293 



Warner (L, E.). Some Troubles to Quarantine against and their 

 Nature. — Florida State Hortic. Sac Qtrli/.. Dc Land, Proceed ifi<^f> 

 :i-2m\ Ann. Meeting, 1919, pp. 113-121. [Received 8th May 1920.] 



This paper points out the enormous losses that have been caused 

 in Florida by the introduction of injurious insect pe.sts and plant 

 diseases while no quarantine measures were in force, and the great 

 importance of such measures in the future by the Quarantine Depart- 

 ment set up by the Florida Plant Act of 1915. The examples of the 

 gipsy and brown-tail moths [Porthetria dispar and Nygmia phaeorrhoea] 

 show how much more serious a pest becomes in a new environment 

 than it was in its original country. 



Of insect pests in the United States, which Florida has so far escaped, 

 the most important are the moths mentioned above, and various 

 plant diseases. Outside the United States there are many undesirable 

 insects of which perhaps the fruit-flies are the principal. The life- 

 histories of Ceratitis capitata (Mediterranean fruit-fly), Anastrepha 

 ladetis (Mexican orange maggot). Dacus cucurhitae (melon fly) and 

 Anastrepha jratercuhis (West Indian fruit -fly) are given to illustrate 

 this. The most probable avenue of introduction is the West Indies. 

 The whiteflies, of which Aleuroeantkus u-oglumi is the most feared, are 

 possible pests of Citrus in Florida, together with the purple scale 

 [Lepidosaphes beckii] and sooty mould w^hich follow it. 



Geiger (H. L.). Community Spraying and Compulsory Control. — 



Florida State Hortic. Soc. Qtrly., De Land, Proceedings 32nd 

 Ann. Meeting, 1919, pp. 122-125. [Received 8th May 1920.] 



It is almost impossible to obtain really successful results from 

 community spraying for several reasons. The chief of these is that 

 there is no means of preventing unprogressive individuals from under- 

 mining the good work of others, and the inspector who supervises the 

 spraying has no legal force to back him. The only feasible method is 

 through State legislation, compelling a community to control by con- 

 certed action and under the direction of competent inspectors all 

 insects and diseases that cannot be dealt with by individual endeavour. 

 A hst is given of insects and diseases of Citrus and other plants against 

 which such legislation might advantageously be directed. The 

 author considers that it is only a question of time for the benefits of 

 such compulsory control to be recognised. 



Sloan (G. D.). Does it pay to spray Citrus Trees ? — Florida State 

 Hortic. Soc. Qtrhj., De Land. Proceedings 32nd Ann. Meeting, 

 1919, pp. 129-133. [Received 8th May 1920.] 



Spraying is the only possible way of obtaining Citrus fruit of the 

 first quality. Whitefly and scale-insects may be controlled to a 

 certain extent by beneficial fungi, but in that case thrips and rust 

 mite must be left undisturbed as lime-sulphur and nicotine solutions^ 

 which easily control them, are also fungicides, and in addition the 

 necessity of a fungicide for the numerous fungus diseases of citrus 

 I makes impracticable the use of fungi as the sole preventative of white- 

 fly and scales. Spraying is an expensive operation as regards first 

 cost, and to be of value its application demands skill and thoroughness. 



