228 'JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY [Vol. 7 



35 per cent. This variation in the percentages of scales attacked 

 occurred on individual trees as well as on limbs or smaller branches of 

 the same tree. Of two samples of wood taken from the same branch, 

 •one gave no external evidence of the work of the insects while on the 

 other 10 per cent of the scales were parasitized. 



In our studies some attention was also directed to the occurrence of 

 parasites in orchards which have been regularly sprayed with the 

 lime-sulphur solution. It is of interest to note that in some instances 

 12 per cent of the scales were destroyed by the hymenopterons. 

 An examination of fifty large collections of wood from two orchards 

 that have been treated with the above spray for a number of years 

 gave an average of 7 per cent of parasites for each planting. 



Interesting as are these statistical accounts it is perhaps hardly 

 necessary to urge the danger of attaching positive values to the above 

 figures. It is apparent from our studies at the present time that the 

 parasites vary a good deal locally both in numbers and in the relative 

 importance of the different species. 



A member: It might be interesting to note in this connection that 

 San Jose scale is sometimes controlled by fungus disease particularly 

 during the wet weather. 



Mr. E. p. Felt: 1 would like to ask Doctor Howard whether he 

 has any information as to the possible value of these parasites for 

 controlling San Jose scale in the future? 



Mr. L. 0. Howard: It is guess work. I am quite positive, how- 

 ever, that newspaper advertising of the parasite work on the San Jose 

 scale is going to hurt the fruit-growing industry, because it will result 

 in many people giving up spraying. We do not know the intimate 

 relationships of the different species of parasites of this insect and 

 considerable study will be required before this information can be 

 secured. We used to think that when a parasite emerged from a 

 scale insect it was responsible for the death of the scale, but this is 

 not always true because the species concerned may be a secondary 

 parasite. 



Mr. W. E. Rumsey: I was much interested in President Parrott's 

 paper. During this season in West Virginia I found several orchards 

 where the scales were more thoroughly parasitized than any I have 

 ever seen before, 



Mr. H. T. Fernald : I have been watching the parasites of the 

 San Jose scale in Massachusetts for eight years and their numbers 

 have been discouragingly small during that time. In the fall of 1912, 

 however, quite a .large number of parasitized scales was found and 



