470 THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



sections of the state. We are also receiving large shipments of mealy 

 bug parasites from Japan. Of these, several species have been released 

 in the field, and the results will be known later. An important ladybird 

 enemy of the mealy bug from the Philippine Islands, which was secured 

 by Mr. Smith last year during his trip to the Orient, has been success- 

 fully reared in the State Insectary, and a colony of several thousands 

 has been placed in an orchard heavily infested by mealy bugs. Of 

 course, we all understand that it will take several years for these para- 

 sites to increase sufficiently to be of any material benefit. 



Everything was looking bright for success when the war cut short 

 the service all along the line. I assure you that we are not discouraged 

 or thwarted in our enterprise. As' soon as the war cloud rises we shall 

 go ahead vigorously, and maybe we will not be obliged to await that 

 glad day. 



Work in Mycology. 



I need not rehearse here how seriously fungi eat into the profits of 

 the fruit growers. You know how gum disease and wither tip are 

 playing havoc vnth our ledger accounts. With apparently no money 

 to meet the expense I besought the consent of the State Board of Control 

 to secure a mycologist and hastened to win Prof. H. S. Fawcett to our 

 aid. I need not tell you of his honest, untiring work, fairly camping in 

 the field, or of his brilliant success in discovering the cause of and cure 

 for the fatal gum disease. One enthusiast says this alone has saved 

 millions to our state. Professor Fawcett completed this work as 

 described in The Monthly Bulletin, Vol. 2, No. 8, before he left the 

 service of the Commission. I can not refrain from words of hearty 

 appreciation for the kindly aid of the State University in giving us 

 laboratory facilities at Whittier, of Messrs. Boal of the San Diego 

 Lemon Company and of C. C. Teague of the Limoneira Company at 

 Santa Paula who not only gave room and equipment for Professor 

 Fawcett 's invaluable researches but also fed and slept him when he 

 was working in their groves. They also permitted him to inoculate 

 their healthy trees for the good of the industry. Without this assist- 

 ance we would have been powerless to uncover these minute but mighty 

 destroyers. I need not tell you that we saw Professor Fawcett leave 

 the Commission with deep regret, yet w^e had a lack of funds to properly 

 equip him for such service. I believe also that research work can be 

 done with greater economy by the University, and Doctor Webber 

 assured me that they would hold Professor Fawcett rigidly to this 

 exclusive research work, for which he has proven himself so excep- 

 tionally capable, both here and in Florida. 



Publications. 



There was a lamentable lack of monographs on our various fruits 

 when I took office, and the four or five different bulletins on hand were 

 much out of date. Inquiries came daily for aid in this direction. We 

 have secured fresh, up-to-date treatises on alfalfa, the almond, apricot, 

 cherry, date, peach, pear, plum, prune, walnut, avocado and citrus 

 fruits, and have now in the press a monograph on the apple. 



