No. 4.] SAN JOSE SCALE. 313 



time is not far distant when fumigated trees will be at a pre- 

 mium. Certainly the nurseryman who destroys all his in- 

 fested and suspected stock and then fumigates all the trees 

 bought and sold has discharged his full duty to the public. 



Suggestions to Purchasers. 

 One can conceive of but few greater calamities that might 

 befall a farmer than to have his trees become infested with 

 the San Jose scale. The insect is most obscure and its at- 

 tack most insidious ; at the same time, its powers of multi- 

 plication are phenomenal, and its spread is constant and 

 certain where unrestricted or neglected. Expert entomolo- 

 gists who have attempted to eradicate this insect from or- 

 chards have found the problem an exceedingly difficult one. 

 How much more difficult will be the proper treatment of the 

 insect at the hands of the farmer, who in the majority of cases 

 can avail himself of only a part of the resources in skill, 

 remedies and appliances at the disposal of the entomologist ? 

 The farmer buys a few infested fruit trees, representing de- 

 sirable varieties. In a few years some of the trees die. The 

 farmer avails himself, perhaps, of the services of the experi- 

 ment station officials, and finds that not only has the San 

 Jose scale killed his young trees, but that from them a con- 

 siderable part of his adjacent orchard or shade trees has be- 

 come infested, and learns that only by constant care and 

 outlay of money or its equivalent can these trees be preserved. 

 This picture is not a creation of fancy. There are only too 

 many duplicates in this State. The natural outcome of the 

 unrestricted occurrence of the San Jose scale on a tree is the 

 death of that tree and the infestation and death of adjacent 

 trees. This is a fair statement of the case at the present 

 time. In the south the fungous disease to which reference 

 has been made has aided in checking the spread of the scale, 

 while in California it is stated that parasites and predaceous 

 insects have rendered a similar service. Until we know that 

 such natural checks appear in this State, and are restricting 

 the increase of the scale, we must depend upon such reme- 

 dies as experience has shown to be successful, and upon them 

 alone. There are, however, certain precautions indicated 



