22 INTRODUCTORY. 



CHAPTER III. 



Progress of the Warfare Against Insect Pests from January 1, 

 1879, to April 1, 1883. 



Previous to January 1, 1879, the codlin moth, oyster-shell 

 bark louse, San Jose scale insect, and black scale on decid- 

 uous fruit trees, and the soft orange scale, black scale, and 

 red scale on citrus trees, were found to be spreading rapidly in 

 some fruit growing districts. Excepting a few individuals, 

 but little notice was taken of their presence. In 1879 some 

 individual efforts were made to save the crops, which were 

 successful. But, notwithstanding the great interests at stake, 

 not one fruit grower out of every five hundred attempted to 

 make any effort to prevent the spread of these enemies of their 

 industry. Some fruit growers ridiculed the idea of any serious 

 results occurring from the presence of such minute creatures ; 

 others seemed satisfied that the pests would disappear as they 

 came, without any eff'ort of the fruit growers. 



On the 29th of October, 1879, I visited an orchard seriously 

 infested by San Jose scale [A. perniciosus). I recommended 

 the owner to spray his trees with an alkaline solution. On 

 the morning of the 30th he met the gentleman who accompa- 

 nied me to his orchard, and said the idea of washing trees was 

 only a hobby. Had he done, as advised, in November, 1879, 

 what he afterwards did in the Spring of 1882, he could have 

 saved one half of liis orchard, which luid to he dug out. 



In 1880 matters became so serious in some localities that 

 efforts were made to destroy the pests. Such a difference of 

 opinion existed as to tlie jiroper remedies to ])e employed, that 

 a great deal of the work done did not produce very favorable 

 results, thus leaving the matter in a more hopeless condition 

 that in 1879. 



The securing of legislation for the protection of the horti- 

 cultural interests of the State, in the Winter of 1880 and 1881 

 (the laws passed taking effect on March 14, 1881), brought the 

 subject of insect pest prominently before the fruit-growers- 

 The results of the work done in 1881, 1882, and in the Spring 

 of 1883, may be stated as follows : 



