DEPARTMENT REPORTS. 89 



more to be feared than peach yellows, as it appears to be more virulent 

 in its action. As with yellows, nothing has been learned regarding its 

 nature, but while it perhaps cannot be controlled to the same extent, 

 the losses from this disease can undoubtedly be kept within bounds by 

 removing the trees in which the disease appears. 



The black peach aphis and the woolly aphis upon the apple have done 

 less injury than in previous years, owing perhaps to the fact that the 

 summer has been unusually moist in most sections. The former does 

 very little harm, except to young trees, and upon light soil. By fumi- 

 gating infested nursery stock and treating orchard trees with wood 

 ashes and manure to force the growth, this insect can be kept from doing . 

 serious harm. The same treatment also generally sufficies against the 

 woolly aphis. 



One of the leading drawbacks in securing effective action against the 

 San Jose scale is the fact that few persons are able to detect it upon 

 the trees and then, even though they are provided with a spraying out- 

 fit, they often fail to properly prepare the mixture or, what is more 

 common, to take sufficient care in spraying the trees to cover the branches. 

 In order that these difficulties might be corrected, arrangements have 

 been made for a large number of demonstration meetings. Most of 

 these were held in infested orchards, where there was an opportunity to 

 show the appearance of the scale and the methods by which it could be 

 detected. Arrangements were also made for preparing a quantity of 

 the sulphur-lime mixture and applying it to the trees. These meetings 

 were pronounced by those in attendance very helpful. In some in- 

 stances the interest shown was all that could be asked, but in others 

 parties having infested orchards and living within a few rods of where 

 the meeting was held failed to attend, although they had no knowledge 

 of the scale and lacked experience as to the preparation and applica- 

 tion of remedies. 



Under the best of conditions the San Jose scale will undoubtedly spread 

 at least over the southern half of the state. It will unquestionably 

 attack nearly all of the fruit trees and unless steps are taken to destroy 

 it, the infested orchards will be ruined in from one to five years. In 1906 

 the spread of this insect, especially in the peach orchards, was very 

 rapid. At the close of the season it was not uncommon to find entire 

 orchards killed by the scale in which it had hardly gained a foothold 

 in 1905. 



While many thousands of trees will undoubtedly be destroyed by the 

 scale within the next five years, fruit growers who keep a careful watch 

 of their trees and spray them thoroughly as soon as the presence of 

 the insect can be detected will not only be able to save their orchard, 

 but the increased care in other ways which they will almost certainly 

 give their trees cannot fail to add both to the quantity and quality of 

 the fruit. 



During the last ten years the fruit and forest trees of Massachusetts 

 have been seriously injured by two insects known as the gipsy and brown- 

 tail moths, and although the ravages of the former, which is the more 

 destructive of the two, have been for the most part to an area a little 

 larger than the average Michigan county, in order to hold it in check 

 nearly one million dollars will be spent this season by the state and 

 municipal authorities and private owners. Although the female gipsy 

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