16 



that this Department seud a qualified agent to Australia to collect and export to this 

 country the parasites of the Fluted Scale {Iceri/a jmrchasi). Your petition is timely, 

 and I abundantly realize the importance of the action which you sug»jest. In reply 

 let nic recite briefly the steps which have been taken during the past three years by 

 this Department in regard to this great pest of the California fruit-growers, in order 

 to place clearly before you the present condition of aflairs. 



As a result of numerous petitions from your State, in the spring of 18SG a competent 

 agent of the Division of Entomology was appointed and was located at Los Angeles 

 with instructions to carry out a certain line of experimentation which was mapped 

 out lor him by the Entomologist, Professor Riley. Later in the season another agent 

 was sent to the same spot and the results of their combined work were published iu 

 the Annual Report of this Department for 188(5, iu an extended article by Professor 

 Eiley, which detailed thoroughly the life history of the pest and coutained authori- 

 tative recommendations concerning remedies. Some of the washes recommended in 

 this report were proven hy careful experimentation to he perfectly efficacious and 

 quite within the means of the most indigent fruit-grower. 



Early in the spring of 1887 Professor Riley visited California iu person and investi- 

 gated the sections of the State in which the Icerija occurs, and in an address before 

 your State Board at Riverside summarized his conclusions. Among other points 

 brought out in this address was the suggestion that it would be very desirable to j 

 introduce its natural enemies and parasites from Australia. He expressed his regret 

 that he would be unable to send one of his agents for the reason that Congress had \ 

 limited the field of his investigation to the United States, hut said that California, j 

 or even Los Angeles County, could well aflbrd to appropriate the funds for the send- '\ 

 ing of an expert to Australia to devote some months to the study of the parasites I 

 there and to their artificial introduction into California. 



During the summer of 1887 the two agents previously mentioned — Messrs. D. W, 

 Coquillett and Albert Koehele— were continued in their work upon Iceri/a, and the 

 Division at Washington was engaged iu an industrious correspondence with ento- 

 moh)gists in South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, with a view of ascertaining 

 facts bearing upon the natural habitat of this species and upon its natural enemies 

 in these countries. The results of the additional experiments by the agents were 

 published in the Annual Report of the Department for 1887. Those reached by Mr. 

 Coquillett concerned chiefly the matter of treating trees with gases, while those 

 attained hy j\Ir. Koebele related entirely to washes. Meantime it had been found 

 by correspondence that at least oue important parasite existed iu Australia, and 

 strong efforts were made hy the Department and also by the California delegation in 

 Congress to secure a specific appropriation for the purpose of studying and imjiorting 

 this parasite. These efforts, as you Avell know, failed, as did also the equally strong 

 effort on the part of this Department to have the clause iu the appropriation bill, 

 restricting the payment of traveling expenses to expenses within the United States, 

 removed from the bill. The Department was thus rendered by Congress apparently 

 powerless iu the matter, but, fortunately, by a happy chance, which however will 

 not occur again, we were able to seud an agent after all through the courtesy of the 

 Department of State. Congress had appropriated a large sum to enable this Gov- 

 ernment to exhibit at the Melbourne exposition, and the Secretary of State and the 

 chief of the commission, Mr. McCoppiu, of California, were kind enough to set aside 

 a sufficient sum for this purpose, and Mr. Koebele weut to Australia iu August and 

 accomplished the results with which you are already familiar. 



During the wiuter of 1883-89 strong efforts were again made by this Department 

 to secure the removal of the restricting clause concerning foreign travel with the 

 idea that, should Mr. Koehele's results warrant further importation of parasites, we 

 would desire to send him or another agent again during 1889; in fact, to take just the 

 action which you have petitioned us to undertake. This effort was apuarently suc- 

 cessful, and, as the Entomologist nuderstood, the appropriation clause passed Con- 



I 



