42 THE REPORT OF THE No. 19 



, A 



the opening of spring they grow rapialy and soon become distended with the quantity of egg 

 produced. In May or early in June the formation of the egg sac begins ; this is composed of 

 threads of wax extruded from the body in great numbers till they form the large cottony tuft 

 already referred to. In this mass of filaments the eggs are deposited and there they remain 

 till the end of June, or well into July, and then produce the myriads of orange coloured lice, 

 thus completing the annual life history. 



With so wide-spread an attack it stems almost hopeless to prescribe a remedy. Spraying 

 with kerosene emulsion made with coal-oil and soap suds, will destroy the young lice, even 

 using a diluted mixture, but not the eggs ; it will therefore require to be repeated several 

 times at intervals of about a week, as the eggs do not all hatch out at once. This should be 

 done as soon as the young lice are seen to appear, usually about the end of June. Much may 

 be done also by cutting off and burning or crushing the twigs infested by the cottony masses, 

 as early in the season as they are first noticed ; the appearance of the white tufts indicates that 

 the female is producing her mass of eggs. A tree that is known to have been badly infested 

 ^hould be pruned in the winter and the cuttings burnt, as the scales hibernate on the twigs, 

 and a lai'ge number may thus be destroyed. 



Though the attack this year in London is general throughout the city and is certainly 

 serious, some comfort may be derived from the fact that this injurious insect is usually kept in 

 check by its natural enemies, especially by the lady-bii'd beetles and minute ichneumon flies, 

 and probably by fungous diseases and sudden atmospheric changes. After a few years of 

 abundance, during which it inflicts much damage, it often ceases for a considerable time to le 

 noticeable. Outbreaks somewhat similar to the present, though perhaps not quite so serious, 

 have been recorded at intervals. In 1898, for instance, Mr. R. W. Rennie mentioned in the 

 Report for that year that this insect appeared in such numbers that " on one of the finest 

 streets in the city (London) the trees looked as if they had been sprayed with whitewash." 



In the discussion that followed upon the reading of the paper. Dr. Howard said that he 

 thought the abundance of the scale this year was caused by the excessive moisture of the last 

 two seasons. The chief parasitic enemies of the insect are minute ichneumon flies, which are 

 unable to fly about and lay their eggs in \vet weather ; consequently the scales were not ke[)t 

 in check as they would be in fine dry weather. He had noticed that aphides thrive best in 

 wet seasons, and evidently for the same reason. The usual experience was that there were 

 rarely serious outbreaks of this scale for two consecutive years, as their natural enemies kept 

 them in check. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF THE SAN JOSE SCALE IN ONTARIO. 

 By W. LocHHEAn, Ontario AciRicuLTCRAL College, Guelph. 



It is now nearly ten years since the San .Jose scale made its a])pearance in the United 

 States east of the Rockit s, and it is about seven years since it first appeared in Ontario. It has 

 made progress in that time in spite of all the eftbrts which lave been put forth to keep it under 

 control. In the St. Catharines district there are but few orchards which have escaped invasion, 

 and many have succumbed to the terrible attack. In the West the scale is vei'y prevalent in 

 South Essex and Kent. Although the scale is so Avide spread in these districts, yet we must 

 remember that if it had not been for the energetic action of the Government in appointing 

 inspectors, and in passing the Fumigation Act for the treatment of nursery stock, in my 

 judgment the scale would have spread to most parts of the Province. 



Never before has the San Jose scale problem seemed so easy of solution as it is to-day. 

 After long experimentation we now know that we have methods which are both eff'ective and 

 easy to apply. The whole solution of the difficulty lies now with the fruit-grower himself. 



