84 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



MEETING EOE, LECTUEE AND DISCUSSION. 



Saturday, February 15, 1896. 

 A meeting for Lecture and Discussion was holden today at 

 eleven o'clock, the President, Fkancis H, Appletox, in the chair. 

 The following paper was read by the author : 



On Some Scale liS^sECTs. 



By L. O. HowAED, Chief of the Division of Entomology, United States Department of 

 Agriculture, Washington, D.C. 



All over the country orchardists are now greatly interested in 

 the subject of scale insects. This revival of interest in these 

 creatures among growers of deciduous fruit trees in the East is 

 largely the result of the establishment in this part of the country 

 of the San Jose scale. Other species, however, have become prom- 

 inent of late, and general treatment for scale insects is gradu- 

 ally becoming one of the elements of successful apple, pear, and 

 peach growing. One of the principal and most fortunate results of 

 this appearance of the San Jose scale in the East — if such a dis- 

 aster can be called fortunate from any point of view — is the 

 direction of the attention of all persons interested in, or in any 

 way connected with, fruit and shade or ornamental trees, towards 

 the great evils which are liable to be brought about through the 

 distribution of diseased stock by nurserymen, and towards the 

 whole subject of legislation against injurious insects. It is my 

 purpose in this paper to lay before you some of the facts concern- 

 ing the most important of the scale insects which are to be found, 

 or are liable soon to occur, upon your fruit and shade trees ; to 

 discuss to some extent the matter of remedies ; and to dwell 

 more particularly upon the two great questions referred to. 



The State of Massachusetts is rather fortunately situated with 

 regard to injurious insects, and the methods of cultivation gener- 

 ally adopted are advanced in their character. Clean cultivation 

 is the rule, and horticulturists are an exceptionally intelligent 

 class of people. Holdings in general are small, and the State is 

 far enough north to escape many of the most important insect 

 pests. Even Massachusetts trees, however, suffer from the at- 

 tacks of a number of injurious species, and there are still others 

 which are as yet to be found liere in small numbers only, whose 

 increase is to be guarded against ; and others, again, which are 



