cited to show the. effrc^e/" of lye as an in- 

 secticide, &?t vsufri.)iefc.'t fact's 'ate staled. 



How the Insects are Spread. 



Attention must be called to the means of 

 spreading this serious pest, the aspidiotus per- 

 niciosus. The system of "return boxes," and 

 packages of any character, is known to be per- 

 nicious and a fruitful source of the spread of 

 all kinds of noxious insects, which, either as 

 insects, eggs or larvre, are fastened to them and 

 taken into the orchard, to be developed in due 

 time, and then to spread devastation to every- 

 thing attacked. Indeed, to me, so obnoxious is 

 the return box that I will not permit one to be 

 brought into the orchard or on the premises. I 

 prefer to pay the cost of new boxes, and give 

 them with the fruit sold. As the female insect 

 has no wings, she can, of course, only be spread 

 about by becoming attached to something by 

 which she is carried to different localities, and 

 by crawling about during the short period after 

 hatching before becoming fixed for life. 



Birds will carry them most frequently about 

 an orchard, and it is thought that one source of 

 danger is little regarded, viz : carrying them 

 about on one's clothing by brushing against in- 

 fested trees. 



If boxes or packages are returned, they should 

 be disinfected as soon as received by dipping in 

 boiling water, to which is added not less than 

 one pound of potash to 25 gallons of the water 

 used. 



The nursery trees sent over the State have 

 been the means of spreading the scale exten- 

 sively, and while nurserymen are anxious to 

 make sale of their trees they must take every 

 precaution to see that their patrons do not suf- 

 fer by neglect to first destroy the scale, which 

 may be done by dipping the trees in a solution 

 of concentrated lye of 1 K>, to 2 gallons of 

 water. I am glad to say that most nurserymen 

 are desirous to do all in their power to destroy 

 the scale. 



Among other means of preventing the spread 

 of scale, thorough and constant cultivation of 

 an orchard should be kept up, and one promi- 

 nent difficulty in the way of eradicating the 

 scale I believe to be the practice so prevalent 

 of growing other small crops in the orchard be- 

 tween the trees. 



It cannot be too strongly impressed upon the 

 mind of every owner of an orchard that he must 

 personally watch his orchard and exercise such 

 constant supervision that no infested tree shall 

 escape observation, and, when found, the proper 

 remedy at once be applied. In the orchard re- 

 ferred to where chance trees have been found 

 infested, no other course would have saved me 

 from the overwhelming spread of the scale. 



The experiments of 1881 and the subsequent 

 use of lye in instances mentioned, indicate the 

 remedy. This should always be used when the 

 tree is dormant, and when the foliage has dis- 

 appeared from the trees. In our climate that 

 time is the winter, and at any time before the 

 trees put forth their buds. 



Applying the Lye. 



The strength of lye should be one It), to one 

 gallon water where trees are infested with 

 scale. Where it is only desired to cleanse the 

 tree from moss one K>. to three or four gallons 

 of water is sufficient. The best method of ap- 

 plying the concentrated lye is by dissolving in 

 boiling water, and throwing it upon the trees 

 with a force pump through 40 or 50 ft. of - 

 jHjl one-half inch rubber hose, to which is at- 

 tached a nozzle, having for its opening a simple 

 straight slit, very narrow in width, and 

 one-sixteenth to one- eighth of an inch long. 

 The best spray tip yet devised is that made at 

 San Jose, called the Merigot Spray Nozzle. 

 The pumps most used for this purpose are the 

 Gould pump and the Merigot pump. The latter 

 is made at San Jose, and is cheaper than the 

 Gould pump. Great care should be taken to 

 cover the tree entirely with the solution of lye, 

 as upon its thorough application depends its 

 success. 



One of the greatest difficulties in the use of 

 strong materials is from the spray falling upon 

 the person of the operator and burning and 

 injuring the skin. la order to overcome 

 this obstacle, I have devised a simple "exten- 

 sion nozzle" of slight cost which is very light 

 and which may be made of any length desired, 

 say from four to 15 ft., or even longer. By the 

 use of this extension it is" perfectly easy to reach 

 and spray any orchard tree without danger and 

 discomfort. The cost of materials and appa- 

 ratus may be given as follows: 



The Gould pump costsabout $10 without acces- 

 saries. The Merigot pump $12. The suction hose 

 and the long hose will cost according to quality 

 used, from 15 cents to 25 cents per foot. 



The Merigot spray tip, if purchased alone, 

 $1.50. If bought with pump, the pump and 

 spray $13. The bamboo extension with globe 

 valve seven ft. long $2.75. All excess in length 

 over seven ft. 25 cents per foot. The concen- 

 trated lye, of the American Lye Co. in one-It) 

 cans by the case of 48 R>3., $3 50 per case. 

 English caustic soda in GOO pouod drums, $33 to 

 $35 per drum. The whale oil soap and sulphur 

 mixture called the "Codlin Moth Wash" is 

 manufactured in San Francisco and the price 

 can be obtained by inquiring of Messrs Allyne 

 & White. 



In conclusion I will give the analysis made 

 v Prof. Hilgard, of the State University, of a 

 sample can of American Lye Co. concentrated 

 lye. The can sent I took from a lot I had been 

 using, and is supposed to be a fair sample of the 

 manufacture. The analysis is as follows: 



Caustic potash 



Caustic soda and carbonate of soda 



8.3 

 91.7 



100.0 



With this I submit my report, expressing 

 my firm conviction that ere long we shall be 

 freed from the ravages of one of the most 

 dreaded pests known to horticulturists. 



