Introduction and Spread op the Pest. — This insect 

 is not a native of the United States but appears to have 

 been brought here from China where it occurs commonly 

 upon native food plants. It was introduced into the San 

 Jose Valley, California, about 1870 and the name of that 

 locality where it was first found has been adopted as the 

 common name of the scale. From California the species 

 was brought on nursery stock into the eastern states 

 shortly before 1893. It has since been spread by nursery 

 stock shipments until it now occurs in nearly every State 

 in the Union. During recent years, however, most of 

 the States have passed strict laws requiring the inspec- 

 tion of nurseries for the occurrence of the scale and the 

 fumigation of stock so as to kill any scales which might 

 possibly exist there before the stock can be legally sold 

 and distributed. The nurserymen have co-operated 

 heartily in this effort to prevent the further spread of 

 the pest so that now the buyer of fruit trees is very ef- 

 fectually protected against the planting of already in- 

 fested trees. Orchards may be started today much more 

 safely than they could ten years ago. 



Occurrence of the Scale in Alabama. — The known 

 extent of its occurrence in this State is indicated upon 

 the accompanying map (Fig. 1.). Without doubt it ex- 

 ists in many other places from which it has not yet been 

 reported. Very frequently its presence in an orchard is 

 not detected until some of the trees begin to die where- 

 upon the cause of their death is sought for. A character- 

 istic type of peach tree dying from this scale is shown in 

 Plate I, fig. 1. The dying of the trees does not usually 

 begin until some two or three years after the actual in- 

 troduction of the scale and it has thus an opportunity 

 to spread unchecked through the orchard. 



What is the Scale. — The San Jose scale is a minute, 

 inconspicuous insect which does not, to the untrained ob- 

 server, appear to be a living creature. The body of the 

 living insect is concealed beneath the circular, waxen 

 scale which it forms for its protection. The largest scales 



