas by placing it in an earthen 

 bowl, two parts sulphuric acid mixed with six parts water, put this in 

 the box or room, and when all is ready, drop one part cyanide of pot- 

 assium in the bowl of weak acid and close the door immediately. Of 

 course the door should fit tightly so that no gas ( to amount to any- 

 thing ) can escape. Every precaution should be taken not to breath 

 the gas, since it is extremely poisonous. Leave the plants under the 

 influence of the gas for one-half to three-quarters of an hour. 



The proper amount of the ingredients required, depends on the 

 size of the room or box, but it is safe to say that one ounce of the 

 cyanide of potassium should be used for every 150 cubic feet of the 

 room space. For instance, a room ten feet by ten feet by six feet 

 would contain 600 cubic feet, and after the nursery stock is in, the 

 bowl should be supplied with eight ounces of sulphuric acid and 

 twenty-four ounces of water stirred together, and when all is ready, 

 fourounces of cyanide of potassium should be added. 



Open and air the room before entering to remove the plants. 

 We are indebted to the following railroads for material assistance 

 in carrying on the work of inspecting orchards : Kansas City, Fort 

 Scott & Memphis R. R. Co., St. Louis & San Francisco R. R. Co., 

 Hannibal & St. Joseph R. R. Co., St. Louis Keokuk & Northwest- 

 ern R. R. Co., Kansas City, St. Joseph & Council Bluffs R. R. Co. 

 and the Chicago, Burlington & Kansas City R. R. Co. 



J. M. Stedman, Entomologist, Columbia, Mo. 



