The Canadian Horticulturi^ 



Vol. XXX 



DECEMBER, 1907 



No. 12 



No Danger from San Jose Scale-Infested Fruit 



WHEN the last issue of The Cana- 

 dian Horticulturist was on 

 the press, the newspapers of 

 Ontario and the fruit growers of the 

 Grimsby section of the Niagara district 

 were much excited over the importation 

 of San Jose scale-infested fruit from the 

 United States. The fruit was imported 

 for canning purposes. It came from 

 New Jersey, not from Maryland or 

 Delaware, as was erroneously reported. 

 An inspector was commissioned with 

 instructions to investigate the situation 

 and to take steps to prevent the spread 

 of the pest from the infested fruit to the 

 orchards of the locality. The inspector 

 called a meeting of the fruit growers to 

 discuss the question and to obtain 

 suggestions. Two meetings were held, 

 and a deputation of fruit growers waited 

 upon the Minister of Agriculture at 

 Toronto. 



Three carloads of the fruit were badly 

 infested; the others did not have so 

 much scale. The inspector in charge 

 had the cars sealed and notices posted 

 forbidding the removal of the fruit, 

 except under Government supervision. 

 The pears were carried to the factory in 

 sacks, carefully guarded. Before peeling 

 each sack of pears was immersed in 

 boiling water for five minutes. After 

 peeling, the skins were boiled again for 

 fifteen minutes to make sure that none 

 of the scale would escape. The cars 

 and storage buildings were fumigated. 

 All bags, baskets and crates that had 

 contained the pears were burned to 

 ashes, together with all sweepings from 

 both cars and factory. One of the 

 cars was deported. Another, that had 

 been delayed at St. Catharines, was also 

 sent back. All these precautions, while 

 prompted by a commendable object, 

 were unnecessary. 



It is practically impossible for San 

 Jose scale to spread by means of infested 

 fruit. Experiments on this continent 

 and in Europe prove this to be so. Not 

 one instance of infestation of scale from 

 this source is known. The leading 

 authorities in Canada and the United 

 States are emphatic in the opinion that 

 there is no danger of dissemination by 

 this means. Further comments on the 



question appear in the editorial columns 

 of this issue. 



In reply to some questions sent by 

 The Canadian Horticulturist to a 

 number of prominent entomologists in 

 Canada and the United States, many 

 interesting and valuable letters have 

 been received. Some of them are pub- 

 lished herewith. Others will appear in 

 the January issue. These letters are 

 from men who know. 



For Horticultural Societies 



The Napanee Horticultural Soci- 

 ety was organized twelve years ago, 

 and since its organization, the soci- 

 ety has subscribed for The Cana- 

 dian Horticulturist for its mem- 

 bers. Experience has taught us that 

 it is the one publication devoted 

 specially to our interests, and that 

 we would not be doing our duty if 

 we did not place a copy in the hands 

 of each of our members. We have 

 obser\'ed the improvement that has 

 taken place in the paper from time 

 to time. The many useful hints 

 given for the benefit of amateur 

 horticulturists are of particular value. 

 What is true of the Napanee society 

 is equally true of every society in 

 the province. I know of no way 

 in which the directors can spend 

 their money so profitably as in sub- 

 scribing for The Canadian Horti- 

 culturist. — W. S. Herrington, Pres- 

 ident Napanee Horticultural So- 

 ciety, Napanee, Ont. 



Prof. Wm. Lochhead, Biologist, Mac- 

 donald College, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, 

 Que., contributes the following: "In 

 these days when large quantities of fruit 

 infested with San Jose scale are shipped 

 to markets in all parts of the country, 

 it becomes a matter of much importance 

 whether or not the San Jose scale can 

 be spread by such shipments. Germany 

 and other countries have very stringent 

 quarantine regulations regarding the 

 importation of fruit infested with scale, 

 believing that scale can be spread by 



291 



infested fruit. The German authorities 

 have failed, however, after many experi- 

 ments extending over several years, to 

 find a single instance of infestation of 

 scale from such a source. This result 

 is such as we might naturally expect. 

 None of the scales found on .fruit shipped 

 for export are mature; the large per- 

 centage of them are but half-grown. 

 When scales are dislodged from the skin 

 of the fruit their mouth-parts are usually 

 broken, so that they are incapable of 

 feeding and growing. Should parings 

 of infested fruit be thrown on the rubbish 

 heap or in the back yard it is hardly 

 probable, scarcely possible, that the 

 immature scales will find conditions 

 suitable for their development for three 

 months up to maturity, and the produc- 

 tion of living young. The parings soon 

 lose their moisture and become dried up, 

 followed by the death of the young 

 scales. 



"Sometimes sparrows and ants, which 

 have an attraction for rubbish heaps, 

 have been accused of being agents for 

 the carrying of the scale to shrubs and 

 trees. To my mind we need fear nothing 

 from this source, as the scales to be 

 carried are not in the active, crawling 

 stage. They are, as I have said, in the 

 immature stage, torn from their resting 

 place, and with a long period of develop- 

 ment ahead of them. 



"On the other hand, I have sometimes 

 seen the crawling larvse of the San Jose 

 scale on market fruit that had been 

 picked but a few days. In my judg- 

 ment there is a possibility in such cases 

 that the scales may be spread to shrubs 

 and trees by such agents as sparrows 

 and ants before the fruit is consumed. 

 I remember a case where a tree became 

 infested with scale that had escaped 

 from baskets piled occasionally at the 

 foot of the tree. This danger of possible 

 infection is referred to in my bulletin, 

 'The San Jose and Other Scale Insects,' 

 page 21, published in 1900 by the De- 

 partment of Agriculture, Toronto. How- 

 ever, as soon as the crawling larvse be- 

 come fixed and secretes a scale, there is 

 no danger that it will survive after dis- 

 turbance even if transplanted. There- 

 fore, in long shipments, where the crawl- 



