EXPERIMENT STATION EEPORT. 569 



conditions found. The city trees are largely silver and soft maples, 

 and last year the cottony scale was exceedingly abundant. At the 

 time of the inspection the remnants of last year's adults were still 

 in evidence, and among them were a number of hibernating, living 

 examples. There Avas evidence that the Coccinellid had been at 

 w^ork, and it was believed that it would be safe to predict the con- 

 trol of the pest within a year or two at most. 



Other To-wna. 



iNo systematic record was kept of places where assistance or 

 information was given by correspondence only, but there were a 

 number of them, and largely from the coast towns, where much 

 free planting is noAv done. 



In Jersey City an inspection was made September Gth at the 

 request of a property-holder and it was found that a series of small, 

 recently-set trees were dying off — maple, poplar, plane, etc. These 

 had all been banded about iive feet above ground with tar, and 

 cotton tied over this. The banding was only a few inches wide, 

 and was done in the spring of 1905. The trees began dying only a 

 few weeks previous to the inspection, and this was due to the tar 

 band. This, according to Mr. Dickerson, acted in two ways: 

 First, the tar hardened and prevented the expansion and increase 

 of the bark and tissue, and second, the tar had apparently pene- 

 trated the bark and underlying tissue and killed it. This was fully 

 borne out by the examinations made, and removal was advised, 

 althougli the trunks were alive below the girdling and some new 

 shoots were being made. 



At Morristown, inspections were made by Mr. Dickerson June 

 5tli and July 14th, at the requests of individuals whose trees were 

 showing signs of injury, and advice was given in both cases. In 

 the one instance sugar maples that were badly infested with the 

 Pseudococcus had been painted with undiluted crude petroleum, 

 and these were dying, and later died. There is no doubt that 

 the oil killed them, although it tested forty-four degrees, as shown 

 by samples received at the laboratory, and although other trees 

 of similar varieties and age had been safely treated in previous 

 years. 



