152 DATEGROWING 



can be destroyed by a cresol spray at the time it 

 comes into the open to moult.* 



When a palm is pulled apart, masses of the 

 scale may be seen at the base of each leaf, sometimes 

 in such dense clusters as to look like a piece of raw 

 beefsteak. The scale doubtless injures the palm to 

 a certain extent by draining its vitality, and it is 

 possible that some cases of excessively slow growth, 

 in offshoots imported before the dip was put into 

 use, were due to the presence of large numbers of 

 Phoenicococcus. Its chief ravage, hoWever, is rare, 

 and appears on the fruit cluster, which is found, when 

 it issues from the palm, to be shriveled and dry; it can 

 not produce fruits and soon dies. The Algerian 

 natives either pull this out bodily or treat it by 

 putting a few handfuls of salt and ashes on it; neither 

 method is satisfactory. When offshoots are cleaned 

 before planting, such cases should never occur, and 

 under present conditions it may fairly be said that the 

 Marlatt scale is not a menace to the date industry in 

 the United States; that it can be easily held in check, 

 and can probably be eradicated altogether without 

 a great deal of trouble. 



No natural enemy of the Marlatt scale has been 

 found. 



At present all date palm offshoots brought into 

 the United States must be dipped in a cresol wash 

 before they are planted. The period of immersion is 

 fifteen minutes, followed by twenty-four hours 

 drying and a second immersion of the same length. 

 This practically destroys the scale; if a few individuals 

 should survive at the bottom of a dense mass, they can 



*As the cresol dip used to combat these scales is a proprietary 

 article, its formula has not been made public. 



