THE REPORT OF THE No. 19 



everywhere throughout it. There are quite a number of just such orchards as that, and they 

 constitute an object lesson which is constantly before the people — they cannot close their eyes 

 to a dead orchard. In another orchard I have eaten peaches this last summer gathered from 

 trees which have since become encrusted with the scale and will soon die from the attack. 



There is a third orchard that I know of, a large orchard, from which about 25,000 baskets 

 of peaches were picked this year. About the 2^th of September I visited it and found the scale 

 on every tree along a row reaching across the orchard ; unless this orchard is put under proper 

 treatment at once it has only one more year to live The alarming rapidity with which the 

 scale spreads when once it has found lodgment causes it to be so destructive and so difficult to 

 control. Thus far I have spoken of peach trees, but the scale attacks other kinds also. We 

 have instances of plum trees, pear trees and even apple trees which are dead from the attack of 

 the scale. Apple trees I have found more resistant than peach and was inclined at first to think 

 that they would not be much affected, but the evidence to the contrary is too conclusive when 

 we find apple trees which have been killed outright by the scale. The lower limbs are usually 

 attacked first and then it spreads upwards till the whole tree is infested. I visited an apple 

 orchard of 350 trees in 1899 which was then bearing well ; the scale was found but the infesta- 

 tion was slight. Last year it bore a good crop of fruit, but it is doomed and will never bear 

 again — most of the trees will be dead next year. 



Now, as to remedies. There are four which serve good purposes. These are whale-oil 

 soap ; crude petroleum, and a combination of these two ; lime, salt and sulphur (the favorite 

 wash in California) ; and fumigation with hydro-cyanic acid gas. Whale-oil soap should be 

 made strong, 2^ lbs. of good soap to a gallon of hot water, and should be applied freely to 

 saturate every part of the tree. Many people sprayed only one side of their trees, waiting for the 

 wind to change to do the other, and ending by leaving it undone. Others sprayed the trunk 

 where there was no scale and left the boughs alone, though they were full of it. 



Crude petroleum should be applied with great care ; it seems to be perfectly safe when 

 used for apple trees, which stand it better than any others, but is very dangerous for peach 

 trees. I have never seen an apple tree which has been injured by it in this country ; in New 

 Jersey some trees have been killed, but it was not the crude petroleum that was used. I have 

 found better results from it than from whale-oil soap, and it has also the advantage of being 

 cheaper. The combination of soap and oil is a remedy which requires to be worked out. I am 

 doubtful about it at present but I believe that it will yet prove an excellent remedy when the 

 right proportions have been ascertained by experiment. Fifteen per cent, crude petroleum 

 with water kills the scale but endangers the tree ; 25 per cent, with 1 lb. whale-oil soap and a 

 wallon of water is effective and not injurious to the same extent. 



Lime, salt and sulphur as a remedy I like very much, but it is diflicult to prepare ; it re- 

 quires some convenient mode of cooking, which is the important part, and the apparatus neces- 

 sary for this is not always to be had. When cooked half a day, using lime that had been 

 slacked in boiling water, it worked well, and so whitened every part of the tree that it reached 

 that its application could be clearly seen ; no portion of the tree should be left untouched. The 

 reasoii this wash is so much more effective in California is because there are no heavy rains 

 there to wash it off. Still, it can be used to good purpose here. Last May was very wet, and 

 it began to rain while we were treating some trees and continued for a long time, yet the wash 

 was successful, and we expect still better results in dry weather. 



Fumigation with hydro-cyanic acid gas we tried at different points and at different times 

 during the season, beginning in April and continuing till September. Over 300 trees were 

 treated and a single live scale cannot be found on one of them. In the orchards trees affected 

 by scale were marked and fumigated, the rest were sprayed. It is a troublesome and expensive 

 remedy, but it will pay the fruit-grower to use it, when he would otherwise lose his trees. 



