CURRANT SCALE. 48 



at the date at which they have been now observed, namely, the 

 beginning of December. This date appears to be too late (in regular 

 course) for the summer brood, and too early for the winter or early 

 spring brood, which hatches (see p. 41) in February. Possibly the 

 mild season may have made a difference, but unless the species when 

 on Easpberry customarily occurs thus in larval state at the end of 

 November or beginning of December, the practice of clearing the 

 fruited canes with their infestation might be expected to keep it well 

 down. 



For prevention of attack in the ordinary cases of infestation on 

 Currant and Gooseberry, the date of winter pruning is very important. 

 It is desirable that this should be done, and the Scale-infested boughs 

 cleared from the bushes, and also from the ground where they fall in 

 pruning, and burnt before the time when the larval Scales will be 

 hatching and dispersing themselves about bushes. It slwxdd be done 

 quite by the commencement of February. Also it is desirable, after the 

 prunings have been gathered up, to stir the surface of the soil under 

 the bushes, and to throw a little quick-lime, or any preventive mixture 

 preferred, on the soil just round the stems to prevent the little Scales 

 making their way back to the branches. 



Currants trained on walls require attention, and perhaps a rod 

 occasionally taken out, down to the root. In my own garden I have 

 found the Scales in patches at intervals on a length of several feet of 

 White Currant. 



Looking at the manner in which the Scales shelter under ragged 

 bark, and also (especially in the case of Gooseberry bushes) on the 

 under side of the branches where these are thick enough to protect 

 them from weather influences or other enemies, it is obvious that 

 attention should be carefully directed to these points, both by pruning 

 off old rough boughs where this treatment is allowable, and by spray- 

 ing, and also by running soap wash on and down the infested boughs, 

 so as to lodge in the rough bark and kill the tenants. Probably any 

 of the common soft-soap washes, especially those that are mixed with 

 sulphur or mineral oil, would be of use ; and in communication with 

 one of my correspondents he mentioned that he had found " Chiswick 

 Compound" very effective in destroying Scale on his infested Goose- 

 berry bushes. This mixture is procurable from the Chiswick Soap 

 Company, Chiswick, Middlesex, and probably it would be as serviceable 

 an application as could easily be found, as it is a mixture of soft-soap 

 and sulphur, which act well against these kinds of bark infestations, 

 and it has the advantage of the sulphur becoming soluble (so as to be 

 completely mixed with the wash) in from sixteen to twenty-four hours 

 after the requisite amount of hot water to dilute the mixture to a safe 

 strength has been added. 



