19 



Mr. Howard stated that a number of secondary parasites of the 

 genus Tetrastichus had issued, but Mr. Ehrhorn was forewarned and 

 isolated them as fast as the}' emerged, so there was no danger. 



Mr. Lounslmry stated that the history of the case dated back to his 

 first arri\al in Cape Colony. Before he had been there a year he 

 noticed that the black scale was not injurious, and upon tra^'eling 

 about the Colony he found the same condition true over many thousand 

 miles of territor}-. Later, upon obtaining specimens of the parasite 

 and corresponding with Mr. Howard on the subject, the latter had sug 

 gested his sending it to California. For four years he had been watch- 

 ing for an opportunity to get a sufficient number of parasites to send, 

 but the scale is so well kept in check by the parasites or by other fac- 

 tors that until this year he was unable to find a lai-ge quantity. Last 

 year he mentioned the matter in his annual report, a copy of which he 

 had sent to Mr. Ehrhorn, who at once wrote and asked him to take steps 

 to get the parasite established in California. He replied that he would 

 gladly do all he could, l^ut would like Mr. Ehrhorn to make it a formal 

 matter- so that he might be able to spend the time and money necessary. 

 This was done and Mr. Lounsbury received formal orders to go ahead. 

 He set about in two ways: First, he had scales collected and reared 

 young larva3 from them, which were placed on young oleander trees 

 now being kept in the Cape Town gardens. Primary parasites were 

 to be admitted to the plants, Init secondaries excluded. These plants 

 in time he may be able to send to the United States in Wardian cases. 

 Second, while waiting for these to develop he had Mv. Mally go out 

 and search the country side, with the fortunate result that relatively 

 large colonies of scale were found where Mr. Lounsbury had seen 

 small colonies the year before. Mr. Mally collected for nearh^ a 

 week and brought in over a bushel of twigs which were carefully 

 sorted, cut into foot lengths, and the ends dipped into sealing wax. 

 The twigs were then wrapped in tissue paper. The matter of the dif- 

 ferently shaped boxes was purely accidental. He went to the grocery 

 shop and picked out what he thought would be best suited, taking one 

 shallow box and one deep box in order to try them. He thought that 

 packed in the manner above described and placed in a wooden box 

 what moisture came would be absorbed by the wood. The boxes were 

 packed the night preceding Mr. Lounsbury's departure, the deep box 

 being placed on a dry shelf in the fruit room of the Cape steamer and 

 the shallow ])ox kept in his stateroom. In this wa}' the insects were 

 taken to England, which he hurried across and took the next liner. 

 He then tried to get the box which he had kept in the fruit room also 

 placed in a cool room on the New York steamer, l)ut found no choice 

 between putting it in the meat room or leaving it outside. He pre- 

 ferred not to freeze the insects because the parasites not being accus- 

 tomed to such temperature might succumb, and he therefore placed 



