20 THE REPORT OF THE No. 19 



And now that these results are secured, fruic growers and particularly those in infested 

 sections, will appreciate the Minister's persistent effort in their behalf, and we trust such 

 thorough use of the remedies will be made as will speedily bring the pest well under control. 



Dr. Fletcher : Said that he was glad to be able to confirm the results obtained by Mr. 

 Fisher in the case of the San .Jose scale. 



He had just been through the scene of these experiments with Mr. Fisher and Mr. Gib- 

 son, and saw these very trees that were treated with lime and sulphur, and they were just as 

 healthy as trees need to be. The scale was very abundant at the beginning of the season, but 

 now there are only a very small number of living scales there, which shows that this remedy 

 is very eiTective. The treatment does not cost more than it is worth, and the application of it 

 is useful in more ways than one, because it destroys many other injurious insects, and we have 

 in it a remedy which comes next to the Bordeaux mixture. Lime, sulphur and salt is one of 

 the very best fungicides we know of and when we find that it is one of the best and che ipest 

 applications for destroying the San .Jose scale, and at the same time will remove many other 

 diseases that. affect the tree, we should appreciate the efforts of the men who have given us 

 this remedy. 



Until the San Jose scale was introduced into Ontario, our greatest loss was from the brown 

 rot of the plum, and the black spot of the apple. Mr. Evans has a specimen that he is going to 

 show to the meeting, which will illustrate how reports come back from European markets of 

 the fruit we ship. The farmers ship them in comparatively good condition, they only see a 

 small amount of spot upon the apple. This sample will show you what condition these 

 apples are in when they reach the European markets. What does this mean, it means that 

 the fruit growers have not taken the proper care to properly treat their trees ; these apples 

 were shipped in comparatively proper condition ; but the shipment-, was delayed for three" 

 weeks and this is the condition in which the apples were found. [ Apples were exhibited which 

 were so spotted and pitted with rot as to be absolutely unmarketable, and yet they were 

 shipped three weeks before in an apparently sound condition.] 



Prof. Loc'iTHEAD : I can assure you there is no person more pleased than I am, at the 

 favourable re.^ults of Mr. Fisher's experiments. 



Any person who has had anything to do with the San Jose scale knows the destruction it 

 creates. The question is often put to the Entomologist, what are you here for if you can't get 

 rid of the .scale ? 



Mr. Fisher was with me at the Pittsburg meeting of Economic Entomologists and I can 

 assure the members here, that we are ahead of the United States as far as the treatment of 

 San Jose scale is concerned. Although they reported the results of the lime and sulphur 

 treatment, there was a good deal of divergence of opinion at that meeting. 



Mr. Fisher : There seems to be some difficulty in cooking this mixture properly. The 

 lime and sulphur preparation requires a great deal of cooking Two hours are absolutely 

 necessary and three hours are better than two. I am not a chemist and I cannot explain the 

 trouble from a scientific stand point. Our practice has been to put a quantity of water in a 

 kettle and bring it to a boil, we then put the lime into the boiling water, and as soon as we 

 got it slaked, we threw in the sulphur. The slaking of the lime seems to have 

 a good effect in reducing the sulphur. This is cooked for two hours. When the sulphur is first 

 introduced into the lime, the mixture is of a light silvery color and it remains about the same 

 color during the first hour and a half, then it begins to shade away to a dark deep amber, and 

 some that we cooked longer became a greenish color and had quite a green cast. If the mix- 

 ture is properly made you cannot wash it off the trees, nor can you wash it off your hands, if 

 you get any on. 



