Tenth Annual Meeting 97 



same time, there are other men, men who are thoroughly reli- 

 able, who have disseminated this pest throughout many orchards 

 unwittingly, and without the least desire to injure you or any- 

 body else. Some of them have not been aware that they had 

 the scale on their stock, and would not have sent out infested 

 stock to the injury of their customers for any consideration if 

 they had known it. Still, there is no question but that the 

 scale has been disseminated very largely by that means. 



The crude petroleum question I have not touched upon to 

 any extent. That is still a mooted question. With crude 

 petroleum under certain conditions we have, under our experi- 

 ence up to the present time, a most promising material for the 

 destruction of this pest. If you attempt to use it, however, do 

 not use it full strength. Some of you may say, "Well, I will 

 use 100 per cent because then I will be sure to kill this pest." 

 That sort of philosophy is like that of the old darkey whom we 

 told to use a quarter of a pound of paris green in 25 pounds of 

 flour for killing worms on cabbages. The next time I saw him 

 I asked the old fellow how the mixture worked. He said: "The 

 stufif worked all right, boss. You said if I put on a quarter of a 

 pound it would kill him dead, but I wanted to kill him deader 

 and so I put on half a pound, and I killed every one of the 

 brutes and my cabbages too." That same principle can be 

 applied in the use of crude petroleum. If a 25 per cent solu- 

 tion will kill the scale dead, a lOO per cent solution will not kill 

 him any "deader." Crude petroleum gives promise of becoming 

 a very useful agent for spraying peaches, pears, apples and plums, 

 for the control of the San Jose scale. Spray with a 25 per cent 

 solution. Begin early in the spring, and spray up to the time 

 when you begin to see the petal, or opening of the buds, and 

 then stop. Don't spray after that time. Bear in mind the 

 atmospheric condition at all times, and avoid spraying on damp, 

 wet days. 



Question: "Professor Johnson, will you tell us in a few 

 words what has been accomplished in Maryland through legisla- 

 tion to suppress the scale, and how the growers are satisfied 

 with the results?" 



Professor Johnson: "Well, that is a problem in itself. 



