478 THE MONTHLY BULLETIN, 



length, and of a reddish brown color. At this time of the year the 

 scales are very young, and as soon as the leaves upon which they pre- 

 viously have been feeding begin to fall, they migrate to the twigs 

 and settle there. During the spring they increase in size and reach 

 maturity in April and May, when great quantities of eggs are laid. 

 The scales excrete large quantities of a sticky substance known as 

 honeydew, which covers the leaves and fruit. On the sticky leaves 

 and fruit a black smut fungus grows, which shuts off the light 

 from the leaf surfaces, thereby interfering with the leaf functions. 

 Besides the smut fungus, the honeydew collects large quantities of dust, 

 which also is detrimental to the trees. This is a very common scale, 

 occurring throughout the entire State. The prune and apricot are the 

 principal favorites, but the plum, cherry, peach, pear and sometimes 

 grapes are attacked. 



How to Control. — Spraying while the trees are dormant as late in 

 the season as possible, before the fruit buds begin swelling, will effect- 

 ually control this insect. The miscible oils and crude emulsion are 

 used almost exclusively. S. W. Foster recommends crude oil emulsion 

 as being the most efficient spray to use. Foster states that if the trees 

 are reasonably free from moss and lichens, and have only a mild in- 

 festation, eight gallons of the prepared crude oil emulsion to 100 gallons 

 of the spray will be sufficient ; for a bad infestation, and if the trees 

 are covered with moss and lichens ten gallons of the commercial emulsion 

 should be used for every 100 gallons of the spray. The formula for 

 the home-made crude oil emulsion is as follows: 



Crude Oil Emulsion. 



Water 175 gallons 



Liquid soap 3 gallons 



Crude oil direct from the wells 25 gallons 



Fill the spray tank with the 175 gallons of water and add the liquid 

 soap ; agitate thoroughly one minute, after which add the crude oil ; 

 continue to agitate while the spray is being applied. 



To kill the moss or lichens on the trees add two pounds of lye to 

 the formula of the stock solution. 



Distillate Emulsion. 



Distillate, 28° Baume 20 gallons 



Wliale oil soap 30 pounds 



"Water to mix 12 gallons 



Dissolve the whale oil soap in the water, heating it to the boiling 

 point; add the distillate and agitate thoroughly while the soluton is 

 heating. For use add 20 gallons of water to each gallon of the above 

 mixture. 



The prepared crude oil emulsion, as well as the distillate oil emulsion, 

 can be purchased from the various insecticide dealers throughout the 

 State. 



